Bryan Cooper v. Paul Morales

535 F. App'x 425
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit·Decided July 15, 2013·No. 10-50771·Unpublished·Cited by 6 cases

Opinions

PER CURIAM: *

In this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action based upon an “excessive punishment” violation of the Eighth Amendment, Plaintiff-Appellant Inmate Bryan Cooper (“Cooper”) appeals the district court’s grant of Defen-danL-Appellee Corrections Officer Juan Trevino’s (“Trevino”) motion for judgment as a matter of law (“JMOL”), which set aside a jury verdict of $30.00 in compensatory damages and $3,500.00 in punitive damages and granted a new trial. Because we hold that there was a sufficient factual basis for a reasonable jury to find for Cooper and the verdict was not against the great weight of the evidence, we REVERSE the district court’s grant of JMOL [427] and conditional grant of the motion for a new trial. We REMAND for reinstatement of the jury verdict and entry of judgment in favor of Cooper.

I.

In a § 1983 civil rights complaint against Officer Trevino and other prison officials, Bryan Cooper alleged that Officer Trevino assaulted him, violating his Eighth Amendment right to be free from excessive punishment. Cooper testified that on December 31, 2007, as Officer Trevino escorted Cooper to the medical department (“Medical”) to receive a dose of his twice-daily insulin shots, Trevino bumped Cooper repeatedly against a fence as they walked. Cooper did not allege that this bumping caused him any injury. Cooper testified that once they arrived at Medical, an infirmary officer directed Trevino to escort Cooper to the side so that two other inmates then inside Medical could be escorted out. Cooper testified that while Trevino was moving him out of the way of the other two inmates, Cooper gave his inmate number to an infirmary officer, as requested. Then, Cooper testified, Trevino “grabbed [him] and slammed [him] to the floor.” Cooper testified that Trevino claimed Cooper had jerked away from Trevino’s grasp, which Cooper denied. Next, Trevino helped Cooper off the floor before placing him face-first against the wall, pressing his own body behind Cooper. Cooper testified that after Trevino moved him toward the inner door, Trevino told Cooper he was refusing insulin (presumably due to his behavior).

Cooper lay down on the floor to avoid being removed before receiving his insulin shot. Trevino then got on top of Cooper, using his own body to hold Cooper to the floor, and placed his riot baton behind

Cooper’s neck to hold Cooper’s head to the floor. Cooper testified that Officer Robert Cantu1 held his legs while Cooper was pinned to the ground. The officers then helped Cooper to his feet, and faced him against the wall again. After that, Cooper was taken into Medical and given his insulin shot by Nurse White before being escorted back to his cell. Later in the day, Cooper started experiencing pain. He was taken back to Medical, and then to a nearby hospital, where he was diagnosed with two fractured ribs and a dislocated elbow, which x-rays later confirmed.

Trevino’s testimony differs from Cooper’s in many respects. Trevino testified that Cooper was difficult to manage on the escort to Medical and that he called out racial epithets at Trevino. Cooper tried to avoid Trevino’s grip several times, in violation of security protocol. When Cooper succeeded in breaking Trevino’s grip, Trevino testified that he followed protocol and faced Cooper to the wall and told him that failure to “cut it out” would be viewed as an insulin refusal. When Cooper continued to be difficult and loud Trevino started to escort Cooper out of Medical, at which point, Cooper lay down on the ground. From there, Trevino got on top of Cooper to restrain him, consistent with procedures. Trevino testified that he and another officer helped Cooper to his feet. Then Trevino took Cooper into Medical, where he received his insulin shot. Trevino testified that he then took Cooper back to his cell.

Cooper subsequently sued Texas Department of Criminal Justice (“TDCJ”) employees, alleging excessive force in violation of the Eighth Amendment and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The district court granted summary judgment as to several TDCJ [428] defendants. Only the claims against Trevino proceeded to trial. Before the case was submitted to the jury, the district court denied Trevino’s motion for JMOL. The jury found for Cooper and awarded him $30.00 in compensatory damages and $3,500.00 in punitive damages. Specifically, the jury held that Trevino subjected Cooper to excessive punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment and that Trevino was not entitled to qualified immunity. After trial, Trevino filed a renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law and, in the alternative, a motion for a new trial. The trial court granted JMOL for Trevino and conditionally granted his alternative motion for a new trial. Cooper has timely appealed, seeking reinstatement of the jury verdict. He argues that the district court abused its discretion in granting Trevino’s motion for JMOL.

The district court had federal question jurisdiction over Cooper’s claim under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1343(a)(3). This court has appellate jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291.

II.

We review a district court’s ruling on a motion for judgment as a matter of law de novo. Burch v. Coco-Cola Co., 119 F.3d 305, 313 (5th Cir.1997). In deciding motions for judgment as a matter of law, the district court applies the standard established in Boeing Co. v. Shipman, 411 F.2d 365 (5th Cir.1969) (en banc), overruled in part on other grounds, Gautreaux v. Scurlock Marine, Inc., 107 F.3d 331, 336 (5th Cir.1997) (en banc), and on appeal from such decisions, this court applies the same Boeing standard. Allied Bank-W., N.A. v. Stein, 996 F.2d 111, 114 (5th Cir.1993). The district court’s burden in granting judgment as a matter of law is heavy. Id. Boeing directs us to:

consider all of the evidence — not just that evidence which supports the non-mover’s case — but in the light and with all reasonable inferences most favorable to the party opposed to the motion. If the facts and inferences point so strongly and overwhelmingly in favor of one party that the Court believes reasonable men could not arrive at a contrary verdict, granting of the motions is proper.

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Bryan Cooper v. Paul Morales, 535 F. App'x 425 (5th Cir. 2013).

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