Sabir v. Jowett
| Decision Date | 10 July 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV.A.3:97-CV-02249(CFD).,CIV.A.3:97-CV-02249(CFD). |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut |
| Parties | Hassan SABIR, Plaintiff, v. Det. James C. JOWETT, Det. Dennis Lisee, and Sgt. Lewis Fusaro, Defendants. |
Jeffrey M. Sklarz, Zeisler & Zeisler, P.C., Bridgeport, CT, Ann Walsh Henderson, West Hartford, CT, Michael Joseph Walsh, Moukawsher & Walsh, Hartford, CT, for Plaintiff.
Robert Bishop Fiske, III, Attorney General's Office, Public Safety & Special Revenue, Terrance M. O'Neill, Attorney General's Office, Hartford, CT, for Defendants.
RULING ON POST-JUDGMENT MOTIONS
The plaintiff, Hassan Sabir ("Sabir"), brought this action against Connecticut State Troopers James Jowett, Dennis Lisee, and Louis Fusaro seeking redress for various civil rights violations that occurred on February 15, 1996.1 A jury trial commenced on September 4, 2001, and the jury returned a verdict in Sabir's favor on September 14, 2001. The jury awarded compensatory damages in the amount of $75,001 and punitive damages in the amount of $125,000. The Court entered judgment for Sabir on September 28, 2001.
Currently pending are the following post-judgment motions: Defendants' Motion for New Trial and/or Remittitur [Doc. ## 176-1, 176-2]; Defendants' Motion for Judgment After Trial [Doc. # 178]; Plaintiff's Motion for Attorneys' Fees [Doc. # 170]; Plaintiff's Supplemental Motion for Attorneys' Fees [Doc. # 193]; and Plaintiff's Second Supplemental Motion for Attorneys' Fees [Doc. # 200].
On the morning of February 15, 1996, Hassan Sabir traveled by bus from his home in Middletown, Connecticut, to the Foxwoods Resort and Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut ("the casino"), to play Keno. Upon his arrival, he learned that the Keno machine was not functioning. He waited for several hours for the Keno machine to be fixed. During this time he read and played some of the slot machines. Shortly before 4:00 p.m., when his bus was scheduled to leave the casino to return to Middletown, Sabir went to the casino credit office to request reimbursement of his bus fare because he had been unable to play Keno all day. He had done this on a previous occasion when the machine was not operable.
While he was in the casino credit office, Sabir discussed his request for reimbursement with a casino host, Susan Valenti ("Valenti"). Sabir testified that he was not angry when he was speaking with Valenti and did not use profanity. Valenti testified, however, that Sabir was speaking in a very loud voice and using profanity during this discussion, as well as when he was speaking with another casino host, Stuart Eckard. Valenti refused Sabir's request for reimbursement and Sabir testified that he asked to see her supervisor or a manager. Valenti testified that she signaled to a casino security guard to call for security and that two security guards eventually arrived and began speaking with Sabir.
Connecticut State Trooper Detective James Jowett arrived on the scene shortly thereafter, followed by Trooper Dennis Lisee. Detective Jowett testified that he first spoke with Valenti about the facts of the incident,2 and then discussed the request for reimbursement with Sabir for a short period of time. Sabir testified that because Detective Jowett and Trooper Lisee were working undercover, he did not know at the time that they were state police officers. He then indicated to Detective Jowett and Trooper Lisee that he would like to lodge a complaint rather than pursue the reimbursement. As he began to leave, he took two steps away from defendants Jowett and Lisee. Immediately upon taking these steps, Detective Jowett and Trooper Lissee put their hands on Sabir and propelled him against a wall. Detective Jowett testified that he told Sabir that he was under arrest at this time, in part because he interpreted these two steps as a movement towards a nearby casino host. He testified that he did not base his decision to arrest Sabir on Valenti's complaint. A physical altercation ensued.
Within a few minutes, Sabir was surrounded by a group of men that included other law enforcement officials and casino security workers. Sabir was pushed down to the floor and handcuffed. During this period of time, there was evidence of a casino security officer twisting Sabir's ankles. A wheelchair eventually was called for him. Sabir testified that one of the "officers" choked him while being placed in the wheelchair.
After being wheeled through the casino, Sabir was placed in the front seat of a unmarked state police vehicle. Sabir testified that he lost consciousness after someone in the back seat choked him. He recalls waking up in the police cell at the Montville Police Barracks. His initial requests for medical treatment were denied, but he later was taken by ambulance to the William Backus Hospital in Norwich, Connecticut.
Upon admission, a hospital security guard strapped him to a gurney in the emergency room using soft restraints fastened with velcro. Defendant Connecticut State Trooper Louis Fusaro arrived at some point while Sabir was at the hospital. A physician treated Sabir and ordered x-rays, which eventually were taken. Sabir testified that he was unable to bear weight on the ankle, and a hospital employee gave him a plastic brace to wear.
After receiving the brace, Sabir was told to get dressed. He testified that could not put his pants back on, however, because he was unable to stand on his ankle, he was sore, and his pants would not fit over the ankle brace. Trooper Fusaro, hospital security guards and a Norwich police officer were present in the room at this time. Sabir testified that they "snatched" him off the gurney, causing him to fall on the floor. Another physical altercation ensued during which a hospital security guard sprayed Sabir in the eyes with cap stun, or pepper spray. Trooper Fusaro, the hospital security workers and the Norwich police officer left the room after the cap stun was used, while the plaintiff remained in the room. Sabir testified that he was left on the floor of the hospital room in a fetal position and that he was handcuffed at this time.
After a couple of minutes, Trooper Fusaro and others returned to the room. Sabir testified that Trooper Fusaro carried him out of the hospital by his neck while he was dressed only in his socks and underwear, even though the temperature outside was roughly between 10 and 20 degrees. He was returned to a cell at the police barracks and was clothed only in his underwear for the remainder of the night. Sabir further testified that he remained in handcuffs in the cell.
The next morning Sabir was brought to court. He was released on a promise to appear and thereafter retained counsel. Sabir was charged with the following offenses arising from the incident at the casino: Breach of Peace under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a-181; Failure to Submit Fingerprints under Conn. Gen.Stat. § 29-12; and Interfering with an Officer under Conn. Gen.Stat. § 53a-167a (collectively, the "casino charges"). He was charged with the following offenses arising from the incident at the hospital: Breach of Peace under Conn. Gen.Stat. § 53a-181; Criminal Attempt to Escape from Custody under Conn. Gen.Stat. § 53a-49 and § 53a-171; Interfering with an Officer under Conn. Gen.Stat. § 53a-167a; and Failure to Submit Fingerprints under Conn. Gen.Stat. § 29-12 (collectively, the "hospital charges").
On May 5, 1997, Sabir entered a plea of nolo contendere with respect to the breach of peace charge arising from the events at the hospital and was sentenced to a conditional discharge with a six months suspended sentence on this charge. The criminal escape and interfering charges related to the hospital incident were nolled at this time.
Based on these facts, the jury found pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 that Detective Jowett unlawfully arrested Sabir and that Detective Jowett and Trooper Lisee conspired to unlawfully arrest him. The jury also found pursuant to § 1983 that Detective Jowett, Trooper Lisee, and Trooper Fusaro used excessive force against him, but that Detective Jowett was entitled to qualified immunity for his use of force. Finally, the jury found under Connecticut state common law that Trooper Fusaro intentionally inflicted emotional distress on Sabir.
The defendants make two principal arguments in support of their motion for judgment as a matter of law under Rule 50(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. First, they contend that the jury's finding that Detective Jowett unlawfully arrested Sabir lacks a sufficient evidentiary basis because the arrest was supported by probable cause and because the charges were not resolved in the plaintiff's favor. Second, they maintain that the jury's finding of intentional infliction of emotional distress against Trooper Fusaro also was not supported by sufficient evidence. The defendants do not challenge the jury's finding with respect to excessive use of force or conspiracy by Detective Jowett and Trooper Lisee to unlawfully arrest Sabir.
"Because a judgment as a matter of law intrudes upon the rightful province of the jury, it is highly disfavored." Prestige Imports, Inc. v. Malick No. 5:91-CV-00450(EBB), 2001 WL 286846, *1 (D.Conn. March 13, 2001). Under Rule 50, judgment as a matter of law is only appropriate where "there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find for [a] party on [an] issue." Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(a); Merrill Lynch Interfunding, Inc. v. Argenti, 155 F.3d 113, 120 (2d Cir.1998). "[A] court may properly grant judgment as a matter of law where viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, the evidence is such...
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