Hundley v. District of Columbia

• Decision Date: 24 July 2007
• Docket Number: No. 05-7161.,No. 05-7152.,05-7152.,05-7161.
• Citation: 494 F.3d 1097
• Parties: Carl HUNDLEY, as the Personal Representative of the Estate of Brian E. Hundley, Appellee/Cross-Appellant, and Lynne T. Hundley, Appellee v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, et al., Appellants/Cross-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit

494 F.3d 1097

Carl HUNDLEY, as the Personal Representative of the Estate of Brian E. Hundley, Appellee/Cross-Appellant, and Lynne T. Hundley, Appellee v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, et al., Appellants/Cross-Appellees.

No. 05-7152.

No. 05-7161.

United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.

Argued March 19, 2007.

Decided July 24, 2007.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (No. 02cv00638).

Holly M. Johnson, Section Chief, Office of Attorney General for the District of Columbia, argued the cause for appellants/cross-appellees. With her on the briefs were Robert J. Spagnoletti, Attorney General, Todd S. Kim, Solicitor General, and Edward E. Schwab, Deputy Solicitor General.

Gregory L. Lattimer argued the cause for appellees/cross-appellant. With him on the briefs were Janell M. Byrd and Donald M. Temple.

Before: GINSBURG, Chief Judge, and RANDOLPH and KAVANAUGH, Circuit Judges.

KAVANAUGH, Circuit Judge:

In the middle of a night in March 2002, Brian Hundley and a woman were in a car parked outside an apartment complex in Washington, D.C. Off-duty Metropolitan Police Department Officer Marcus Gaines tapped on the window of the car as he walked past. Hundley, who was in the driver's seat, began to drive the car in the direction of Officer Gaines. Officer Gaines pulled his gun, yelled "police," and ordered Hundley to stop and get out of the car. Hundley complied and exited the car. According to Officer Gaines, while Hundley was standing outside the car, Hundley suddenly moved his right hand from behind his back and began lunging toward Officer Gaines, who was about 10 to 15 feet away. In apparent self-defense, Officer Gaines shot and killed Hundley.

Hundley's estate sued Officer Gaines, former police official Terrance Gainer, and the District of Columbia and, as relevant here, brought three claims: (i) a D.C. tort law claim of assault and battery based on the fatal shot; (ii) a corresponding federal § 1983 claim of excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment, also based on the fatal shot; and (iii) a D.C. tort law claim of negligence based on the initial stop. The jury found for defendants on the assault and battery and excessive force claims, concluding that Officer Gaines was justified in shooting Hundley in self-defense. At the same time, however, the jury in a written interrogatory answer specifically rejected Officer Gaines's version of events regarding the self-defense shooting. The jury found for plaintiffs on the negligence claim, concluding the initial stop was unreasonable; the jury also determined that the negligent stop proximately caused Hundley's death. The jury awarded damages of $242,400 to plaintiffs.

On appeal, Hundley's estate challenges the assault and battery and excessive force verdict for the defense, arguing that the jury's verdict for defendants on those two claims was inconsistent with the jury's written interrogatory answer, in which it directly rejected Officer Gaines's version of events. And defendants challenge the negligence verdict, arguing that the negligent stop did not proximately cause the shooting death that formed the basis for the damages award.

We agree with Hundley's estate that the jury verdict on the assault and battery and excessive force claims was inconsistent with the jury's answer to the written interrogatory. We agree with defendants that the negligent stop, as a matter of law, did not proximately cause the shooting death and thus cannot justify the damages for the shooting death. We therefore reverse the judgment of the District Court and remand for a new trial for Hundley's estate on the assault and battery and excessive force claims.

I

At approximately 1:30 a.m. on March 23, 2002, off-duty Metropolitan Police Department Officer Marcus Gaines was riding in a car driven by his brother Ronald when they arrived in the parking lot of Marcus Gaines's apartment building near 6th and N Streets, N.W., in Washington, D.C.

According to Officer Gaines, the following events then transpired. As Officer Gaines and his brother drove around the lot looking for a place to park, Officer Gaines observed a man and a woman engaging in sexual activity in a parked car. The man was Brian Hundley (Hundley was previously unknown to Officer Gaines); the woman was known by Officer Gaines to be a prostitute. Ronald Gaines parked his car, and Officer Gaines got out and walked ahead toward the apartment building. As Officer Gaines walked behind Hundley's car, Hundley began to back out of his parking space — nearly hitting Officer Gaines. Officer Gaines believed that Hundley, the driver of the car, simply had not seen him. Officer Gaines tapped on the passenger-side window of the car to alert Hundley and his passenger to Officer Gaines's presence.

Officer Gaines then continued walking toward his building. Just after Hundley finished backing his car out of its parking space, Officer Gaines passed in front of the car on his way to the building. At that point, Hundley suddenly drove his car at a rapid speed toward Officer Gaines. Officer Gaines jumped out of the car's path and drew his gun. He yelled "police" and ordered Hundley to stop and get out of the car; Officer Gaines based his decision to order Hundley out of the car on what he described as Hundley's attempted assault with a deadly weapon (namely, assault with the car).

As soon as Officer Gaines ordered Hundley to stop and exit the car, Hundley complied and stood outside of the car with his hands in plain view. But then, according to Officer Gaines, Hundley stopped complying with the officer's orders. When Officer Gaines first ordered Hundley to place his hands on his car, Hundley instead put his hands in his pockets. Next, Officer Gaines ordered Hundley to take his hands out of his pockets, which Hundley did. But when Officer Gaines again ordered Hundley to place his hands on the car, Hundley failed to comply and acted as though he planned to re-enter his car. Officer Gaines then two more times ordered Hundley to place his hands on the car. The first time, Hundley instead put his hands behind his back. The second time, Hundley, with his right arm behind his back, suddenly moved his right hand as he lunged toward Officer Gaines.

Officer Gaines then fired a single shot at Hundley, which was fatal. Officer Gaines testified that he fired out of self-defense based on Hundley's lunge and sudden hand movement.

Two other witnesses saw at least some of the interaction between Hundley and Officer Gaines and provided additional accounts of that night's events. Ronald Gaines did not testify at trial, but his pre-trial statements about the incident were read to the jury. Ronald stated that he observed none of the altercation between Hundley and Officer Gaines until he saw Officer Gaines yelling at Hundley to exit Hundley's car. According to Ronald, Officer Gaines yelled several times for Hundley to show the officer his hands. Instead of following those orders, Hundley reached inside his jacket, at which point Officer Gaines shot him.

The prior testimony of a nearby resident, Linda Davis, was also admitted at trial. According to Davis, Officer Gaines seemed angry at Hundley and yelled three times for Hundley to exit his car. As Hundley complied and stood outside the car with his hands in the air, Officer Gaines shot him.

Hundley's estate filed a lawsuit against Officer Gaines, former Executive Assistant Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department Terrance Gainer, and the District of Columbia. The claims against defendants included assault and battery, a § 1983 claim of excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment, and negligence. The first trial resulted in a hung jury.

At the second trial, the jury rejected plaintiffs' assault and battery and excessive force claims with respect to the shooting. But the jury found in a written interrogatory that Hundley was not "shot after placing his right hand behind his back and then making a lunging motion toward Officer Marcus Gaines" — in other words, the jury directly rejected Officer Gaines's testimony explaining that he had shot Hundley in self-defense. See Verdict Form at 1, Hundley v. District of Columbia, No. 102cv638, 2004 WL 3363666 (D.D.C. Dec. 6, 2004). The jury also found that Officer Gaines had acted negligently in making the initial stop of Hundley and that the negligent stop proximately caused Hundley's death. The jury awarded a total of $242,400 in compensatory damages for Hundley's death.

In this Court, Hundley's estate challenges the assault and battery and excessive force verdict, arguing that the jury's verdict was inconsistent with the written interrogatory answer.¹ Defendants challenge the judgment for plaintiffs on the negligence claim.

II

We turn first to the jury's verdict for defendants on the assault and battery and excessive force claims. An officer's unreasonable use of force violates the Fourth Amendment. See Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 388, 395-98, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989). The victim therefore may sue the offending officer for damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Such an unreasonable use of force also is an assault and battery under D.C. law. See District of Columbia v. Jackson, 810 A.2d 388, 392 (D.C.2002).

Here, Officer Gaines testified that his use of force was reasonable because Hundley, with his right hand behind his back, suddenly lunged toward Officer Gaines — in other words, Officer Gaines shot Hundley in self-defense. The plaintiffs argued, with support from an eyewitness, that Officer Gaines was lying and that Officer Gaines in fact shot Hundley without justification.

In addition to asking the jury to render a verdict on the assault and battery and excessive force claims, the judge also instructed the jury to answer a written interrogatory: "Do you find that Brian Hundley was shot after placing his right hand behind his back and then making a lunging motion toward Officer...