Dyson v. City of Pawtucket

• Decision Date: 24 January 1996
• Docket Number: No. 93-506-A,93-506-A
• Citation: 670 A.2d 233
• Parties: Mary Alice DYSON v. CITY OF PAWTUCKET et al. ppeal.
• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court

Page 233

670 A.2d 233

Mary Alice DYSON v. CITY OF PAWTUCKET et al.

No. 93-506-Appeal.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

Jan. 24, 1996.

Edward J. Mulligan, Lincoln, for plaintiff.

Marc DeSisto, Kathleen Philbin DeSisto, Providence, for defendant.

OPINION

WEISBERGER, Chief Justice.

This case comes before us on appeal by the defendants Daun White (White) and Richard Rousseau (Rousseau) of the Pawtucket Police Department, and the defendant city of Pawtucket (city), from entry of judgment in favor of the plaintiff, Mary Alice Dyson (Dyson), in Superior Court based on her action for assault and battery, false arrest, and violation of her constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. ¹ At the conclusion of the plaintiff's case, White moved for a directed verdict on the assault-and-battery allegations against him. The city moved for a directed verdict on the 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims. Rousseau and White also moved for a directed verdict on Dyson's false-arrest claim. Rousseau and White claimed that Dyson was precluded from bringing a false-arrest claim because she was found guilty in the District Court of disorderly conduct. The trial justice granted the motion in regard to White on the assault-and-battery claim and denied the motion in regard to the city. The trial justice denied the motion in respect to the charge of false arrest against Rousseau and White. At the close of all the evidence defendants renewed the remaining motions. The trial justice again denied the motion on the false-arrest claim but reserved decision on the 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim against the city. The trial justice denied the directed verdict in respect to the city after the jury verdict was rendered.

The jury returned a verdict for Dyson and awarded her $101,505 in damages. In March 1993, White, Rousseau, and the city filed a motion for a new trial. The motion was denied. However, the trial justice reduced the punitive award against Rousseau on the civil rights excessive-force claims. The trial justice also reduced the punitive-damage award against Rousseau and White for false arrest. We affirm the original judgments in part and reverse in part. The facts of the case as are pertinent to defendants' appeal are as follows.

On January 30, 1986, Dyson initiated the present action for false-arrest, assault-and battery, and civil rights violations. At trial she testified that she and her sister were passengers in a car that was stopped by Pawtucket Police Officer Douglas Clary (Clary) on January 28, 1986. Clary requested the driver's license and registration. On being informed that the driver did not have his license or registration, Clary then requested identification from the three passengers. Dyson gave the officer her license and identification. Rousseau and White arrived at the scene shortly thereafter to provide backup. Dyson testified that Rousseau swore at her and ordered her out of the car. She got out of the car, walked a short distance from the car, and sat down on the front steps of a house. She said that she was not told that she was under arrest. She and her sister then went to a nearby phone booth to report Rousseau to his superiors for his improper conduct. Dyson said that she did not flee or run to the phone booth. She did not hear anyone telling her not to leave the area or warning her to stop. While she was at the phone booth, Rousseau arrived and asked her what she was doing. She told Rousseau that she was calling the police. According to plaintiff, Rousseau grabbed her, placed her hands behind her back, and took her to the police car, where he "smashed" her head against the trunk approximately five times. Dyson was then put into the police car and taken to the police station. While at the station, she complained that her head and her hands were hurt. However, she was not offered any medical attention, and when she asked for something to wipe her mouth, which was bleeding, she was refused.

White testified that he and Rousseau responded to the scene as a backup unit. White observed Rousseau search the vehicle. He also saw Dyson and her sister exit the vehicle. He next heard Clary shout to Dyson and her sister, "Where are you going?" White then saw two females running down the street. Clary told the women to come back, but his police report did not reflect this fact. The defendants White and Rousseau then pursued Dyson and her sister in their vehicle. They found both women at a nearby phone booth. White did not see anything that happened between Rousseau and Dyson. He observed Dyson in handcuffs being placed into the police cruiser. White then handcuffed Dyson's sister. He said that after the women were taken to the station and placed in a cell, he noticed a redness on Dyson's forehead and possibly a bump. However, he said that he did not ask Dyson about her injuries, nor did he tell anyone else. He stated that it was department policy that the sergeant--not a patrol officer--determines if a prisoner is in need of medical attention.

Rousseau testified that he accompanied White in the backup unit. He said that he approached the vehicle and told the driver to get out of the car. The other male passenger also got out of the car. After conducting a pat-down search of the driver and the other male passenger, Rousseau instructed them to stay by the car. He then told Dyson and her sister to get out of the car but acknowledged that neither had done anything wrong. He said that he "probably" had used vulgar language. He told the women to sit down near a wall, even though he had no reason to place them under arrest at the time. He next heard someone yelling, "Where are you going?" and noticed Dyson and her sister leaving the area. Both White and Rousseau pursued both women to a nearby phone booth. After pulling up to the phone booth, Rousseau ordered Dyson to put the phone down. He said he thought Dyson was calling either her father or the police department. He said that he grabbed Dyson by the shoulders to prevent her from moving and assisted her with putting the phone down. According to Rousseau, Dyson resisted putting the phone down and attempted to strike him. He claimed that when he tried to put her into the patrol car, the momentum generated by her attempt to hit him sent her toward the car and caused her to smash her face on the car. After the plaintiff hit the car, Rousseau arrested her for disorderly conduct and handcuffed her. Rousseau said that he did not determine that Dyson was in need of medical treatment, although he did observe that she had a cut lip and redness on her forehead. Rousseau observed that while Dyson was in her cell, two superior officers casually examined her for injuries. He testified that Dyson did not ask for medical attention, nor did she complain that he had abused her.

In support of their appeal defendants raise three issues. These issues will be dealt with in the order in which they were raised. Further facts will be supplied as necessary to discuss the issues.

I Whether The Trial Justice Erred In Allowing The Jury To Render Separate Damage Awards For The Same Conduct

At the close of the case the jury found for Dyson and awarded the following damages against Rousseau: (1) compensatory damages of $500 and punitive damages of $10,000 for assault and battery and compensatory damages of $1 and punitive damages of $20,000 for constitutional violations associated with the assault-and-battery claim; and (2) compensatory damages of $1 and punitive damages of $10,000 for false arrest and compensatory damages of $1 and punitive damages of $25,000 for constitutional violations associated with the false-arrest claim. The jury awarded the following against White: (1) compensatory damages of $1 and punitive damages of $1,000 for false arrest and (2) compensatory damages of $1 and punitive damages of $5,000 for constitutional violations associated with the false-arrest claim. The jury awarded plaintiff compensatory damages of $30,000 against the city for violations of plaintiff's civil rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

The defendants argue that the verdict-interrogatory form given to the jury allowed it to award separate damages for the state-law claims and for the associated constitutional violations. They contend that the jury should have been instructed to award one amount if it found either a state-law violation or a constitutional violation or both on either claim. The defendants also contend that the trial justice further erred by instructing the jury that plaintiff was entitled to separate relief for constitutional violations.

Prior to considering whether the trial justice erred in her instruction and submission of interrogatories to the jury, we must address whether defendants' claim of error has been waived. The plaintiff alleges that defendants did not object to specific interrogatories or to the instructions save for one objection to the jury verdict itself. General objections to instructions, without specific grounds, are not a sufficient basis for review by this court. Brodeur v. Desrosiers, 505 A.2d 418, 422 (R.I.1986). Rule 51(b) of the Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure provides that:

"No party may assign as error the giving or the failure to give an instruction unless the party objects thereto before the jury retires to consider its verdict, stating distinctly the matter to which the party objects and the grounds of the party's objection."

However, this court will not interpret Rule 51(b) rigidly in order to overlook trial errors. In Belanger v. Silva, 120 R.I. 19, 27, 384 A.2d 605, 610 (1978), we stated that "a trial justice's refusal to charge * * * can be assigned as a ground of appeal only if a request was made to charge differently or if objection was made to the charge as given." In the instant matter defendants objected to the trial justice's refusal to instruct as they had requested in a pretrial memorandum where requested jury instructions were listed. The defendants also...