Grassilli v. Barr

• Decision Date: 13 September 2006
• Docket Number: No. D044931.,D044931.
• Citation: 48 Cal.Rptr.3d 715,142 Cal.App.4th 1260
• Court: California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals
• Parties: Steven GRASSILLI, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Richard BARR et al., Defendants and Appellants.

48 Cal.Rptr.3d 715

142 Cal.App.4th 1260

Steven GRASSILLI, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Richard BARR et al., Defendants and Appellants.

No. D044931.

Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division 1.

September 13, 2006.

Certified for Partial Publication.^*

Donna Bader, Laguna Beach, Garrison & McInnis, L.L.P. and Gregory M. Garrison, Michael W. Strain and Amelia A. McDermott, San Diego, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, James Humes and James M. Schiavenza, Assistant Attorneys General, Kristin G. Hogue and David F. Taglienti, Deputy Attorneys General, for Defendants and Appellants.

HALLER, Acting P.J.

Steven Grassilli brought a federal civil rights claim against several California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers, alleging these officers violated his constitutional rights by engaging in a series of actions against him because he complained about a CHP officer's improper conduct. (42 U.S.C. § 1983.)¹ The first trial ended in a defense verdict. In a prior unpublished decision, we reversed the judgment because the trial court erroneously excluded evidence relevant to Grassilli's constitutional retaliation claim. (Grassilli v. Barr (May 10, 2002, D037942) (Grassilli I).)

After a lengthy second trial, the jury found that CHP Officer Richard Barr and Sergeant Michael Toth wrongfully retaliated against Grassilli because Grassilli reported Officer Barr's improper conduct to CHP management, and that Sergeant Toth and Sergeant Stephen Neumann were also liable for retaliation based on their positions as Officer Barr's supervisory officers. The jury found the retaliation caused Grassilli to suffer $210,000 in economic damages and $290,000 in noneconomic damages. The jury awarded Grassilli $3 million in punitive damages against Officer Barr and approximately $1 million against Sergeant Toth. The court awarded Grassilli $800,000 in attorney fees. (§ 1988(b).)

On appeal, Officer Barr, Sergeant Toth, and Sergeant Neumann (defendants) challenge the liability findings, the compensatory and punitive damages awards, and the attorney fees amount. We reject these contentions, except those regarding the punitive damages awards.

In the published portion of the opinion, we hold that substantial evidence supported the finding that defendants were liable under section 1983. This finding was based on evidence that defendants engaged in, or authorized, a series of law enforcement actions — including traffic stops, equipment compliance citations, and a vehicle impoundment — to retaliate against Grassilli after he complained to CHP management about Officer Barr.

In upholding the jury's liability finding, we reject defendants' argument based on Hartman v. Moore (2006) ___ U.S. ___, 126 S.Ct. 1695, 164 L.Ed.2d 441, that the judgment must be reversed because Grassilli did not prove that the officers lacked probable cause when they participated in the law enforcement contacts forming the basis for the section 1983 action. We conclude Hartman is inapplicable to most of Grassilli's claims because these claims were not brought on a retaliatory prosecution theory and the claimed damages did not result from criminal charges pursued by a prosecuting agency. As to the remaining claims, we find defendants waived their rights to assert Hartman error.

We further conclude the approximate $1 million and $3 million punitive damages awards against Officer Barr and Sergeant Toth are excessive. The awards violate federal constitutional principles; the imposition of the awards would indisputably result in defendants' financial ruin, a circumstance prohibited by state and federal law; the jury was not given proper guidance regarding the relevance of the financial condition evidence; and the awards include damages impermissibly imposed to punish the conduct of persons other than Officer Barr and Sergeant Toth.

Applying the established analysis for assessing a punitive damage award, we strike the punitive damages awards and remand to the superior court with directions to: (1) enter a punitive damages award against Officer Barr in the amount of $35,000, or at Grassilli's option to conduct a new trial on the proper amount of punitive damages; and (2) enter a punitive damages award against Sergeant Toth in the amount of $20,000, or at Grassilli's option to conduct a new trial on the proper amount of punitive damages. We also strike $25,000 from the cost award. We affirm the judgment in all other respects.

FACTS

Under well-established appellate rules, we state the facts in the light most favorable to the jury's findings.

During the 1990's, Grassilli lived in Santa Ysabel, a rural area near Ramona. Grassilli owned a small business that sold, installed, and serviced residential underground water tanks and pumps. Grassilli was a classic car enthusiast and regularly attended car shows in his older El Camino vehicle.

In March 1997, Grassilli called the local CHP office to complain that Officer Barr, a Ramona resident CHP officer,² was violating the law because he had removed the catalytic converter from his private vehicle, but was citing other drivers for this same violation. Grassilli said Officer Barr had indicated he did not need a catalytic converter because he had a badge. Grassilli was initially reluctant to give his name, but finally agreed to do so. Grassilli based the complaint on information he received from his friend and from a mechanic who worked at the automobile shop where Officer Barr had performed the work to remove the catalytic converter. Grassilli also later verified that Officer Barr's truck did not have a catalytic converter when he inspected the truck when it was parked near Lake San Vicente.

When no action was taken on his complaint, Grassilli again called the local CHP office and eventually spoke with Sergeant Toth, one of Officer Barr's supervisors. Sergeant Toth immediately discussed Grassilli's complaint with another sergeant, Sergeant Mayfield, and then Sergeant Toth volunteered to go to Officer Barr's home to check Officer Barr's truck. According to Sergeant Toth, he called Officer Barr on the CHP radio and then inspected the truck before Officer Barr arrived home. Sergeant Toth claimed he saw a stock catalytic converter on Officer Barr's truck. Officer Barr gave conflicting testimony, stating Sergeant Toth met him at the Ramona sheriff's station and that he was present when Sergeant Toth inspected the vehicle.

After his inspection, Sergeant Toth advised Sergeant Mayfield that Grassilli's allegations against Officer Barr were not true. Sergeant Mayfield then notified Grassilli that Officer Barr's truck had a catalytic converter and he considered the matter closed. In response, Grassilli called the Sacramento CHP internal affairs office to report that Officer Barr did not have a catalytic converter on his pickup truck, and he had been told Officer Barr would retaliate against him for initiating the complaint.

After Grassilli's call, the CHP internal affairs office ordered an investigation of Grassilli's complaint. In response, on April 14, 1997, Sergeant Mayfield met with Grassilli, filled out a CHP form that listed Grassilli's complaints against Officer Barr, and requested Grassilli to sign the form. Shortly thereafter, Sergeant Mayfield concluded that Grassilli's complaint was false and malicious, and forwarded a recommendation to the district attorney that Grassilli be criminally prosecuted for making a false complaint against an officer. Sergeant Toth and Officer Barr each denied any knowledge of Sergeant Mayfield's action, but inferences from the evidence indicated they supported Sergeant Mayfield's decision to pursue the criminal charges.

Thereafter, Officer Barr and Sergeant Toth took actions against Grassilli. We summarize these actions below.

April 27, 1997 El Camino Stop

Thirteen days after the Mayfield-Grassilli meeting, on April 27, 1997, Officer Barr made a traffic stop of Grassilli while Grassilli was driving his classic El Camino car. Officer Barr told Grassilli he was stopping him because his vehicle did not have the requisite smog equipment. Grassilli had driven this car in and around the Ramona area for the previous seven years and had never been stopped for any smog or equipment violations. Grassilli told Officer Barr that he was a resident of Santa Ysabel (as reflected on his driver's license), and therefore he was not required to have the smog equipment. Officer Barr nonetheless ticketed him for a smog violation and having an obstructed view created by a raised air cleaner on the vehicle hood. (Veh.Code, §§ 27156, subd. (b), 26708, subd. (a).) Grassilli hired an attorney, and after a court trial, the court dismissed the smog violation based on its finding that Santa Ysabel residents are not required to obtain smog equipment certification until an ownership change.³ The court found Grassilli guilty of the vision obstruction charge, and Grassilli thereafter lowered the air cleaner on his hood.

September 1997 Criminal Prosecution Dismissed

Based on Sergeant Mayfield's report, the district attorney filed a misdemeanor complaint alleging two counts against Grassilli, each of which carried a one-year maximum jail term: (1) making a false report against an officer (Pen.Code, § 148.6, subd. (a)(1)); and (2) dissuading an officer (Pen.Code, § 148.6, subd. (b)). The prosecutor dismissed the second count before trial. The trial was held in September 1997. After Officer Barr, Sergeant Toth, and Sergeant Mayfield testified in favor of the prosecution, the court dismissed the case for insufficient evidence.

October 1997 Tibbans Truck Stop

About five weeks later, in October 1997, Officer Barr stopped a commercial truck that was following Grassilli to a job site. Officer Barr knew the truck was associated with Grassilli's business before he detained it. The truck was towing a trailer carrying a water tank approximately 11 feet, 10 inches wide, and was operating under an annual Caltrans...