McCollum v. McDaniel, No. Civ. CCB-98-824.

• Decision Date: 28 March 2001
• Docket Number: No. Civ. CCB-98-824.
• Citation: 136 F.Supp.2d 472
• Parties: Freddie MCCOLLUM, Jr., et al. v. Robert MCDANIEL, et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maryland

136 F.Supp.2d 472

Freddie MCCOLLUM, Jr., et al. v. Robert MCDANIEL, et al.

No. Civ. CCB-98-824.

United States District Court, D. Maryland.

March 28, 2001.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

John Eric Smathers, McGowan & Smathers, Laurel, MD, John C. Harvey, Jr., Law Office, Lanham, MD, for plaintiffs.

Laura J. Gwinn, Prince George's County Office, Upper Marlboro, MD, Shalisha Hines Ivy, County Administration Office, Upper Marlboro, MD, for defendants.

MEMORANDUM

BLAKE, District Judge.

On April 3, 2000, a jury awarded over $4.1 million in compensatory and punitive damages to plaintiff Freddie McCollum, Jr. for an assault committed against him by Prince George's County police officers in the course of an arrest for alleged traffic violations on June 28, 1997. Various post-trial motions followed, and attempts to settle the case were not successful. Following a brief procedural outline of the litigation, the motions are addressed below.

Suit was filed in this court on March 19, 1998. The case proceeded to trial on the third amended complaint, in which Freddie McCollum, Jr., Martha McCollum, and Retania McCollum asserted claims for federal constitutional violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, similar claims for Maryland constitutional violations, and state law claims for assault, battery, false arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, and loss of consortium. Named as defendants were Prince George's County police officers Robert McDaniel, Michael Hubbard, James Murphy, and James Kline. A separate count asserted respondeat superior liability against Prince George's County for the tortious acts of its employees.¹

In its verdict, the jury found that Cpl. McDaniel's entry into Mr. McCollum's home violated his federal and state constitutional rights but awarded only nominal damages of $1.00. The jury also found that Cpl. McDaniel, Cpl. Hubbard, and Cpl. Murphy all violated both the federal and Maryland constitutions by using excessive force in the arrest of Mr. McCollum, and that they maliciously battered Mr. McCollum in violation of Maryland law. The jury awarded past medical expenses of $67,670.00, past and future lost earnings of $145,000.00, and non-economic damages of $3,500,000.00. In a supplemental verdict, the jury awarded punitive damages of $150,000 each as to Cpl. McDaniel and Cpl. Hubbard, and $100,000 as to Cpl. Murphy. The jury found in favor of Cpl. McDaniel on both Mr. McCollum's and Retania McCollum's claims for malicious prosecution; Martha McCollum's claim for loss of consortium was dismissed voluntarily before the case proceeded to the jury; and the claim against James Kline was dismissed by the Court.

Judgment was entered on May 31, 2000 against the individual defendants pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b). On June 1, 2000, the plaintiffs requested an amended judgment to include Prince George's County.² Now pending are that request, the defendants' motion for a new trial or remittitur, the plaintiffs' motion for attorneys' fees, and related matters.

Motion to Amend Judgment

The motion shall be Granted, and an Amended Judgment shall be entered under Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b), as the judgment is final and there is no just reason for delay. See Braswell Shipyards v. Beazer East, 2 F.3d 1331, 1335-36 (4th Cir.1993). The amended judgment will hold Prince George's County liable on a theory of respondeat superior for the full amount of compensatory damages awarded as a result of its officers' constitutional torts. Di-Pino v. Davis, 354 Md. 18, 729 A.2d 354, 372 (1999). In the absence of clear supporting authority, however, I will not conclude that the County is liable for punitive damages.

Motion to Set Scheduling Order and Pre-Trial for Bifurcated Counts

This motion will be Denied. In light of the jury's verdict, the pending motions, and the possibility of an appeal to the Fourth Circuit, the plaintiff has shown no reason to proceed to trial against the County on the bifurcated counts at this time.

Motion for New Trial or, in the Alternative, for Remittitur

A motion for new trial under Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(a) should be granted if "(1) the verdict is against the clear weight of the evidence, or (2) is based upon evidence which is false, or (3) will result in a miscarriage of justice, even though there may be substantial evidence which would prevent the direction of a verdict." Cline v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 144 F.3d 294, 301 (4th Cir.1998) (quoting Atlas Food Sys. & Servs., Inc. v. Crane Nat'l Vendors, Inc., 99 F.3d 587, 594 (4th Cir.1996)). The court may weigh the evidence and consider the credibility of witnesses; its decision is reviewed for abuse of discretion. See id. If the motion rests on alleged excessiveness of the jury's verdict, federal standards apply to the federal claims, but state law standards must be applied to the verdict on the state law claims. Gasperini v. Center for Humanities, Inc., 518 U.S. 415, 426-31, 116 S.Ct. 2211, 2219-21, 135 L.Ed.2d 659 (1996); Konkel v. Bob Evans Farms, Inc., 165 F.3d 275, 280-81 (4th Cir.1999). For the reasons discussed below, the defendants' alternative request for a new trial nisi remittitur will be granted.

1. Prejudice from Plaintiff's Counsel Signing Answers to Interrogatories

Mr. Smathers' conduct in (1) signing his client's name to the answers to interrogatories and (2) failing to advise defense counsel that he had done so appears to be a violation of his professional responsibilities. Whether a sanction may be warranted by bar counsel or this court is separate, however, from the court's decision about whether a new trial is justified. Mr. Smathers apparently acted with the consent of his client. (Trial Tr. 3/29/00 at 124-26.) After consultation, the court instructed the jury that the interrogatory answers had been signed with Mr. McCollum's consent and were binding on him "the same as if he had signed them personally." (Id. at 170-71.) Thus, the impeachment value of the cross-examination was not seriously undermined. Nor, in any event, was the plaintiff's credibility on these issues nearly as significant as defense counsel suggests. The clear weight of the physical and other evidence, completely apart from Mr. McCollum's testimony, demonstrated that the defendants' version of the way in which the plaintiff received his injuries simply was not believable. Mr. Smathers' unfortunate lapse of professional conduct did not significantly prejudice the defendants and does not justify a new trial.

2. Admission of Medical Records

Prior to trial, the defendants filed a motion in limine regarding portions of the medical records that referred to the plaintiff having been assaulted. As stated in the court's ruling on that motion, "Mr McCollum's statements to medical personnel that the injuries resulted from an assault are admissible as part of the medical records under Fed.R.Ev. 803(4). Any implication that medical personnel may have reached an opinion as to the cause of the injuries can be dealt with by an appropriate instruction." (Order issued March 24, 2000.) The defendants failed to request any instruction at trial and have not identified in the present motion any specific portion of the medical records that contains a conclusion by medical personnel, as opposed to an allegation by Mr. McCollum, that he was assaulted. Even if the admission of any part of the record was erroneous, there was no significant prejudice in light of the overwhelming evidence against the defendants, and no new trial is warranted.

3. Instruction on Respondeat Superior

The County's argument in this regard is no different from that which might be made by any employer who would prefer not to be held accountable for the torts of its employees. Under Maryland law, the County must accept respondeat superior liability for state constitutional violations committed by its officers. DiPino v. Davis, 354 Md. 18, 729 A.2d 354, 372 (1999). The plaintiff sued the County and was entitled to have the jury instructed on the theory of law under which the County would be held liable. This is not a question of statutory indemnification such as those involved in the cases cited by defendants.

4. Limiting Defendants' Closing Argument

As the jury was instructed, argument of counsel is not evidence. (Trial Tr. 4/3/00 at 6.) Counsel was permitted to argue, consistent with her clients' testimony, that Mr. McCollum fell through the rafters and the officers fell on top of him. It is the court's recollection that the specific argument which was restricted was not supported by the evidence.³ Further, any prejudice from sustaining the plaintiffs' objection, if the ruling was erroneous, is minimal in light of the clear weight of the evidence refuting defendants' version of the events. No new trial is warranted.

Remittitur

Compensatory damages are deemed excessive under federal law when they are "against the clear weight of the evidence, or based upon evidence which is false, or will result in a miscarriage of justice." Cline, 144 F.3d at 305 (quoting Johnson v. Parrish, 827 F.2d 988, 991 (4th Cir.1987) (internal punctuation omitted)). Punitive damages are excessive when the court concludes that the amount of the award would result in a miscarriage of justice. Id. at 306. If the court identifies a jury's verdict as excessive, it should grant a new trial "nisi remittitur," which gives the plaintiff the option to accept the reduced amount or proceed to a new trial, which may be on the whole case or on damages alone, at the plaintiff's choice. Konkel, 165 F.3d at 280. As to the state law claims, remittitur may be directed if the court determines that the verdict is grossly excessive, shocks the conscience of the court, is inordinate, or is simply excessive. Owens-Corning v. Walatka, 125 Md. App. 313, 725 A.2d 579, 590-91 (1999) (quoting Banegura v. Taylor, 312 Md. 609, 541 A.2d 969, 976 (1988)).

1. Lost Wages

The calculation of $145,000 was based on evidence concerning a reduction in earning capacity. It...