Wakat v. Harlib, 12151.
| Citation | 253 F.2d 59 |
| Decision Date | 04 March 1958 |
| Docket Number | No. 12151.,12151. |
| Parties | Leslie George WAKAT, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Peter F. HARLIB, Irwin Haviland, Harold T. Thompsen, Thomas J. Murphy and Thomas V. Lyons, Defendants-Appellants. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit) |
John C. Melaniphy, Corp. Counsel, Harry H. Pollack, Asst. Corp. Counsel, Chicago, Ill., (Sydney R. Drebin, Asst. Corp. Counsel, Chicago, Ill., of counsel) for appellant.
Peter B. Atwood, Eugene T. Devitt, Chicago, Ill., for appellee.
Before DUFFY, Chief Judge, and SCHNACKENBERG and HASTINGS, Circuit Judges.
A jury found defendants guilty as charged in count I of plaintiff's complaint and assessed his damages at $10,000, and found them guilty as charged in count II of said complaint and assessed plaintiff's damages at $5,000. Judgment was entered on the verdicts and this appeal followed.
Both counts are based upon alleged violations of the federal civil rights act, 42 U.S.C.A. § 1981 et seq. Particularly count I relies upon 42 U.S.C.A. § 1985, which, in part, reads as follows:
"(2) * * * if two or more persons conspire for the purpose of impeding, hindering, obstructing, or defeating, in any manner, the due course of justice in any State or Territory, with intent to deny to any citizen the equal protection of the laws, or to injure him or his property for lawfully enforcing, or attempting to enforce, the right of any person, or class of persons, to the equal protection of the laws; * * (3) * * * in any case of conspiracy set forth in this section, if one or more persons engaged therein do, or cause to be done, any act in furtherance of the object of such conspiracy, whereby another is injured in his person or property, or deprived of having and exercising any right or privilege of a citizen of the United States, the party so injured or deprived may have an action for the recovery of damages, occasioned by such injury or deprivation, against any one or more of the conspirators."
Count II relies on 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983, which reads as follows:
"Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress."
The district court denied defendants' motions for a directed verdict, for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and for a new trial.
The following is a statement of certain material facts which appear from the evidence (some of which is contradicted by defendants' evidence, which conflict was resolved by the jury's verdicts).
On September 15, 1946, when a burglary occurred at Lakeview Tool and Die Company, the defendant police officers of the City of Chicago, were assigned to Town Hall police station, where Lyons was captain and Murphy was a lieutenant. Harlib was put in charge of investigating the burglary. He went to the scene and found that, in addition to the burglary, there had been a fire. Previously there had been a similar burglary and fire at Atlas Tool and Die Company. At both of these places plaintiff had been employed. He was employed at Chicago Coil Company on September 21, 1946, when he was arrested at about 6 p. m. by Harlib and other policemen because he had a criminal record and had worked at both of the burglarized places.
When arrested plaintiff was placed in a cell and, on the next day, Sunday, he was questioned by Harlib, Haviland, and policeman Suckow, now deceased, about the Lakeview burglary, but denied knowledge of the same. On Monday he was further questioned by Harlib, Suckow, and policeman Schoeler, and given a lie detector test. Harlib, Suckow, and Schoeler went to Chicago Coil Company with plaintiff where his tool box and work bench were searched. From there they went back to Town Hall. When an attorney representing plaintiff called at the police station and stated that he represented plaintiff and wished to see him, defendant Murphy told him to "get out, that he could not see him now." Thereafter plaintiff was questioned by an assistant state's attorney and then taken to court where he was released on a writ of habeas corpus. On the same day, Thompsen, Haviland and another policeman rearrested him and took him to Town Hall. From there he was taken to Chicago Coil Company where he was questioned about some tools and struck by Harlib. He was then taken back to Town Hall and questioned in Murphy's office by Harlib, Murphy, Suckow and others and Murphy struck him and ordered that he be taken upstairs. He was taken upstairs to a gymnasium by Harlib, Haviland, Thompsen and others, and Harlib beat him with a club, Thompsen and Haviland with blackjacks, and Suckow with a sandbag to force him to confess to the burglary at Lakeview. When he collapsed, he was revived with whiskey and, when in a dazed condition, he was taken downstairs and signed papers which were typed by Haviland under the direction of Murphy who asked plaintiff questions. He did not know what the papers contained and signed them because he feared for his life. He was again taken upstairs and beaten and knew nothing thereafter until he awoke in a cell the next morning, at which time Suckow showed him the papers he had signed, among which was a purported confession. He was bruised in many places, including a broken hand and a swollen left leg. He received some whiskey for his pain but no medical attention. He was placed upon a blanket and taken to the crime laboratory on September 25th; and while on the 13th floor there, Harlib told him that if he did not repeat his confession Harlib would throw him out of the window. He was questioned by assistant state's attorney Napoli in the presence of Harlib, Haviland, Suckow and fire attorney Downes, but was not asked if he had been beaten. Later plaintiff was taken to Lyons' office in Town Hall where he signed a confession and Harlib, Suckow, Haviland and Downes signed as witnesses. He was then put in a cell until the next day when Suckow took him to a bathtub in Lyons' office, gave him an epsom salt bath, rubbed him with alcohol and helped him to shave. He changed into clean clothes brought by his wife. He was put into a cell until Friday September 27th when he was taken to Felony Court where he was bound over to the grand jury and taken to the county jail where he was examined by Dr. Lipsey, jail physician. Dr. Lipsey placed him in the jail hospital because of his injuries. X-rays revealed a broken right hand which was put in a cast and he was treated for an injured right knee and leg and body bruises. Plaintiff remained in the hospital 11 days but received medical treatment until May 9, 1947, when he was taken to the penitentiary to serve a sentence of 10 to 20 years, following an indictment and conviction of burglary in the Criminal Court of Cook County, Illinois. At his trial the confession obtained from him was admitted in evidence. While in the police station his personal property and tools were taken from his home.
On a post-conviction hearing, under § 826-832, ch. 38, Ill.Rev.Stat.1949, the Criminal Court of Cook County set aside the judgment convicting plaintiff and granted him a new trial. This order was affirmed by the Illinois Supreme Court, People v. Wakat, 415 Ill. 610, 114 N.E.2d 706, where that court in its opinion reviewed the evidence as to the alleged mistreatment of plaintiff.
On June 6, 1955, upon motion of the prosecution, the case against plaintiff was nolle-prossed and the personal property and tools of plaintiff theretofore taken from him were returned to him.
The contested issues narrow our consideration of this case. Defendants contend: (1) the plaintiff's cause of action for violation of his civil rights is barred by the Illinois statute of limitations, and (2) count I does not state a cause of action for conspiracy to deprive plaintiff of the equal protection of the laws in violation of 42 U.S.C.A. § 1985, nor does plaintiff's proof show a cause of action under said section, therefore, the verdict of the jury assessing damages under count I is erroneous and the trial court should have so held.
1. Defendants argue that "the plaintiff's cause of action * * * is barred by the Illinois Statute of Limitations."
The record shows that, by an amendment to their answer, defendants set forth that plaintiff's causes of action are barred by the Illinois statute of limitations "requiring such actions stated in the complaint of plaintiff to be filed within two years after the accrual to the plaintiff of such causes of action." (Emphasis supplied.) At the close of plaintiff's case, defendants moved for dismissal of the cause upon that ground.
In their motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict defendants urged that the claims set forth in count II were barred by the Illinois two years' statute of limitations.1
In this court defendants rely upon § 14 of the Illinois limitations act (§ 15, ch. 83, Ill.Rev.Stat.1955), reading:
Plaintiff urges that the two-year limitation does not apply to his action. He says § 15 of said act is applicable. It provides:
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Garcia v. Wilson, s. 83-1017
...the court applied the Illinois limitations statute applicable to statutory causes of action, stating: "By following the Wakat [v. Harlib, 253 F.2d 59 (7th Cir.1958),] approach of applying a uniform statute of limitations, we avoid the often strained process of characterizing civil rights cl......
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Oregon v. Elstad
...309 U.S. 227, 60 S.Ct. 472, 84 L.Ed. 716 (1940); Brown v. Mississippi, 297 U.S. 278, 56 S.Ct. 461, 80 L.Ed. 682 (1936); Wakat v. Harlib, 253 F.2d 59 (CA7 1958); People v. La Frana, 4 Ill.2d 261, 122 N.E.2d 583 (1954); cf. People v. Portelli, 15 N.Y.2d 235, 205 N.E.2d 857, 257 N.Y.S.2d 931 (......
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