Rаymond T. PRYER, v. C.O. 3 SLAVIC; C.O. 1 Cook; C.O. 1 Prorock; C.O. 1 D. Bursey, Appellants.
No. 00-3297.
United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.
May 30, 2001.
Argued Oct. 26, 2000.
Jere Krakoff, Cathy Bissoon (argued), Reed, Smith, Shaw & McClay, LLP, Pittsburgh, PA, Attorneys for Appellee.
Before MANSMANN, ALITO, and FUENTES, Circuit Judges.
OPINION OF THE COURT
FUENTES, Circuit Judge:
Appellee, Raymond T. Pryer, a state prisoner, filed a civil rights action against a number of prison guards claiming that they had assaulted him in two separate incidents. A jury found that some of the guards had acted reasonably but found four others liable and awarded Pryer $1.00 in damages. Thereafter, the District Court, on its own motion, ordered a new trial, limiting its scope solely to the issue
We will affirm the District Court‘s order for a new trial. However, because the issues of liability and damages were so intertwined as to make a fair trial on damages alone impossible, we will reverse and remand for a new trial on all issues.
I.
Pryer brought this action under
A.
The relevant facts established at trial are as follows. On September 15, 1990, the day of the first incident, Pryer was in the prison exercise yard when hе began arguing and fighting with another inmate. Prison guards broke up the fight and handcuffed Pryer, then transferred him to the Restricted Housing Unit (“RHU“) where he was placed in the custody of Officers Balzer, Caponi, Weaver, Bogonovich, and Beck.
According to Pryer, these officers began beating him in the hallway near the RHU while admitting him to the cellblock. Pryer testified that, without provocation and while in handcuffs, these five officers punched him with fists, struck him with nightsticks, kicked him repeatedly while he was lying on the ground, and eventually knocked him unconscious. Further, Pryer testified that, as a result of the incident, he suffered bruises, welts, and abrasions. In contrast, Balzer testified that, when Pryer was brought to the RHU, his handcuffs were removed as a preliminary step to a strip search. According to Balzer, Pryer then began screaming and punched Balzer in the face. Balzer testified that he, Weaver, and Caponi used force to subdue Pryer. He said that the officers eventually strip-searched Pryer and placed him in a cell.
The next incident took place on Septembеr 27, 1990 as Pryer was being searched before going outside for exercise. While being searched, Pryer complained that Officer Wilson, who was conducting the search, had improperly fondled his buttocks, so he requested that another guard complete the search. That request led to an exchange of words and, according to Pryer, Wilson punched him in the face. Officers Caponi and Bursey then began beating Pryer with their fists and batons,
At this point, according to Pryer, while he was on the floor, Slavec ordered his subordinates to stop hitting Pryer, and he handcuffed Pryer‘s hands behind his back. Shortly thereafter, all of the officers continued the beating. Pryer was then dragged outside the building, and led to an elevator that would take him to the third floor of the RHU. He claims that Officers Prorock, Bursey, Caponi, and Slavec subjected him to additional beatings inside the elevator and along the walkway on the third floor. He said that, at the entrance to the third floor cells, Officers Cameron, Tokarski, Jefferson, Ciesielski, Jacobs, and Cook met him with a barrage of nightstick blows and that Primm and Trunick also participated.
According to Pryer, Officers Slavec, Bursey, Cook, and other guards then led Pryer into an isolation cell where they continued the beatings. There, Slavec jammed a nightstick into his eye and ordered the others to break his hands and legs. The officers then held Pryer down to the cell floor, and struck his hands and legs with nightsticks. Cook also jumped from a cell bed onto Pryer‘s stomach, and Cameron and Jacobs used a stun gun on him.
Pryer introduced medical records to prove his injuries. He testified, without dispute, that two bones on his left hand and three on his right hand were broken; his lower left leg was fractured in two places; he was bleeding from the mouth; he urinated blood; his body was covered with bruises; and he had welts on his face, bumps on his head, a swollen eye, and split lips. Further, Pryer testified that, as a result of the incident, he received stitches to his head and lower left leg аnd his left leg was put in a cast.
Although not all of the officers testified during the trial, their version of the events differed markedly from Pryer‘s testimony. According to the officers, Pryer had initiated the second incident by punching Wilson in the face and Caponi in the head. Wilson testified that he had used his baton on Pryer five to ten times, aiming below Pryer‘s left knee. Bursey testified that Pryer struck him as well. According to the officers, Pryer was forcibly resisting a search and had to be subdued, ultimately by the use of mace, then stripped and searched by the guards.
At the close of evidence, the District Court, on its own motion, entered a directed verdict in favor of eleven officers: Beck, Bogonovich, Bedilion, Cameron, Primm, Tokarski, Clarke, Jefferson, Ciesielski, Jacobs, and Trunick. In so ruling, the court stated that Pryer had “failed even to mention some of [the guards during his testimony], and in other respects his evidence rose no higher than [that the guards] were simply present at the scene but were not identified as having caused him any harm in any way.” Pryer objected to this ruling at trial, but does nоt raise it here on appeal. The trial judge‘s ruling left a total of eight officers for the jury‘s consideration.
The judge then instructed the jury on the principles governing Eighth Amendment prison excessive force claims. However, on the issue of damages, the court only informed the jury that Pryer would be entitled to compensation for all injuries that were proximately caused by the officers’ conduct. The court did not instruct the jury as to what kinds of injuries were compensable under
After deliberating for a little over five and a half hours, the jury found in favor of four guards (Balzer, Capоni, Weaver, and Wilson), but returned a general liability verdict against the other four (Slavec, Cook, Prorock, and Bursey).
The jury awarded $1.00 in nominal damages and no compensatory or punitive damages.
B.
On March 10, 1999, the District Court, on its own motion, vacated the damages award and ordered a new trial against Slavec, Cook, Prorock, and Bursey limited to the issue of damages. In its written decision, the court held that the jury‘s verdict on damages was against the weight of the evidence and that a new trial was “necessary to avoid a miscarriage of justice.” Additionally, the court ruled that its instructions to the jury as to both compensatory and nominal damages were, respectively, inadequate and legally erroneous. Specifically, the court recognized that it had erred “by failing to instruct the jury that it could consider plaintiff‘s pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life in affixing compensatory damages.” The court also held that, given Pryer‘s undisputed proof of actual injury, an instruction on nominal damages was inappropriаte. Notably, the judge did not state any reasons for limiting the second trial to the issue of damages.
C.
On February 22, 2000, after appointing counsel to represent Pryer, the court commenced the second trial.2 This trial focused only on the damages caused by the second incident.3 The court began the trial by reading a stipulation of facts and a summary of the medical records describing Pryer‘s injuries. Pryer then testified at length against Slavec, Cook, Prorock, and Bursey, and he provided detailed testimony regarding the nature and extent of his injuries. At several times during the course of the trial, the District Court precluded defense counsel from arguing that Pryer‘s injuries were apportionable among the various officers, some of whom were no longer defendants in the action. On March 3, 2000, the court issued a detailed written explanation for this ruling, which relied primarily on the principles of joint and several liability, and indivisible harm, found in the
On March 13, 2000, the defendants moved for a new trial on the issue of damages or, in the alternative, to reduce the amount of the verdict on the grounds that the court had erroneously instructed the jury that the four officers were responsible for all injuries sustained in the course of the incident. The motion was denied. The four officers now appeal the District Court‘s order of a new trial limited solely to damages and the court‘s ruling preclud-
II.
The District Court exercised jurisdiction over this case under
A.
We first conclude that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in ordering a new trial. A trial court is empowered to order a new trial on its own initiative “for any reason that would justify granting one on a party‘s motion.”
Generally, “damages are available under [
In his written opinion, the District Judge recognized that he had erroneously instructed the jury on nominal damages and failed to inform it of the availability of compensatоry damages for pain and suffering. Pryer plainly testified as to both the subjective and physical manifestations of injuries he sustained as a result of the incident on September 27, 1990. Pryer further supported this testimony with objective medical records. The guards, however, neither introduced evidence to dispute that Pryer had, in fact, suffered these injuries, nor challenged their nature, extent, and seriousness. Given this evidence, the District Court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that an award of only
We also agree with the trial judge that his charge did not fairly and adequately instruct the jury as to the applicable law on damages, and thus, did not provide the guidance necessary for a determination of an appropriate award. “The standard of review for the district court‘s ruling on points for charge is... abuse of discretion.” Link v. Mercedes-Benz of N. Am., Inc., 788 F.2d 918, 922 (3d Cir. 1986). Where a jury charge is alleged to have stated an incorrect legal standard, “we will review the charge as a whоle in the light of the evidence to determine if it fairly and adequately submitted the issues to the jury and we will reverse if the instructions were capable of confusing and thereby misleading the jury.” Griffiths v. CIGNA Corp., 988 F.2d 457, 462 (3d Cir. 1993) (citation omitted).
In
B.
Notwithstanding this result, the guards claim that, because the issues of liability and damages were so closely interrelated, the new trial should have been extended to all issues. The guards infer from the first verdict that the jury had not completely accepted Pryer‘s version of the facts, and thus, they accuse the trial court of substituting its judgment for the jury‘s findings by effectively holding the four remaining officers responsible for all injuries.
Pryer, however, contends that the guards were well aware before the commencement of the second trial that testimony would be elicited about the underlying incident. Moreover, he notes that the guards did not make a motion in limine or other objection during the second trial, and in fact fully participated in the development of the trial record, including the drafting of certain stipulated facts and the presentation of conflicting testimony and evidence about the events of September 27, 1990. Thus, according to Pryer, the District Court properly permitted both parties to present evidence concerning liability to the extent that such evidence was relevant to the issue of damages, thereby eliminating any threat of injustice.
District courts are authorized to grant new trials as “to all or any of the parties and on all or part of the issues.”
In the seventy years since the Gasoline Products decision, we have steadfastly applied this standard “to prevent limited new trials where a tangled or complex fact situation would make it unfair to one party to determine damages apart from liability, or where ‘there is reason to think that the verdict may represent a compromise among jurors with different views on whether defendant was liable.‘” Vizzini v. Ford Motor Co., 569 F.2d 754, 760 (3d Cir. 1977) (citing 6A Moore‘s Federal Practice ¶ 59.06, at 59-89 (1973) and quoting 11 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2814, at 96 (1973)). See, e.g., Simone v. Golden Nugget Hotel and Casino, 844 F.2d 1031, 1041 (3d Cir. 1988) (affirming new trial order on all issues for false imprisonment claim where jury “would first have to find at what points the unlawful detention began and ended,” and it would additionally have to assess defendant‘s conduct in determining whether punitive damages were warranted); Spence v. Board of Educ. of the Christina Sch. Dist., 806 F.2d 1198, 1201-02 (3d Cir. 1986) (affirming new trial order on all issues where plaintiff‘s claim for emotional distress damages had to be evaluated in light of all circumstances surrounding alleged misconduct, and because plaintiff sought punitive damages, which required presentation to jury of all facts leading up to alleged adverse employment decision).
By contrast, where the error on appeal requiring a new trial related peculiarly to the damages portion of the trial only, and did not implicate the jury‘s liability verdict, we have permitted a new trial limited only to the issue of damages. See, e.g., Wagner v. Reading Co., 428 F.2d 289, 291-93 (3d Cir. 1970) (remanding for new trial on damages after holding that exclusion of plaintiff‘s evidence of wage records, which related only to damages issue, was prejudicial error).
A review of the first trial‘s transcript plainly reveals that the incident on September 27 involved a “tangled or complex fact situation.” Both sides vigorously contested liability. Pryer presented, in addition to himself, two other inmates who witnessed portions of the incident, while seven correctional officers testified on behalf of the defense. Pryer also introduced uncontroverted testimonial evidence and objective medical records to substantiate his extensive injuries resulting from the beating. Based upon the evidence adduced at trial, Pryer‘s injuries could be attributed to the guards’ reasonable use of force, their excessive use of forcе, his own actions, or some combination of these several factors. Moreover, while the first jury may have concluded that each of the guards in the present appeal used excessive force against Pryer, it is far from clear that Pryer‘s injuries cannot be apportioned based upon the nature and extent of his injuries, who was involved, and where the alleged beatings took place.5
In short, the factual backdrop establishing the respective culpabilities of the various guards and Pryer himself is entangled within the assessment of the severity of Pryer‘s injuries. At its core, Pryer‘s claim is that he was the victim of excessive force at the hands of several officers—and this cast of officers changed from scene to scene in the RHU much like the cast in a multiple-act play. In such a case, a jury assessing damages must know the precise factual context in which Pryer‘s injuries arose and who caused those injuries. Thus, this is a classic example of where a new trial on all issues is required under the Gasoline Products standard.
Moreover, the probability that the verdict was tainted by compromise also leads us to favor a new trial on all issues.6 In
On this record, there is no reasonable basis for concluding with assurance that the questions of liability and damages were so separable that the jury‘s determination on one issue had no bearing on its determination on the other. Simply put, it is not “clearly apparent that the issue [of damages] is so distinct and separable from the [issue of liability] that a trial of it alone may be had without injustice.” Pryer essentially argues that this error was cured by the parties’ conduct during the second trial. However, this puts the cart before the horse as we must confine our review to the record before the District Court at the time when it made the decision to limit the trial solely to damages. Thus, neither the evidence subsequently introduced at the second trial, nor the higher verdict, are relevаnt. See, e.g., Stanton, 718 F.2d at 577 n. 43 (“[W]e may not take this second, higher verdict into account in deciding whether the district court abused its discretion in limiting that new trial to damages.“).
Unlike a situation in which a discretionary ruling resulting in prejudice to a party is cured by a cautionary instruction during the trial, the unfairness to the guards oc-
interpreted to mean that the first verdict did not have the hallmarks of a compromise.
Therefore, we conclude that the District Court erred in limiting the scope of the new trial solely to damages. The proofs Pryer submitted, upon which the finding of liability rests, necessarily form the foundation for the award of damages. There was no conceivable fashion by which a second jury could fairly evaluate thе extent of Pryer‘s damages without also fully appreciating the manner in which the force, both reasonable and excessive, gave rise to his injuries. Under the Gasoline Products standard, the guards are entitled therefore to a new trial on all issues, including liability, causation, and damages. See, e.g., Atkins v. New York City, 143 F.3d 100, 104 (2d Cir. 1998) (ordering new trial on all issues because issue of liability was close and vigorously contested, and verdict on damages was inconsistent with facts adduced at trial).
III.
For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that, while the District Court properly ordered a new trial after the first jury‘s nominal damages award, it erred in limiting the scope of the trial solely to damages. Accordingly, we will reverse the District Court‘s order granting a new trial and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
MANSMANN, Circuit Judge, concurring in part, and dissenting in part.
Following an initial trial, despite an erroneous nominal damage award, Pryer had won something important: He had vindicated his constitutional rights by obtaining the formal determination of a jury that the savage beating аdministered to him by Appellants was wrongful. Under the majority‘s ruling, that determination is taken away, even though no one contends that it was the product of any error. Solely because the guards benefitted from an erroneous instruction that contributed to an inadequate damages determination, the majority now holds that they must be accorded a further windfall by giving them a second bite at the liability issue. I respectfully dissent.1
I.
At the outset, it appears that the majority has failed to apply the appropriate standard of review. In Vizzini v. Ford Motor Co., 569 F.2d 754 (3d Cir. 1977), we first enunciated the scope of review to be applied in determining the appropriateness of an order limiting a new trial to damages. See id. at 760 (“[T]he standard we apply on review is whether, viewing the circumstances as a whole, it was consistent with the sound exercise of discretion for the trial judge to limit the new trial to the issue of damages.“); see also Stanton, 718 F.2d at 576 & n. 42 (observing that “the only question is whether
The majority acknowledges the abuse of discretion standard, but it applies a de novo standard, reversing the trial court because this court is led to “favor a new trial on all issues” due to this court‘s inability to understand why the jury awarded only nominal damages. Supra at 456. I recognize that under Gasoline Products it must “clearly appear” that a partial retrial may be had without injustice.3 Nevertheless, I believe that the required clarity is for the trial judge, whose view should prevail even if the issue is less than clear to us as a reviewing court.
There is good reason to commit such matters to the sound discretion of the trial court. The trial court has seen all of the evidence first-hand. It has ruled on motions, instructed the jury, and overseen the conduct of trial. In short, the trial court has lived with and thought about the case for a considerable period, and so is in an advantageous position to determine what will or will not overtax the jury‘s discernment. We, on the other hand, upon review of a cold record, cannot be expected to achieve the same mastery of every nuance of the casе. It is hardly surprising that, where a trial judge is justly assured that issues are separable, the matter may appear less clear to a reviewing court.
The majority seeks to justify its departure from our established standard of review, and its consequent substitution of its discretion for that of the trial judge, by invoking two purported exceptions: First, the majority asserts that no deference is due “where a trial court fails to explain its grounds for exercising discretion, and its reasons for doing so are not otherwise apparent from the record“. Supra at 453 n. 4. However, the District Court‘s reasons for limiting the second trial to damages are made abundantly clear in its opinion: As the Court explained, “a new trial is appropriate on the issue of damages because the court failed to properly instruct the jury on damages” (by, inter alia, giving an unwarranted nominal damages instruction), and because the resulting nominal damages award was against the weight of the evidence. Implicit in the Court‘s recital of errors in the damages instruction and award was its recognition that there was no error in the liability instructions or verdict.4 Ordinarily, the
Second, the majority asserts that the District Court‘s grant of a partial retrial “turns on the application of a legal precept to the evidence“. Supra at 453 n. 4. The majority does not identify what “legal precept” it deems controlling. The due process and fairness concerns set forth in Gasoline Products clearly speaks to discretion, and we (and other courts) have always considered its application to be an exercise of discretion, rather than a legal determination. The majority‘s cryptic invocation of the “legal precept” exception, without identifying a controlling question of law, threatens to eviscerate the abuse of discretion standard: potentially, every exercise of discretion may be subjected to plenary review at the whim of the reviewing court by pointing out that some “legal precept” is somehow involved. By substituting its judgment for that of the District Court (in which the discretion is intended to be reposed) on the basis of such ill-considered, amorphous exceptions, the majority has fundamentally altered our standard of review, effectively overruling sub silentio our decision in Vizzini and Stanton.
Rather than reversing whenever we cannot be sure that the issues are separable, I would uphold the trial court‘s exercise of discretion unless we could say with some assurance, based upon clearly identified factors in the record, that the issues are not separable.6 Because the majority‘s opinion in this case does not identify a record basis for overriding the District Court‘s discretion, it effectively leaves no discretion. This result is contrary to the purpose of the Gasoline Products rule in that it will preclude even justly limited retrials, thereby thwarting judicial economy and unduly burdening plaintiffs who have already fairly obtained a favorable liаbility verdict. See Wheatley, 637 F.2d at 867-68 (noting that where defendant has had a fair trial on the issue of liability it would be “grossly unfair to plaintiff, as well as contrary to the spirit of F.R. 59, to require a retrial of the question of defendant‘s culpability” solely because the jury did not properly consider damages) (internal quotation marks omitted).7
II.
In deciding whether a new trial on damages alone would be unjust, it is not enough simply to observe that issues con-
Nevertheless, it is clear that in many cases damages may justly be tried apart from liability. Such separate trials are a common occurrence, both ab initio and on retrial.9 See Rosa, 278 F.2d at 882 (observing that “[f]ederal appellate and district courts have time and again ordered new trials as to damages only“). See generally Propriety of limiting to issue of damages alone new trial granted on ground of inadequacy of damages—modern cases, 5 A.L.R. 5th 875 at § 4 (1993) (providing extensive citations to cases where “new trial was required upon damages only, since defendant‘s liability was supported or established by the evidence and there was no necessity to retry the liability issue“).
Assessment of the degree to which facts concerning liability and damages are interrelated seems a quixotic venture with little direct bearing on the justice or injustice of separate trials; and it does not lead to any workable standard. A more serviceable approach is to consider whether there is something about how the interrelationship unfolded at trial that would make separation of the issues on retrial unjust. Courts have focused on two aspects in particular: whether the jury‘s erroneous treatment of damages infected its determination of liability, and whether it appears that the verdict on liability and damages together represents a compromise. See, e.g., Olsen v. Correiro, 1995 WL 62101, at *4 (D. Mass. Feb. 3, 1995) (observing that in determining “interwoven” test “some courts ask whether the invalidity of the jury‘s reasoning as to one part of the verdict could have ‘infected’ their reasoning as to the other part” and that “[a] variation on the ‘infection’ inquiry is the ‘compromise verdict’ inquiry, under which a court asks... whether... an inadequate damages award reflected the jury‘s ambivalence about its finding of liability“).
The first test, then, is whether the error which undermined the damages verdict also corrupted the liability verdict. Apropos of this standard, we have held that “if the error compelling the reversal relates solely to the damage question, the new trial will be restricted to that question.” Rosa, 278 F.2d at 883. Moreover, we have consistently recognized the propriety of partial new trials “in those cases where it is plain that the error which has crept into one element of the verdict did not in any way affect the determination of any other issue.” Vizzini, 569 F.2d at 760 (quoting Romer v. Baldwin, 317 F.2d 919, 922-23 (3d Cir. 1963)) (additional citations omitted).
Here, there is no suggestion that the erroneous instructions or reasoning which necessitated retrial as to damages had any bearing on the liability verdict. The finding of liability was amply supported by the evidence, and Appellants have not assigned any error with respect thereto. I do not
It is with respect to the second test for unfairness—the “compromise verdict” inquiry—that I must part ways with the majority. Appellants never took the position, either before the District Court or in briefing before this Court, that the liability verdict represented a compromise.10 Ordinarily an appellate court will not reverse a trial court on grounds not asserted by the parties. Nevertheless, the majority opines that “the verdict most likely represented a compromise among jurors with differing views on whether the correctional officers were liable“, because the majority is “unable to understand” why the jury would otherwise return an award of $1.00 despite Pryer‘s uncontested evidence of injuries. Supra at 457.
A compromise vеrdict results when jurors resolve their inability to make a determination with unanimity as to liability by finding inadequate damages. As the majority correctly observes, we have previously held that a limited new trial is unjust where the verdict is “obviously the result of compromise” on questions of liability and damages. Id. (citing Rosa, 278 F.2d 876).11 To avoid undue interference with the trial court‘s discretion to limit a retrial, we have required trial on all issues only where the compromise is “obvious“. See Rosa, 278 F.2d at 883.12 This standard is in keeping with the practices of our sister Courts of Appeals.13 It is not enough that the damage award is inadequate, or nominal.14 Rather, the compromise must be evident from other factors of record.15 Where the presence of compromise is doubtful, a new trial on liability is not
Here the presence of a compromise is certainly not obvious. That the jury was able to find some of the initial defendants liable and others not clearly demonstrates its ability to assess and distinguish conduct, and to adjust its liability findings accordingly. And unlike some of the cases relied upon by the majоrity, the jury in this case did not simply “split the difference” between the parties’ positions in arriving at a damages figure. Measured against the extent of the beating and injuries inflicted on Pryer, an award of $1 hardly seems a “compromise“.17
The majority does not point to any factors suggestive of compromise, other than the purportedly inexplicable deficiency in damages. But that deficiency is readily explained by the District Court‘s erroneous instructions. One need not reach out in search of speculative alternative explanations where the very reason for the new trial was the court‘s acknowledgment of its erroneous instructions on damages. To all appearances, the reason for the jury‘s nominal damages award was the court‘s erroneous instruction on that very issue, and not that the jury did not mean what it said as to liability.18 In Rosa, we found that an inadequate damages verdict was not indicative of compromise where the inadequacy was apparently due to erroneous evidence and instructions.19 Numerous cases are in accord.20 In the present case, we should similarly decline to presume that the liability verdict was a product of compromise.21
Appellants have raised the possible apportionment of Pryer‘s injuries in a separate assignment of error, contending that the trial court improperly prevented the jury in the second trial from considering whether some or all of the injuries resulted from the conduct of guards who were absolved of liability in the first trial. If Appellants’ contention were correct, they would be entitled to a new trial on damages, in which they could attempt to assign responsibility for particular injuries to the other guards. They would not, however, be entitled to revisit the question of their own liability.
Appellants’ contention on apportionment turns on whether the evidence in the second trial would allow a non-speculative attribution of particular injuries to particular causes. The majority addresses this issue only in passing. While it does opine that “it is far from clear that Pryer‘s injuries cannot be аpportioned“, this comment appears to be part of its discussion of the first trial. See supra at 456.22 Whether such an apportionment was supported by the evidence in the first trial is of no moment, since the majority has agreed with the District Court that the damages verdict was tainted by erroneous instructions that necessitated a new trial.
The issue properly before us concerns whether apportionment was proper on the record before the jury in the second trial (not whether the first jury could or did apportion damages). As to that issue, Appellants had the burden of providing a record basis for non-speculative attribution of particular injuries to particular causes.23 Appellants do not attempt to parse the record to show how such a determination could be made; nor does the majority. Appellants merely point out (and the majority repeats) that one non-liable guard admitted to beating Pryer on the leg which was broken. But this was only one beating in a long-running melee that included other assaults to the same leg. It appears that any conclusion that one guard‘s conduct was the sole cause of that injury would be speculative.
As the District Court held,
The evidence in this case clearly established that plaintiff suffered a single indivisible injury caused by multiple blows inflicted by multiple guards. There is no logical, reasonable or practical basis to apportion his pain, suffering... between the blows inflicted by the four
indication that the liability instructions were unclear; that the jury deliberations were over-long; that liability evidence was lacking; that the jury asked questions evincing uncertainty; or that Pryer, an incarcerated felon, was a particularly sympathetic plaintiff. Compare Vizzini, 569 F.2d at 761 (requiring full retrial where liability evidence was “very thin” and jury‘s failure to agree on damages after two full days of deliberations indicated that deliberations were affected by liability issues).
defendants and the blows inflicted by the other guards, or to attribute such injuries to the blows inflicted by any particular guard. Any attempt to do so would be purely arbitrаry.
Mem., March 3, 2000, at 6. Because nothing in Appellants’ submission or the majority‘s opinion convinces me that the court‘s analysis was incorrect, I would uphold its refusal to allow the jury to speculate as to apportionment of Pryer‘s damages.
Notes
In addition, unlike the dissent, we do not believe that the guards’ attorney made any statement at oral argument that may fairly be
An example of the appropriate level of deference may be found in Stanton, where we reversed the partial retrial only because a “great deal of evidence” in the record “strongly suggested” a compromise verdict, based on two objective factors: a comparison of the verdict amount to the evidence that provided a “compelling indication” of compromise, and the jury‘s answers to “special questions” that “apparently absolved [the defendant] of liability“. Stanton, 718 F.2d at 576-78 & n. 45. As discussed in Part II, below, no such compelling objective factors are present here.