Josh Brewington v. Ben Keener, 902 F.3d 796

Background

On Aug. 26, 2014, Brewington was stopped after an alleged Walmart theft, handcuffed, and seated; Deputy Ben Keener arrived and kicked Brewington in the face without provocation, knocking out teeth. Keener later resigned, was fired by the County, and pled guilty to third‑degree battery.
Brewington sued Sheriff Steve Jeffery and Deputy Keener (official and individual capacities) under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Arkansas Civil Rights Act, and state tort law, alleging excessive force and that the Sheriff’s Office maintained an unwritten custom condoning force against fleeing suspects.
The County declined to defend Keener in his individual capacity; Keener did not appear and default judgment was entered against him; the district court held a bench trial on damages and awarded compensatory and punitive damages against Keener and reduced attorneys’ fees.
The district court granted summary judgment to Sheriff Jeffery and Keener in their official capacities (Monell claim), finding no municipal policy or widespread custom and no causation; it also granted Sheriff Jeffery qualified immunity on failure‑to‑train grounds.
On appeal, Brewington challenged official‑capacity summary judgment, qualified immunity for Jeffery, the causation standard applied to dental damages, and the reduction in attorneys’ fees.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Municipal liability (official capacity) — whether County had policy/custom causing violation	Brewington: despite written policy, Sheriff’s Office had unwritten custom encouraging assaults on fleeing suspects; Sheriff Jeffery was final policymaker	County/Jeffery: written policy prohibits force; plaintiff’s evidence (two prior incidents and hearsay) is inadequate to show a pervasive custom or policy	Affirmed: summary judgment for County — evidence insufficient to show widespread, well‑settled custom or final‑policymaker action; hearsay inadmissible
Qualified immunity for Sheriff Jeffery — failure to train/supervise claim	Brewington: Sheriff failed to train/supervise, allowing pattern of beatings and officer non‑intervention	Jeffery: no notice of pattern; single incident(s) insufficient to establish deliberate indifference	Affirmed: qualified immunity — no evidence of pattern or notice required to deny immunity
Causation standard for compensatory dental damages	Brewington: lower court misapplied causation; argues egg‑shell plaintiff so full dental relief warranted	Jeffery/County: but‑for causation required; preexisting dental disease means some injuries not caused by kick	Affirmed: bench correctly required but‑for causation; expert testimony did not establish that Keener’s kick was but‑for cause of all dental work requested
Attorneys’ fees reduction	Brewington: district court abused discretion reducing fee request from $41,920 to $16,500; reductions disproportionate to identified duplication	County: duplicative billing, excessive email billing, and limited success justify reduction	Affirmed: no abuse of discretion — court reasonably reduced fees given duplication and limited success

Key Cases Cited

Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658 (municipal liability requires policy or custom)
City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378 (failure‑to‑train analysis for municipal liability)
Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424 (lodestar and reduction for limited success in fee awards)
Andrews v. Fowler, 98 F.3d 1069 (requirement that pattern be pervasive to establish custom)
Corwin v. City of Independence, Mo., 829 F.3d 695 (elements to prove municipal custom liability)
Szabla v. City of Brooklyn Park, Minn., 486 F.3d 385 (when a municipal policy itself is unconstitutional)
Butler v. Dowd, 979 F.2d 661 (but‑for causation for § 1983 injuries)
Smith v. Watkins, 159 F.3d 1137 (two complaints insufficient to establish municipal custom)
Livers v. Schenck, 700 F.3d 340 (elements for supervisory liability/notice for pattern)