Luna v. Bell

• Decision Date: 05 April 2018
• Docket Number: Nos. 17-5608/5675,s. 17-5608/5675
• Citation: 887 F.3d 290
• Parties: Jane LUNA, as Administratrix of the Estate of Charles Jason Toll, Plaintiff-Appellant (17-5608), Plaintiff-Appellee (17-5675), v. Ricky J. BELL; Gaelan Doss; James Horton, Defendants-Appellees (17-5608), Defendants-Appellants (17-5675).
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

887 F.3d 290

Jane LUNA, as Administratrix of the Estate of Charles Jason Toll, Plaintiff-Appellant (17-5608), Plaintiff-Appellee (17-5675),

v.Ricky J. BELL; Gaelan Doss; James Horton, Defendants-Appellees (17-5608), Defendants-Appellants (17-5675).

Nos. 17-5608/5675

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued: February 1, 2018

Decided and Filed: April 5, 2018

ARGUED: David J. Weissman, RAYBIN & WEISSMAN, P.C., Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellant in 17-5608 and Appellee in 17-5675. Leslie Ann Bridges, OFFICE OF THE TENNESSEE ATTORNEY GENERAL, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellees in 17-5608 and Appellants in 17-5675. ON BRIEF: David J. Weissman, RAYBIN & WEISSMAN, P.C., Nashville, Tennessee, Jeff Roberts, JEFF ROBERTS & ASSOCIATES, PLLC, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellant in 17-5608 and Appellee in 17-5675. Leslie Ann Bridges, Steven A. Hart, OFFICE OF THE TENNESSEE ATTORNEY GENERAL, Nashville, Tennessee, for Appellees in 17-5608 and Appellants in 17-5675.

Before: MERRITT, MOORE, and BUSH, Circuit Judges.

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge.

Defendants Ricky J. Bell ("Bell"), Gaelan Doss ("Doss"), and James Horton ("Horton") (together, "Defendants") appeal the first district court's¹ order granting Plaintiff Jane Luna ("Luna"), as Administratrix of the Estate of Charles Jason Toll ("Toll"), deceased, relief under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(2) ; additionally, Defendants appeal the second district court's and the third district court's denials of Defendants' requests to reconsider the order granting Luna relief under Rule 60(b)(2). Luna appeals the third district court's order granting summary judgment to Defendants.

For the reasons discussed below, we AFFIRM the first district court's order granting Luna relief under Rule 60(b)(2) from the judgments and from the order denying a new trial. We also AFFIRM the orders denying Defendants' requests to reconsider. Lastly, we REVERSE the third district court's order granting summary judgment to Defendants, and we REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. BACKGROUND

In August 2010, Toll was in solitary confinement at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution ("Institution"), when he allegedly threw liquid at a correctional officer. R. 52 (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 3, 8, 19, 21) (Page ID #237, 238, 240). Because of this incident, Horton, the shift commander, decided to extract Toll from his cell. Id. ¶¶ 23, 32 (Page ID #240, 241). Once the cell extraction team, which included Doss and Horton, removed Toll from his cell, Toll became unresponsive. Id. ¶¶ 2, 32, 57 (Page ID #237, 241, 246). An ambulance transported Toll to a hospital, where a doctor pronounced him dead. Id. ¶ 65 (Page ID #247).

Because of Toll's death, Toll's mother, Luna, asserted two claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Defendants. R. 1 (Compl.) (Page ID #1). Luna sued Horton and Doss in their individual capacities for excessive force. R. 52 (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 2, 94–111) (Page ID #237, 251–54). She also asserted a failure-to-train claim against Bell, who is or was the warden, in his individual capacity. Id. ¶¶ 4, 112–23 (Page ID #237, 254–56).

In August 2013, the first district court held a jury trial regarding both claims. R. 157 (Verdict) (Page ID #994); R. 166 (Min. Entry) (Page ID #1010). At the end of this trial, the jury delivered a favorable verdict for Defendants on all counts. R. 157 (Verdict) (Page ID #994); R. 160 (Verdict) (Page ID #1000); R. 161 (Verdict) (Page ID #1002). In light of the jury's findings, the first district court entered judgments in favor of Defendants. R. 162 (J.) (Page ID #1004); R. 163 (J.) (Page ID #1005); R. 164 (J.) (Page ID #1006).

After the trial, Luna moved for a new trial under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59 on the grounds that the first district court omitted a jury instruction and included confusing language. R. 168 (Mot.) (Page ID #1012); R. 169 (Mem. at 13) (Page ID #1026). The first district court disagreed, so it denied Luna's motion. See Luna (Luna I) v. Bell , No. 3:11-CV-00093, 2013 WL 5592194, at *4 (M.D. Tenn. Oct. 10, 2013).

Then, in 2014, the New York Times published an article that discussed Luna's case. R. 175-3 (Mem. Ex. 3, Erica Goode, When Cell Door Opens, Tough Tactics and Risk , N.Y. Times (July 28, 2014), http://nyti.ms/1nUFcq6) (Page ID #1241). The reporter had discovered a letter that William Amonette ("Amonette"), who was part of the cell extraction team, had written to Bell (hereinafter, "the letter"). Id. at 11 (Page ID #1251). In this letter, dated February 7, 2011, Amonette resigned from his position at the Institution:

After much thought and consideration, I have determined that it is necessary for me to resign my position with the Tennessee Department of Corrections. My reasons for this are two-fold.

First, ever since I asked questions in your office about the witnesses in the Charles Toll case that were not spoken to by Internal Affairs, I have been treated poorly by your subordinates when I report to work.

Secondly, I also discovered on February 2, 2011 that the records for my September 2, 2010 core training session were altered to reflect that I had eight (8) hours of training when I only received six (6) and I was told just to sign the time sheet. This is falsification of training records, and I was ridiculed at the time for not wanting to accept eight (8) hours pay for (6) hours work. When I requested a slip to sign for two hours comp time, I was treated as if I was causing an inconvenience. Some guards advised me that they have done as little as four (4) hours training and were paid for eight (8) hours. With the extenuating allegations surrounding proper officer training, I felt it necessary to make you aware of the situation.

To put this simply, I cannot work somewhere where asking questions or trying to do what is right is punished. Please accept this letter as notification of my two week notice of separation.

R. 175-5 (Mem. Ex. 5) (Page ID #1254). Defendants had not produced this letter when responding to Luna's requests for production of documents. R. 175-2 (Mem. Ex. 2) (Page ID #1110–1240).

In view of this new evidence, Luna moved under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(2) for relief from the judgments and from the order denying a new trial. R. 174 (Mot.) (Page ID #1094). Luna also moved to reopen the case. R. 173 (Mot.) (Page ID #1092). In February 2015, the first district court granted both of these motions in an order. R. 185 (Order) (Page ID #1443). Then in April 2015, the first district court issued another order, providing supporting reasoning. R. 187 (Order) (Page ID #1463). Defendants have appealed both of these orders. R. 300 (Notice of Appeal) (Page ID #3836).

Luna also moved for sanctions because of Defendants' failure to produce the letter.

R. 221 (Mot.) (Page ID #2808). The magistrate judge determined, however, that sanctions were not warranted because Defendants did not act with bad faith when they failed to produce the letter. Luna (Luna II) v. Bell , No. 3:11-CV-00093, 2016 WL 3688930, at *9 (M.D. Tenn. July 12, 2016). The second district court agreed that sanctions were not appropriate, even if Luna did have a right to a new trial. Luna (Luna III) v. Bell , No. 3-11-0093, 2016 WL 10719390, at *2 (M.D. Tenn. Aug. 18, 2016).

Additionally, Defendants moved for the second district court to reconsider the order granting the new trial. See R. 191 (Mot.) (Page ID #1475). However, the second district court denied Defendants' motion. R. 198 (Order) (Page ID #1514). When Defendants moved again for reconsideration, the third district court also denied Defendants' request. Luna (Luna IV) v.Bell , No. 3-11-0093, 2017 WL 1425511, at *1 (M.D. Tenn. Apr. 20, 2017). Defendants have appealed these two orders. R. 300 (Notice of Appeal) (Page ID #3836).

Lastly, Defendants moved for the third district court to grant summary judgment on both claims. R. 268 (Mot.) (Page ID #3583). The third district court determined that summary judgment was appropriate on the ground that there was no genuine dispute of material fact regarding Luna's excessive-force claim or failure-to-train claim. Luna (Luna V) v. Bell , No. 3:11-cv-0093, 2017 WL 1952401, at *5–7 (M.D. Tenn. May 11, 2017). Luna appealed this judgment. R. 297 (Notice of Appeal) (Page ID #3830).

II. DISCUSSION

A. The first district court did not abuse its discretion when it vacated the jury's verdict and ordered a new trial.

We review a decision to deny relief under Rule 60(b)(2) for abuse of discretion. See JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. First Am. Title Ins. Co. , 750 F.3d 573, 584 (6th Cir. 2014), cert. denied , ––– U.S. ––––, 135 S.Ct. 2349, 192 L.Ed.2d 143 (2015). "An abuse of discretion occurs when the district court relies upon clearly erroneous findings of fact, improperly applies the governing law, or uses an erroneous legal standard." Jones v. Caruso , 569 F.3d 258, 265 (6th Cir. 2009). We "will find an abuse of discretion only where there is a definite and firm conviction that the trial court committed a clear error of judgment." Good v. Ohio Edison Co. , 149 F.3d 413, 423 (6th Cir. 1998) (quotation marks and citations omitted).

Under Rule 60(b)(2), a party may request relief because of "newly discovered evidence." The movant needs to show by clear and convincing evidence (1) that it exercised due diligence to obtain the evidence and (2) that the evidence is material, i.e. , would have clearly resulted in a different outcome. See JPMorgan Chase Bank , 750 F.3d at 585 (first citing Info-Hold, Inc. v. Sound Merch., Inc. , 538 F.3d 448, 454 (6th Cir. 2008) ; then citing HDC, LLC v. City of Ann Arbor , 675 F.3d 608, 615 (6th Cir. 2012) ; and then citing Good , 149 F.3d at 423 ). Thus, "the evidence cannot be merely impeaching or cumulative." Good , 149 F.3d at 423.

1. Due Diligence

The first district court did not abuse its discretion by determining that Luna acted diligently in requesting discovery responses that should have included the letter. For instance, the...