Joshua Montano v. Orange County Texas
2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 21378
| 5th Cir. | 2016Background
- Pretrial detainee Robert Montano was held ~4.5 days in a glass observation cell (the “bubble”) in Orange County Jail for being incoherent; staff believed (but never confirmed) he was on "bath salts."
- Detainee monitoring was minimal: LVNs (no on-site RNs), intermittent physician supervision (visiting weekly or less), infrequent vital-sign checks, suicide- screening omissions, and paper on the bubble that impeded viewing when Montano lay down.
- Montano ate/drank little, exhibited signs later identified with renal failure, and asked for help shortly before being found unresponsive; staff delayed entry and EMS by ~20 minutes; he was pronounced dead of acute renal failure.
- Plaintiffs sued Orange County under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for (a) unconstitutional condition of confinement (de facto policy of leaving incoherent detainees in the bubble), (b) episodic acts/omissions, and (c) custom of failing to meet basic human needs; jury found liability on the first two theories and awarded survival and wrongful-death damages.
- District court granted JMOL (Rule 50(a)) for the county as to wrongful-death damages but denied JMOL on the unconstitutional- condition claim and survival (pain) damages; denied the county’s renewed Rule 50(b) and alternative Rule 59 motion. Fifth Circuit affirmed most rulings but vacated the JMOL on wrongful-death damages and remanded.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Existence of unconstitutional condition (de facto policy of leaving incoherent detainees in the bubble) | County had a custom/practice of isolating incoherent detainees in the bubble "until coherent or a physician visited," contrary to written 4–8 hour guideline; uniform staff testimony established pervasive practice. | No established policy; isolated incidents only; lack of evidence of other deaths from the practice. | Jury verdict on condition upheld: evidence (uniform testimony, deviation from written policy, repeated practice) permitted inference of a de facto policy. |
| 2. Whether the de facto policy was unrelated to a legitimate governmental interest | Policy (long holds) served no legitimate interest given procedural limits (72-business-hour release order) and lack of demonstrated security rationale for long detention without care. | Practice was tied to security and detainee safety (legitimate interests). | Any-evidence standard satisfied: record contained evidence permitting juror to find the policy was not reasonably related to a legitimate governmental objective. |
| 3. Causation & entitlement to survival (pain) damages and sufficiency/amount of $1.5M award | Montano conscious at times, yelled for help, showed signs of renal failure; delay/inaction caused pain; jury may infer conscious suffering and set damages under Texas law. | Montano may have been unconscious or not in pain; bath-salts theory undermines causation and survivability; $1.5M excessive. | Denial of JMOL on pain damages affirmed: sufficient circumstantial evidence of conscious pain; award did not shock the conscience. |
| 4. Wrongful-death damages — whether JMOL for county was proper (causation under Texas wrongful-death law) | County’s unconstitutional policy and resulting omission were a substantial factor in causing death; county’s closing concessions (admitting death was caused by lack of medical care/negligence) establish causation. | Plaintiffs did not prove county’s de facto policy caused death; death may have been inevitable or due to bath salts. | JMOL against wrongful-death damages vacated: county made binding judicial admissions in closing that satisfied Texas causation standard; remanded for entry of amended judgment. |
Key Cases Cited
- Unitherm Food Sys., Inc. v. Swift-Eckrich, Inc., 546 U.S. 394 (court may defer ruling on Rule 50 motion at close of evidence)
- Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133 (JMOL standard; view evidence in light most favorable to nonmovant)
- Shepherd v. Dallas Cty., 591 F.3d 445 (de facto policy may be inferred from pattern of acts/omissions in jail medical-care context)
- Hare v. City of Corinth, 74 F.3d 633 (en banc) (framework for deliberate indifference and de facto policy in pretrial detainee claims)
- Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520 (pretrial detainees' rights and legitimate government interests in detention practices)
- Duvall v. Dallas Cty., Tex., 631 F.3d 203 (government action that serves no legitimate purpose violates detainee rights)
- Pluet v. Frazier, 355 F.3d 381 (survival damages causation standard distinction from wrongful death)
- Park Place Hosp. v. Estate of Milo, 909 S.W.2d 508 (Texas causation standard for wrongful-death and survival claims)