State v. Hall

411 N.E.2d 366, 78 Ind. Dec. 309, 1980 Ind. App. LEXIS 1698
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 24, 1980
Docket3-679A169
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 411 N.E.2d 366 (State v. Hall) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Hall, 411 N.E.2d 366, 78 Ind. Dec. 309, 1980 Ind. App. LEXIS 1698 (Ind. Ct. App. 1980).

Opinion

ON PETITION FOR REHEARING

CHIPMAN, Judge.

We originally dismissed this appeal on May 27, 1980, for failure to timely comply with Indiana Rules of Procedure, T.R. 59(C), since the record indicated the Motion to Correct Errors was filed sixty-one (61) days after judgment was entered by the trial court. In the Petition for Rehearing, the State alleges:

“The opinion of this Court is erroneous in that the motion to correct errors was placed in the United States mail, return receipt requested on February 27, 1979, and. by operation of T.R. 5(E) is deemed filed on that date. The motion to correct errors was incorrectly file-marked for February 28, 1979, the date on which the pleading was received by the Clerk.”

Our opinion was not erroneous on the basis of the record before us. To the contrary, the State erred in failing to provide us with an adequate and correct record. Bullock v. State, (1978) Ind.App., 382 N.E.2d 179. 1 Nonetheless we grant the State’s petition for rehearing.

The appellant State of Indiana appeals a $12,000 judgment against it and in favor of the appellee Roy Hall on Hall’s malicious prosecution and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 2 claims arising from traffic citations for his overweight truck. The State has objected to several of the trial court’s rulings. We affirm.

The State has raised the following issues:
1. Whether the trial court erred in not granting the appellants’ motion for directed verdict.
2. Whether the trial court erred by admitting into evidence a Hobart City Court order.
3. Whether the trial court erred by admitting into evidence a photograph of the weighing station.
4. Whether the trial court erred in stating the Justice of the Peace was “a representative of the State of Indiana” in the presence of the jury.

FACTS

The evidence most favorable to Hall shows he was driving his tractor-trailer truck on Interstate 65 on November 19, 1970. His truck was loaded with two steel coils weighing 49,650 pounds. Appellant State Police Officer Robert Bonwell was suspicious about the weight of the truck and stopped Hall. The maximum weight limit for trucks was 72,000 pounds with a 1,000 pound tolerance allowance for weight increases due to accumulations of rain, snow and mud on the truck.

Hall’s tractor and trailer had been weighéd empty on several occasions between July 9, 1970, and November 9, 1970. During this period the truck was found to weigh 22,520 pounds, 22,660 pounds, 23,360 pounds and 21,100 pounds. When Hall picked up the steel coils on November 19, 1970, the truck was not weighed at U. S. Steel. The roads were dry that day.

*369 Bonwell escorted Hall to a permanent weighing station near Merrillville. The station building at the scales was in poor condition and the driveway around the scale had chuckholes and was uneven. Lights inside the scale building were inoperable and a flashlight and matches were used to read the scale. Bonwell informed Hall his truck weighed 76,000 pounds and was, therefore, overweight by 4,000 pounds.

During the weighing, Hall and Carl Sem-anick, a weighmaster accompanying Bon-well, became involved in a verbal altercation ending with Hall telling Semanick to shut his mouth or he would hit him. At this point Bonwell stepped in and stopped the altercation.

Weighmaster Semanick did not weigh Hall’s truck, Bonwell did. The weighing station was equipped with a mechanical imprinter device which printed the weight of each axle when a ticket was inserted. Although this imprinter is usually used in weighing trucks, it was not used on this occasion.

Bonwell testified he was uncertain as to the accuracy of the weight given by the permanent scale since he had trouble fitting one of the axles on the scale. He requested portable scales and they were brought out to him by Officer Dillon who was unhappy about being called out that evening. Bon-well told Hall according to the portable scales his truck weighed 74,160 pounds, but Hall was not allowed to see the weights on the individual scales. Bonwell also failed to produce at trial the informational arrest sheet for this arrest which would have shown the weights per axle.

The accuracy of portable scales is affected by the evenness of the surface upon which the weighing is done. In this case the weighing was done on a non -level surface containing many chuckholes.

Hall was cited for being over gross weight by law and for being over registered weight. Hall requested his truck be weighed on the more accurate platform scale in nearby Lowell, Indiana where the entire tractor trailer could be weighed at one time. Bonwell denied Hall’s request and Hall refused to sign the ticket agreeing to appear in court at a later date. He was then taken before a Justice of the Peace and bond was set at $500. Since Hall could not post bond he was placed in jail where he remained for two days until his wife could secure the necessary funds.

Hall’s truck was impounded when he was arrested and it remained impounded for approximately six months. Hall had the case venued to the Hobart City Court which later issued an order to reweigh the truck. This order was never carried out. Eventually the charges were dismissed pursuant to a “Watt’s” motion 3 and Hall was able to regain possession of his truck.

On November 17, 1972, Hall sued the State of Indiana, Bonwell and several other involved officers. Several theories were advanced including malicious prosecution and violation of civil rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. At the trial, a directed verdict was granted in favor of all of the defendants except Bonwell, who signed the citation, and his principal, the State of Indiana. The case went to the jury on the malicious prosecution and § 1983 theories. The jury returned a general verdict against the State in the sum of $12,000.

I. THE TRIAL COURT’S FAILURE TO GRANT A DIRECTED VERDICT

The appellants argue § 1983 does not apply to states; there was insufficient evidence to support a verdict against the State or Bonwell under either theory; and they should have been granted a directed verdict. With regard to the first assertion the appellants are correct. Meyer v. State of New Jersey, (3rd Cir. 1972) 460 F.2d 1252 held states can not be sued for monetary damages under § 1983. See also Edelman v. Jordan, (1974) 415 U.S. 651, 94 S.Ct. 1347, 39 L.Ed.2d 662. Nor can states be sued under § 1983 on the theory of respondeat superior. Monell v. Department of Social Services of City of New York,

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Bluebook (online)
411 N.E.2d 366, 78 Ind. Dec. 309, 1980 Ind. App. LEXIS 1698, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-hall-indctapp-1980.