Morgan v. Woessner
| Decision Date | 10 June 1993 |
| Docket Number | 91-55863,Nos. 91-55728,s. 91-55728 |
| Citation | 997 F.2d 1244 |
| Parties | Joe MORGAN, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Bill WOESSNER, Defendant, and Clay Searle; Los Angeles City, Defendants-Appellants (Two Cases). |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Thomas C. Hokinson, Sr. Asst. City Atty. and Richard M. Helgeson, Asst. City Atty., Los Angeles, CA, for defendants-appellants.
William A. Barnes and Edwin J. Wilson, Jr., Erickson, Beasley, Hewitt & Wilson, Oakland, CA, for plaintiff-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Before: SNEED and D.W. NELSON, Circuit Judges, and ROLL, District Judge. *
The opinion filed September 15, 1992, 975 F.2d 629, is withdrawn, and the attached opinion and dissent are filed in its place.
I.
Joe Morgan, an ex-professional baseball player and television commentator, brought a section 1983 suit against Los Angeles policemen Clay Searle and Bill Woessner and the City of Los Angeles for harm associated with Officer Searle's stop of Morgan at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in March of 1988. At the first trial, the jury found that Morgan had not been unlawfully detained. The district court, however, granted Morgan's motion for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV) and a new trial because it found that Searle's stop of Morgan was unconstitutional as a matter of law.
At the second trial, the district court instructed the jury that the initial contact between Morgan and Searle was unconstitutional, and instructed it to determine only whether Morgan's subsequent arrest was lawful and whether Morgan suffered harm in connection with any unconstitutional conduct, and to consider Morgan's state law claims of false imprisonment, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The jury found for Morgan on all of these issues, and awarded Morgan a total of $90,000 in compensatory damages and another $450,000 in punitive damages. Searle and the City of Los Angeles appeal. 1 They challenge the grant of JNOV and the punitive damages awarded, and raise several other challenges concerning the district court's ruling on jury instructions and evidentiary matters. We affirm in part and reverse and remand in part the punitive damage award.
II.
In presiding over this case, the district court was presented with seriously conflicting factual accounts of what precisely took place between Mr. Morgan and Officer Searle at LAX. In granting a JNOV, however, the district court concluded that even on the basis of the defendants' account, Officer Searle's stop of Morgan was unconstitutional as a matter of law. Because the conflicting accounts are very much relevant to the question of whether the district court's grant of JNOV was proper, as well as to the secondary question of whether the punitive damage awards were justified, we find it necessary to discuss each account in some detail.
On March 15, 1988, Joe Morgan was at LAX waiting for a flight to Phoenix. He passed the time in the gate area, chatting with people who recognized him. At some point during his layover, he decided to make a phone call. Leaving his bags at the waiting area, he headed to some phone banks about forty feet away. According to Morgan, while he was dialing, Agent Searle grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. Morgan asked Searle what he wanted. Searle insisted that Morgan was traveling with another person. Morgan responded that he was traveling alone, and asked again what the problem was. According to Morgan, Searle responded with words to the effect of "I'm doing a drug investigation and you're a part of it." Morgan again said he was alone; Searle insisted that Morgan was "with this guy" and told him "you are coming with me." Morgan replied, Searle did not tell Morgan that he was free to go.
Searle asked Morgan for identification. Morgan replied that it was in his luggage approximately forty feet away. Morgan took a step toward his luggage, and Searle grabbed his upper torso and told him, "I will put you on the ground if you don't come with me." Morgan testified that after this exchange, a bystander came up and said to the effect, "that's Joe Morgan, the baseball player, and I can identify him." Searle responded with hostility, flashing his identification and warning the bystander to back off.
Morgan testified that at that moment he began to get frightened: " According to Morgan, Searle responded by pointing over Morgan's shoulder. As Morgan turned toward that direction, Searle grabbed him around the neck from behind, forced Morgan to the floor, and handcuffed him.
While Morgan was on the ground, Agent Woessner came up with another man, Tony Floyd. As Woessner approached, Searle asked him, "You saw him swing at me, didn't you?" According to Morgan, one of the officers asked Floyd if Morgan "was the guy that was with you?" and Floyd answered no.
Searle pulled Morgan to his feet, and led him down the concourse, past the waiting area where Morgan had just been signing autographs. As they passed Morgan's luggage, Morgan again asked to be allowed to get his identification. Searle placed his hand over Morgan's mouth and nose and led him into a small room marked "nursery." Morgan testified that he had difficulty breathing and felt totally out of control. Inside the nursery room, Floyd repeated that Morgan was not the person he was with. Morgan testified that Searle threatened to report to the press that he was a part of a narcotics investigation, and offered to release Morgan if Morgan would promise to forget what had happened. Morgan responded, "You do what you have to do, and I'll do what I have to do." After a few moments of further exchange, Searle removed the handcuffs and allowed Morgan to leave.
According to Morgan, at no time during this course of events did he make any aggressive or hostile physical gestures toward either Searle or Woessner. He testified that at no time did he resist, use profanity, or scream.
Richard Ruybalid, an individual not otherwise associated with Morgan, was on the same plane into LAX as Morgan, and was waiting for the same connecting flight to Phoenix. Ruybalid had recognized Morgan on the flight, but did not speak to him. Ruybalid testified that he was making a call from the same phone bank as Morgan when Searle approached Morgan. Ruybalid's attention was caught by a "heated conversation." Ruybalid approached to within ten feet, and witnessed the confrontation between Morgan and Searle. Ruybalid heard Searle saying to Morgan, Morgan responded, According to Ruybalid, Searle was insistent, repeating
Ruybalid moved in closer and said, Searle responded by flashing his I.D. and saying, "Back off, narcotics officer." Ruybalid testified that at this time Morgan was not doing anything threatening or violent, but that Morgan's demeanor was defensive, bothered, angry. Ruybalid testified that Searle was very angry and his tone of voice very stern, and that Ruybalid felt he was being ordered to leave the area by a person of authority.
Ruybalid backed away, but continued to monitor the situation, remaining within fifteen or twenty feet from Morgan and Searle. He did not see Morgan taken to the floor, but he heard the noise caused by that fall. He testified that prior to that noise, he did not hear any yelling, screaming or swearing. When he heard the noise of the fall, Ruybalid approached the men; he observed Searle pull Morgan to his feet and lead him away, holding his hand over Morgan's mouth. Ruybalid testified that Morgan walked reluctantly but did not resist, and that he did not use any profanity or scream.
On March 15, 1988, Searle and Woessner were on a routine narcotics patrol at LAX. They observed Tony Floyd, a black man, moving rapidly through the concourse. Floyd had a carry-on bag which appeared to be half-empty. Floyd made eye contact with Searle and Woessner, and then looked away. To the agents, he appeared to be nervous. Finding these actions suggestive of narcotics involvement, Searle and Woessner decided to question Floyd.
Searle and Woessner identified themselves to Floyd, and told him that he was not under arrest and that he was free to go. Floyd agreed to talk with them. They asked him for identification, but he had none. They asked to look at his ticket, and he produced a one-way cash ticket issued in a name other than Floyd. They obtained permission to search his person and his carry-on bag; they found only clothing and toiletries. They then took Floyd to the men's room and conducted a pat down search which revealed nothing illegal, but did reveal that Floyd was carrying a second ticket. Although Floyd initially claimed to be traveling alone, he eventually admitted that he had a travel companion. Floyd did not remember the second person's name, but told the agents that the second traveler should be right behind him. The agents asked Floyd what the traveler looked like; Floyd responded that "he looks like me."
Based on their exchange with Floyd, the agents concluded that Floyd was a drug...
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