Lewis v. Cowen

979 F. Supp. 99, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16302, 1997 WL 613070
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedJune 17, 1997
DocketCiv. No. 2:91CV432 (TPS)
StatusPublished

This text of 979 F. Supp. 99 (Lewis v. Cowen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lewis v. Cowen, 979 F. Supp. 99, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16302, 1997 WL 613070 (D. Conn. 1997).

Opinion

RULING ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR A NEW TRIAL AND/OR REMITTITUR AND DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR JUDGMENT AFTER TRIAL

SMITH, United States Magistrate Judge.

I. DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR A NEW TRIAL AND/OR REMITTITUR

Defendants’ opposition to the size of the verdict in this ease can be boiled down to but a few complaints. First, they maintain that the compensatory damages awarded were excessive because a.) the evidence of plaintiffs emotional distress was insufficient, and b.) the evidence of plaintiffs economic losses was insufficient. Second, defendants claim the punitive damages awarded here amount to a “windfall” for the plaintiff that “shocks the conscience.”

A. Applicable law

1. New trials

The ordering of new trials and remittitur issues are governed by Rule 59 of the Fed.R.Civ.P. A new trial may be granted where the verdict is against the weight of the evidence. See Piesco v. Koch, 12 F.3d 332 (2d Cir.1993). New trials may also be granted under Rule 59 where the jury verdict is excessive. See Tingley Systems, Inc. v. Norse Systems, Inc., 49 F.3d 93 (2d Cir. 1995). The moving party, however, bears “a heavy burden of convincing the court that the jury has reached a seriously erroneous result or that its verdict is a miscarriage of justice.” Manes v. Metro-North Commuter R.R., 801 F.Supp. 954, 956 (D.Conn.) aff'd 990 F.2d 622 (2d Cir.1993) (quoting Purnell v. Lord, 952 F.2d 679, 685 (2d Cir.1992)) (internal quotations omitted). And “[t]he authority to grant a new trial ... is confided almost entirely to the exercise of discretion on the part of the trial court.” Allied Chemical Corp. v. Dai[102]*102flon, Inc., 449 U.S. 33, 36, 101 S.Ct. 188, 191, 66 L.Ed.2d 193 (1980).

2. Punitive damages

The purpose of punitive damages is to punish the defendants and/or deter similar conduct in the future. See Pacific Mutual Life Ins. Co. v. Haslip, 499 U.S. 1,19-20, 111 S.Ct. 1032, 1044, 113 L.Ed.2d 1 (1991). “Although there is no mathematical formula to compute punitive damages, such an award must bear a reasonable relationship to a plaintiffs injury and defendant’s malicious intent.” Getty Petroleum Corp. v. Island Transp. Corp., 862 F.2d 10, 14 (2d Cir.1988) (citations omitted). “[BJecause neither compensation nor enrichment is a valid purpose of punitive damages, an award should not be so large as to constitute ‘a windfall to the individual litigant.’ ” Vasbinder v. Scott, 976 F.2d 118, 121 (2d Cir.1992) (quoting Aldrich v. Thomson McKinnon Sec., Inc., 756 F.2d 243, 249 (2d Cir.1985)). An award of punitive damages should be “reversed only if it is ‘so high as to shock the judicial conscience and constitute a denial of justice.’” Hughes v. Patrolmen’s Benevolent Ass’n, 850 F.2d 876, 883 (2d Cir.l988)(quoting Zarcone v. Perry, 572 F.2d 52, 56 (2d Cir.1978)).

B. The compensatory damages award

Defendants characterize the $1,028,196 compensatory damages award in this case as “utterly unsupported by the evidence.” This, in the court’s view, is inaccurate and unfair.

1. Emotional distress, humiliation and injury to reputation

Despite defendants’ position to the contrary, evidence of medical attention is not required to support a claim of emotional distress in § 1983 actions. Miner v. City of Glens Falls, 999 F.2d 655, 662-63 (2d Cir.1993). Thus, based on plaintiffs testimony, and the corroborating testimony of his wife, the jury may have properly concluded plaintiff was entitled to compensatory damages for his emotional distress. Jurors also may have factored in the injury to plaintiffs reputation and the humiliation he endured when he was fired for exercising his First Amendment rights.1 See Henry v. Gross, 803 F.2d 757, 768 (2d Cir.1986) (“It is a basic principle of tort law in general, and of civil rights law in particular, that compensable injuries may include not only monetary losses such as out-of-pocket expenses but also injuries such as ‘personal humiliation’ and ‘mental anguish’.”) (quoting Memphis Community School District v. Stachura, 477 U.S. 299, 306-08, 106 S.Ct. 2537, 2543, 91 L.Ed.2d 249 (1986)); see also Bemheim v. Litt, 79 F.3d 318, 325-26 (2d Cir.1996) (impairment of one’s reputation is legally cognizable harm in § 1983 First Amendment retaliation claim); Stolberg v. Bd. of Trustees, 474 F.2d 485, 488 (2d Cir.1973) (injury to reputation compensable in First Amendment cases). A compensatory award based upon emotional distress, humiliation and injury to reputation, if proved, is not an award of “presumed” damages, as defendants allege. See generally Carey v. Piphus, 435 U.S. 247, 98 S.Ct. 1042, 55 L.Ed.2d 252 (1978). Therefore, to the extent the award here was based upon these factors, it is amply supported by the evidence and there is no reason whatever to set it aside or reduce it.

2. Back pay and other economic losses

Dr. Richard Martin, an economist, testified that plaintiff sustained $514,098 in economic losses. Defendants allege that Dr. Martin’s calculations were based upon a faulty assumption, i.e., “that plaintiff would remain employed by the State through February of 1992.”2 Memorandum in Support of Defendants’ Motion For New Trial [Document No. 149] at 8. And they appear to contend that jurors were not entitled to consider Dr. Martin’s calculations because “[p]laintiff was an at-will employee who could be terminated at any time, for any reason,” and therefore had no reasonable expectation [103]*103of remaining employed through February of 1992. Id.

The Second Circuit has heard and rejected this argument before. See Sagendorf-Teal v. County of Rensselaer, 100 F.3d 270, 276 (2d Cir.1996). In Sagendorf-Teal, the court noted that employees—even those who may be discharged with or without cause—“may not be discharged in violation of [their] First Amendment rights, and will be entitled to redress for such a violation.” Id. More specifically, the court stated that

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Related

Carey v. Piphus
435 U.S. 247 (Supreme Court, 1978)
Allied Chemical Corp. v. Daiflon, Inc.
449 U.S. 33 (Supreme Court, 1980)
Harlow v. Fitzgerald
457 U.S. 800 (Supreme Court, 1982)
Connick Ex Rel. Parish of Orleans v. Myers
461 U.S. 138 (Supreme Court, 1983)
Memphis Community School District v. Stachura
477 U.S. 299 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Anderson v. Creighton
483 U.S. 635 (Supreme Court, 1987)
Pacific Mutual Life Insurance v. Haslip
499 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1991)
Ervan Purnell v. Elaine A. Lord, Walter E. Kelly
952 F.2d 679 (Second Circuit, 1992)
Nancy Denny and Robert Denny v. Ford Motor Company
42 F.3d 106 (Second Circuit, 1994)

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Bluebook (online)
979 F. Supp. 99, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16302, 1997 WL 613070, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lewis-v-cowen-ctd-1997.