Siler v. Scott

• Citation: 591 S.W.3d 84
• Decision Date: 30 May 2019
• Docket Number: No. E2017-01112-COA-R3-CV,E2017-01112-COA-R3-CV
• Parties: Lester Eugene SILER et al. v. Charles SCOTT et al.
• Court: Court of Appeals of Tennessee

591 S.W.3d 84

Lester Eugene SILER et al.

v.Charles SCOTT et al.

No. E2017-01112-COA-R3-CV

Court of Appeals of Tennessee, Eastern Section, AT KNOXVILLE.

January 16, 2019 Session

FILED May 30, 2019

Application for Permission to Appeal Denied by Supreme Court October 11, 2019

Herbert S. Moncier, Knoxville, Tennessee, and Kristie N. Anderson, Jacksboro, Tennessee, for the appellants, Lester Eugene Siler, Jenny Siler, and Dakota Siler.

Arthur F. Knight, III, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Campbell County, Tennessee.

Robert L. Bowman and Brandon L. Morrow, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellee, Western Surety Insurance Company.

No brief filed by appellees Gerald David Webber, Samuel Reed Franklin, Joshua James Monday, Shayne Christopher Green, William Carroll, Charles Scott, and Ron McLellan.

Charles D. Susano, Jr., J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which D. Michael Swiney, C.J., and John W. McClarty, J., joined.

Charles D. Susano, Jr., J.

This case arises out of an incident in 2004 when five Campbell County deputy sheriffs went to the plaintiffs' residence. The officers ordered the wife of Lester Eugene Siler, and his son, Dakota Siler, to leave the house. The deputies then proceeded to beat and torture Mr. Siler for more than two hours in an attempt to get him to sign a search warrant. Their efforts were to no avail. They arrested Mr. and Mrs. Siler and charged them at the jail with offenses. These charges were ultimately dismissed. Subsequently, plaintiffs sued the five deputies. In addition, the suit named as defendants, Chief Deputy Charles Scott, Sheriff Ron McClellan, and Campbell County. The trial court granted separate motions to dismiss filed by Scott and McClellan, finding them to be immune from suit. Following a lengthy delay, a jury trial took place in 2016. At the beginning of the trial, the defendants admitted liability on all of plaintiffs' claims. The jury awarded Lester Siler a total of $90,000 against the individual defendants, and $10,000 against Campbell County. The trial court suggested, and Campbell County accepted, an additur to the awards against the county, increasing them to $25,000. In a pre-trial ruling, the court held this amount to be the maximum liability against the county for each plaintiff, based on its ruling that sovereign immunity was waived but only to the extent of the $25,000 sheriff's surety bond. The jury awarded zero damages to Jenny Siler and Dakota Siler. Plaintiffs raise numerous issues on appeal, asserting, among other things, that the trial court erred in refusing their request to change venue, improperly conducting jury selection, making several errors in the admission and preclusion of evidence, dismissing Scott and McClellan, limiting Campbell County's liability to $25,000 total per plaintiff, incorrectly instructing the jury, and declining their request for attorney's fees. Plaintiffs further argue that the verdicts were below the range of reasonableness. We affirm the trial court's judgment.

I.

On July 8, 2004, deputies William Carroll, Shayne Green, Samuel Franklin, Gerald Webber, Jr., and Joshua Monday went to the home of Lester Eugene Siler in Duff, Tennessee, to execute an arrest warrant for a probation violation. They were all in plain clothes. Because of suspicions that Mr. Siler was engaged in continuing drug trafficking activities, the deputies agreed beforehand that they would threaten, intimidate, and physically assault Mr. Siler in order to obtain consent to search his residence. Upon their arrival at the Silers' residence, the defendants told Mr. Siler to go inside his house. They handcuffed him. They then ordered Jenny and Dakota Siler to leave the home so they would not witness the "mess" that was about to ensue. Unbeknownst to the officers, Jenny Siler made a partial audio recording of the interaction with a recording device she turned on before she left the home. It was able to capture about forty-three minutes of the incident. The whole incident lasted approximately two and a half hours.

The specific nature of the abuse is detailed by the recording and transcript, and the stipulations of fact entered into by the deputies, in conjunction with their federal guilty pleas. When the recording begins, and even before Mr. Siler was first asked to consent to a search, the "slapping, striking, or hitting sounds" commenced. Although Mr. Siler remained handcuffed for at least part of the time and offered no physical resistance, he was repeatedly beaten and threatened with serious bodily harm and even death. Meanwhile, Jenny and Dakota Siler remained outside the home at the end of their driveway.

Lester Siler's physical abuse, at the hands of the deputies, included slapping, punching, and kicking (resulting in cuts, bruises and a fractured nose

) and striking him with a slapjack and a plastic baseball bat. They attached wires from a battery charger to him and threatened to electrocute him. They attempted to force his head into a fish tank full of water, and into an overflowing toilet. The deputies burned Mr. Siler with a cigarette lighter. They threatened to break his fingers and cut off his testicles. They put a pistol in his mouth and set off a firecracker. During the ordeal, the deputies confiscated or stole various items of the Silers' personal property, including a laptop computer, jewelry, money, two security cameras, and a Sony PlayStation. Other personal items in the house were damaged or destroyed. Lester Siler never consented to the search. He and his wife were ultimately arrested and taken to jail. Eventually, all charges against the plaintiffs were dismissed.

The TBI investigated Mr. Siler's allegations of abuse. All five defendants gave sworn written statements to the TBI denying any wrongdoing. The deputies' stories changed when they were confronted with the audio recording. They were charged in federal court with, pleaded guilty to, and received significant prison sentences for conspiring to violate Siler's civil rights under color of law.

On July 6, 2005, plaintiffs filed a civil complaint in federal court alleging "claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 based on alleged violations of rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution." Siler v. Webber , No. 3:05-cv-341, 2009 WL 10680025, at *1 (E.D. Tenn., filed Jan. 27, 2009). They also asserted eighteen causes of action "based purely on Tennessee state law." Id. at *3. The next day, plaintiffs filed their complaint in the instant action, alleging,

assaults and batteries; malicious harassment; trespass; false arrest; false imprisonment; abuse of process; malicious prosecution; intentional infliction of emotional distress; and violations of their constitutional rights guaranteed to them by the Tennessee Constitution.

On March 27, 2008, nearly three years after the complaint was filed in this case, plaintiffs filed a motion for change of venue, arguing that "due to prejudice and publicity existing in Campbell County ... a fair and impartial jury trial cannot occur." In their brief, plaintiffs assert that

[a] one-half day evidentiary hearing was held before Campbell County Circuit Court Judge John D. McAfee ... on the Silers' [m]otion for [c]hange of [v]enue. However, toward the end of the hearing, Judge McAfee recused himself for being too close to interested individuals and did not render a ruling. The exhibits and recording of that hearing were lost by the [c]lerk and were not available for future hearings when conducted on the Silers' motion for change of venue.

There is no order from Judge McAfee in the record, nor is there anything else pertaining to the hearing. On May 2, 2008, the Supreme Court designated Senior Judge Walter C. Kurtz to hear the case.

On July 14, 2008, the trial court entered an order staying the proceedings pending the outcome of plaintiffs' federal lawsuit. The federal district court subsequently entered an order declining to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over plaintiffs' state law claims. Siler v. Webber , No. 3:05-cv-341, 2009 WL 10680025, at *11. The district court ruled that "[p]laintiffs may litigate all of their state law claims against the same defendants in the concurrent, parallel case in the Campbell County Circuit Court." Siler v. Webber , 2009 WL 10680026, at *6 (E.D. Tenn., filed Mar. 5, 2009). Shortly thereafter, the district court granted Campbell County summary judgment on plaintiffs' federal 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims. Siler v. Webber , 2009 WL 10680020, at *28 (E.D. Tenn., filed Apr. 21, 2009). The Sixth Circuit affirmed this decision. Siler v. Webber , 443 Fed. Appx. 50, 51 (6th Cir. 2011).

On July 30, 2010, the trial court granted motions to dismiss filed by defendants McClellan and Scott. The trial court held that these defendants were granted immunity by Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 29-20-310(b) and 8-8-301, a ruling that will be discussed at length later in this opinion.

On April 7, 2011, the trial court entered an order granting defendants summary judgment on claims brought under the Governmental Tort Liability Act, Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-20-205 (2012) and the Tennessee Constitution. The court denied Campbell County's motion for summary judgment on claims based on Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-302 (2016), stating,

the only claims that remain against the County are those brought under Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-8-302 for the non-negligent, intentional acts of Webber, Franklin, Monday, Green and Carroll.

On October 28, 2011, the trial court entered an order denying a change of venue, stating, in pertinent part, as follows:

[p]laintiffs state that their motion for change of venue was never ruled upon. ... It was heard by the prior judge, who never ruled upon it before he recused himself. The Court is of the opinion that it is appropriate to attempt to seat a jury. If prior knowledge of the case by persons in Campbell County makes it difficult to seat a jury, then the motion may be renewed. The motion for change of venue is, at this time, DENIED.

(Footnote in original omitted; ...