The plaintiffs were a family of four stopped in a remote spot on a Florida highway. The father was a suspect in a drug deal that occurred hours earlier, and that was the justification for the stop. When stopped, he readily consented to a search, and nothing was turned up. The officers kept conferring and finding other ways to search. Nothing was found, and they were ultimately released after four hours on the side of the road. In a § 1983 case tried to a jury for six days in what the judge found was an unusually “clean” trial virtually without error, the plaintiffs recovered a total of $300,000 [before attorneys fees]. McCloud v. Fortune, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5292 (N.D. Fla. January 25, 2007). This is an interesting opinion, but just the opening summary is provided here:
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL OR REMITTITUR
This § 1983 action arises from the prolonged detention of a family of four following a traffic stop on a remote highway after midnight by law enforcement officers who had evidence that the father made a drug sale earlier in the evening. The father (who was driving) readily consented to a search of the car, and officers conducted a thorough search (including with a dog). They found nothing. Officers held the father and the other family members for nearly three hours after the conclusion of the search of the car, releasing them shortly after 4:00 a.m. Holding the family members (other than the father) after completion of the search of the car was lawful if and only if they consented. After a full and fair trial, the properly instructed jury found that they did not consent and awarded both compensatory and punitive damages. Defendants have moved for a new trial or alternatively for remittitur of the punitive damages awards. Because the verdict was fully consistent with the weight of the evidence and the jury’s assessment of damages was reasonable, I deny the motion.
The Eastern District of Arkansas, after a two day court trial, entered an order in an excessive force case awarding the plaintiff $558,000. The officer testified that he was arresting a misdemeanant prone to flee, and a struggle ensued where the officer had to use his baton against the plaintiff, but the plaintiff got the baton away from him and advanced on him so he fired his .357 from 3-4′ away. The court credited the testimony of the plaintiff, corroborated by the medical testimony that plaintiff was shot in the back near the spine and the exit wound was in his stomach. This use of force was objectively unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Medicals were $186,000, and pain and suffering was calculated at twice that, $372,000. Cooperwood v. Wages, No. 4:05CV00902 JLH (E.D. Ark. January 25, 2007).* (Update and Comment: Since this was first posted, I have talked to defense counsel (because we have a case together, too), and he said that the defense evidence that supported the plaintiff coming at the officer with the baton which appears in admissions in the medical reports and elsewhere were not even mentioned in the opinion, so the findings will get less deference on appeal, which there definitely will be.)
Plaintiff was a certified boiler maintenance worker for the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), and he came to work one day and went to an empty building to use the bathroom. Inside the building, he was confronted by CMHA police who ignored he was working where he belonged, pushed him up against a wall, searched him, peppersprayed him, and left him laying face down in the snow for 45 minutes with pepperspray in his eyes. Their motion to dismiss was denied in part. His excessive force claim was not contested in a F.R.C.P. 12(b)(6) motion. Fuller v. Cuyahoga Metro. Hous. Auth., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5387 (N.D. Ohio January 25, 2007).
Officers had defendants under surveillance for marijuana distribution for a long time and had conducted a “sneak and peak” search [which itself necessarily had to be based on probable cause] that did not reveal marijuana but did reveal some incriminating evidence that added to their investigation. The officers saw bags being transferred to cars from a truck and warehouse. They had sufficient suspicion for a stop. United States v. Prentice, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5211 (W.D. Wash. January 24, 2007).
No reasonable expectation in a drain spout where a street corner dealer doing hand to hand sales kept his stash. United States v. Lewis, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5192 (N.D. Va. January 24, 2007).
(Many cases today; more later.)
