Pulliam v. Shelby County

902 F. Supp. 797, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15082, 1995 WL 590868
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Tennessee
DecidedJune 15, 1995
DocketNo. 92-2354 M1/BRE
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 902 F. Supp. 797 (Pulliam v. Shelby County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pulliam v. Shelby County, 902 F. Supp. 797, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15082, 1995 WL 590868 (W.D. Tenn. 1995).

Opinion

ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR JNOV, NEW TRIAL, REMITTITUR AND DENYING MOTION TO STRIKE

McCALLA, District Judge.

Before the court is defendants’ motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or for a new trial and, alternatively, for remittitur, filed May 9, 1994. The court conducted a hearing on assignment of error 11 on February 21, 1995. For those reasons stated herein, defendants’ motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, for a new trial, and/or for remittitur is DENIED. Also, the motion to strike, filed September 13, 1994, is DENIED.

Defendants allege 16 assignments of error:

1. Plaintiff failed to prove his ease by a preponderance of the evidence in that he failed to show that there was deliberate indifference on the part of Sheriff A.C. Gilless in his individual capacity;
2. The court erred in failing to grant qualified immunity to Sheriff A.C. Gilless in his individual capacity;
3. The plaintiff failed to prove his ease by a preponderance of the evidence as to Sheriff A.C. Gilless in his official capacity in that he failed to prove that Sheriff Gil-[800]*800less was deliberately indifferent to his safety needs or his serious medical needs;
4. The plaintiff failed to prove his case by a preponderance of the evidence in that he failed to establish a causal connection between the alleged conditions of his confinement and the subsequent attack and injuries;
5. The plaintiffs proof as to A.C. Gil-less in his official capacity adduced at trial was against the greater weight of the evidence and, therefore, was legally insufficient to send to the jury;
6. The plaintiff failed to prove his case by a preponderance of the evidence that what Sheriff Gilless and Shelby County did, or failed to do, in response to the Consent Order altered the outcome of the event(s);
7. The record is entirely void of any evidence to support the necessary findings that Shelby County deprived the plaintiff of rights, privileges or immunities secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States since plaintiff has relied on alleged violations of the Consent Order in Gilland v. Owens;
8. The court erred in exercising its discretion pursuant to Rule 403 of the Federal Rules of Evidence by barring testimony of a prior felony conviction and other convictions of plaintiff for crimes involving moral turpitude of dishonesty which were probative on the issue of plaintiffs credibility;
9. The court abused its discretion in refusing to permit counsel to cross-examine the plaintiff as to specific instances of past conduct probative of truthfulness or untruthfulness for the purpose of attacking his credibility;
10. The damages awarded the plaintiff were excessive and should be reduced because the jury acted out of passion and the award was not supported by the evidence;
11. The court erred in failing to instruct the jury that plaintiffs compensatory damages must be discounted to their present value and thus the compensatory damages awarded to plaintiff are excessive;
12. Plaintiff failed to introduce evidence sufficient upon which to base an award of punitive damages against defendant A.C. Gilless;
13. The court erred in barring the testimony of Ms. Kathy Canerdy whose testimony was proffered and who would have testified about the reputation of plaintiffs character for truthfulness or untruthfulness;
14. The Judge had a preconceived idea of defendants’ liability in this case before it went to trial as evidenced by comments made at the pretrial conference and comments made or actions taken during the course of the trial;
15. The court erred in imposing Rule 37 sanctions against the defendants by barring testimony of the classification and housing procedures beyond what had been provided in response to discovery requests; and
16. The court erred in imposing Rule 37 sanctions against the defendants barring testimony or evidence on housing of inmates in effect on or about December 17 through December 27, 1991.

When viewing a motion for new trial, the court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the party who obtained the jury verdict. Igo v. Coachmen Industries, Inc., 938 F.2d 650, 655 (6th Cir.1991) (quoting Portage II v. Bryant Petroleum Corp., 899 F.2d 1514, 1523 (6th Cir.1990)). Such a motion should be denied if the verdict is one that reasonably could have been reached, even though a trial judge might reach a different conclusion if the trial judge were the trier of fact. Wayne, et al. v. Village of Sebring, et al., 36 F.3d 517, 525 (6th Cir.1994).

The standard for a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict is the same as that for a directed verdict: a directed verdict is proper where there is a “complete absence of pleading or proof on an issue or issues material to the cause of action or where there are no controverted issues of fact upon which reasonable men [or women] could differ.” Rockwell International Corporation v. Regional Medical Services, 688 [801]*801F.2d 29 (6th Cir.1982). In determining whether to grant a directed verdict, the court must “view the evidence in the light most favorable to the party against whom the motion is made, and give that party the benefit of all reasonable inferences.” Wayne, 36 F.3d at 525.

The court will address defendants arguments starting with the first assignment of error. Defendants assert that plaintiff failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that there was deliberate indifference on the part of Sheriff Gilless in his individual capacity. However, when viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to plaintiff, the proof shows that Sheriff Gilless was deliberately indifferent to plaintiffs rights. Plaintiff testified that he, as a pre-trial detainee, was placed in a pod with post-trial detainees; that he had a medical condition which required that he be placed on the medical floor; and that he was denied adequate exercise and recreation. The testimony further showed that Sheriff Gilless was aware, because of a prior class action decision by this court, Gilland v. Owens, 718 F.Supp. 665 (W.D.Tenn.1989) (finding unconstitutional conditions at the Shelby County Jail), that placing pre-trial and post-trial detainees together in jail not only violated the 14th Amendment rights of the pre-trial detainees, but also created a dangerous situation; and further, the proof shows that Gilless was aware that medical services at the jail were inadequate. Yet, Sheriff Gilless, vested with the authority and responsibility to correct the unconstitutional conditions, failed to do so.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
902 F. Supp. 797, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15082, 1995 WL 590868, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pulliam-v-shelby-county-tnwd-1995.