Ro' Broadnax Hill v. Hosington

Filing

OPINION filed : We REVERSE the portion of the district court s judgment awarding punitive damages to the plaintiff and AFFIRM the district court s conclusion that the jury verdicts were not inconsistent for the reasons set out above. This case is REMANDED for entry of judgment in accordance with this opinion, resulting in a total award of compensatory damages to Hill of $5,000. Decision not for publication. Danny J. Boggs and Karen Nelson Moore, Circuit Judges; Danny C. Reeves(AUTHORING), U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky, sitting by designation. [14-1954, 14-2014]

Case: 14-1954

Document: 44-2

Filed: 08/31/2015

Page: 1

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION
File Name: 15a0612n.06

FILED

Case Nos. 14-1954/2014
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
RO’KRISTIAN BROADNAX-HILL,
Plaintiff-Appellee/Cross-Appellant,
v.
DEPUTY HOSINGTON,
Defendant-Appellant/Cross-Appellee.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

Aug 31, 2015
DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk

ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED
STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR
THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF
MICHIGAN
OPINION

BEFORE: BOGGS and MOORE, Circuit Judges, and REEVES, District Judge.
DANNY C. REEVES, District Judge. This civil action involves an altercation between
an Oakland County, Michigan deputy sheriff and an individual who was acquitted of criminal
charges just hours before the altercation occurred. The matter proceeded to trial, resulting in a
jury verdict that did not satisfy either party. As a result, both parties appealed following entry of
a final judgment by the district court.
Because we conclude that the district court erred in allowing punitive damages for the
plaintiff’s battery claim under Michigan law, we REVERSE that portion of the judgment.
However, we AFFIRM the remainder of the judgment.



The Honorable Danny C. Reeves, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of
Kentucky, sitting by designation.

Case: 14-1954

Document: 44-2

Filed: 08/31/2015

Page: 2

Case Nos. 14-1954/2014, Broadnax-Hill v. Hosington
I.
From April 4, 2009, through August 17, 2009, Plaintiff Ro’Kristian Broadnax-Hill was
confined in the Oakland County Jail in Michigan, awaiting trial on criminal charges. On August
17, 2009, he was acquitted by a jury of all charges against him. [R. 138, Page ID # 2025]
However, Hill was not immediately released from custody. Instead, he was taken back to the
county jail for further processing.
Hill was placed in an attorney booth and instructed to wait until Defendant Deputy
Sheriff Hosington1 completed other work. [R. 137, Page ID # 1868] Obviously anxious to be
released from custody following the jury’s decision, Hill began pounding on the door and
demanding immediate action. [R. 137, Page ID # 1871] When Hosington opened the booth to
speak with Hill, Hill attempted to leave and then blocked the doorway so that it could not be
closed. [R. 137, Page ID 1906–09] A scuffle ensued as a result of this interaction. [R. 137,
Page ID # 1909–10] Hosington testified at trial that he used a take-down maneuver to take Hill
to the floor. Hill then, according to Hosington, allegedly grabbed Hosington’s leg, refusing to let
go. In response, Hosington struck Hill on the side of the head. [R. 137, Page ID # 1912–13,
1927] According to Hill, Hosington continued to punch him in the face in an attempt to free
Hosington’s leg from Hill’s grasp. [R. 138, Page ID # 2043–44] Eventually, other officers freed
Hosington’s leg and placed Hill in handcuffs. Finally, as the handcuffed Hill was being escorted
out of the attorney booth, Hosington delivered another kick, claiming that Hill was charging him.
[R. 137, Page ID # 1929–30, 2002–04]

1

Defendant Hosington is identified in the trial transcript as “Eric David Hoisington.”
[R. 137, Page ID # 1863] However, it appears that the correct spelling of his name is
“Hosington.”
-2-

Case: 14-1954

Document: 44-2

Filed: 08/31/2015

Page: 3

Case Nos. 14-1954/2014, Broadnax-Hill v. Hosington
Hill commenced this civil action against Hosington and Oakland County, Michigan,
asserting a battery claim under Michigan law and an excessive-force claim under 42 U.S.C.
§ 1983. [R. 1] Oakland County was dismissed from the case via a motion for summary
judgment and the case proceeded to trial against Hosington on these claims. After the court
instructed the jury and submitted the case to them, the parties met with the district court in
chambers to discuss the form that had been submitted for the jury’s use in returning its verdict.
During this meeting, the attorneys advised the court of the potential for the jury to be misled.
Specifically, Hosington noted that the verdict form allowed the jury to award punitive damages
independent of a finding of excessive force. Because both parties agreed that punitive damages
were not available for the battery claim under Michigan law but were available for a valid § 1983
claim, the parties agreed that regardless of the jury’s ultimate finding, punitive damages would
not be included in the judgment without a finding of excessive force. [R. 124-1, Page ID #
1511–12; R. 134, Page ID # 1622–24]
Following deliberations, the jury found Hosington liable for battery under Michigan law
but also concluded that he had not used excessive force under § 1983. [R. 134, Page ID # 1619–
20] However, based on the verdict form provided by the court, the jury awarded $5,000 in
compensatory damages and $37,500 in punitive damages, resulting in the problematic outcome
anticipated by the parties in chambers during the jury’s deliberations. [R. 112, Page ID # 1346–
47] Pursuant to the parties’ agreement, Hill submitted a proposed judgment that did not include
the punitive-damages award. [R. 114-1, Page ID # 1373–74] He also filed a motion for
judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, for a new trial, arguing that the jury’s
failure to find excessive force resulted in an inconsistent jury verdict. [R. 122, Page ID # 1471–
86]

-3-

Case: 14-1954

Document: 44-2

Filed: 08/31/2015

Page: 4

Case Nos. 14-1954/2014, Broadnax-Hill v. Hosington
The district court denied Hill’s motion as moot and entered judgment on the verdict. [R.
126, Page ID # 1533–34] However, in the final judgment, the district court concluded that under
Michigan law the plaintiff could recover both compensatory and exemplary damages for the
battery claim. According to the district court, the “punitive” damages award was actually an
award of exemplary damages. [R. 126, Page ID # 1530–32] As a result, the court determined
that the jury’s verdict was consistent. Both parties timely appealed. [R. 127; 131]
II.
Under Rule 50(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a motion for judgment as a
matter of law should be granted “only if reasonable minds could not come to a conclusion other
than one favoring the movant.” Tisdale v. Fed. Express Corp., 415 F.3d 516, 531 (6th Cir. 2005)
(quoting Williams v. Nashville Network, 132 F.3d 1123, 1131 (6th Cir. 1997)). This court
reviews de novo a district court’s determination under this Rule.
In contrast, this court reviews the denial of a party’s motion for a new trial brought
pursuant to Rule 59 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for an abuse of discretion. See Davis
v. Jellico Cmty. Hosp. Inc., 912 F.2d 129, 132–33 (6th Cir. 1990). “An abuse of discretion
occurs when the district court relies on clearly erroneous findings of fact, improperly applies the
law, or uses an erroneous legal standard.” Mike’s Train House, Inc. v. Lionel, L.L.C., 472 F.3d
398, 405 (6th Cir. 2006). A court “may grant a new trial under Rule 59 if the verdict is against
the weight of the evidence, if the damages award is excessive, or if the trial was influenced by
prejudice or bias, or otherwise unfair to the moving party.” Rush v. Ill. Cent. R.R. Co., 399 F.3d
705, 727 (6th Cir. 2005) (quoting Conte v. Gen. Housewares Corp., 215 F.3d 628, 637 (6th Cir.
2000)).

-4-

Case: 14-1954

Document: 44-2

Filed: 08/31/2015

Page: 5

Case Nos. 14-1954/2014, Broadnax-Hill v. Hosington
III.
A.

Punitive Damages

Hosington challenges the district court’s judgment awarding punitive damages.

He

contends that the parties’ stipulation that punitive damages would not be awarded absent a
finding of excessive force is controlling. Hosington also argues that the district court’s entry of
judgment was improper because punitive damages are not available for battery claims under
Michigan law.
As a threshold matter, we note that the district court was not bound by the parties’
stipulations regarding questions of law. See Neuens v. City of Columbus, 303 F.3d 667, 670 (6th
Cir. 2002) (“Issues of law are the province of courts, not of parties to a lawsuit, individuals
whose legal conclusions may be tainted by self-interest.” (internal quotation marks omitted)).
Thus, the parties’ in-chambers agreement that Michigan law does not allow punitive damages for
battery claims would not have bound the district court if their stipulation had been erroneous.
In entering judgment on the jury’s verdict, the district court found that the elements of
exemplary damages were necessarily met, based on the punitive-damages instruction given to the
jury. [R. 126] However, the jury instructions used the term “punitive” damages, and there is a
distinction between punitive and exemplary damages under Michigan law. As the Michigan
Supreme Court has explained:
In Michigan, exemplary damages are recoverable as compensation to the plaintiff,
not as punishment of the defendant. Our review of the precedent indicates that
those cases which permit recovery of exemplary damages as an element of
damages involve tortious conduct on the part of the defendant. An award of
exemplary damages is considered proper if it compensates a plaintiff for the
“humiliation, sense of outrage, and indignity” resulting from injuries
“maliciously, wilfully [sic] and wantonly” inflicted by the defendant. The theory
of these cases is that the reprehensibility of the defendant’s conduct both
intensifies the injury and justifies the award of exemplary damages as
compensation for the harm done the plaintiff’s feelings.
-5-

Case: 14-1954

Document: 44-2

Filed: 08/31/2015

Page: 6

Case Nos. 14-1954/2014, Broadnax-Hill v. Hosington
Kewin v. Mass. Mut. Life Ins. Co., 295 N.W.2d 50, 55 (Mich. 1980) (citations omitted).
Therefore, exemplary damages “are defined under Michigan law as compensatory damages.” ElSeblani v. IndyMac Mortg. Servs., 510 F. App’x 425, 431 (6th Cir. 2013). As such, they “are
never allowed . . . for the purpose of punishing or making an example of a defendant.”
Jackovich v. Gen. Adjustment Bureau, Inc., 326 N.W.2d 458, 464 (Mich. Ct. App. 1982)
(quoting Ray v. City of Detroit, 242 N.W.2d 494, 495 (Mich. Ct. App. 1976)).
By contrast, punitive damages are imposed to punish a tortfeasor’s misconduct and are
not recoverable under Michigan law in the absence of a statutory provision providing for them.
Rafferty v. Markovitz, 602 N.W.2d 367, 369–70 (Mich. 1999). The Michigan legislature has
expressly authorized punitive damages for a number of torts, but has not done so for battery
claims. See Janda v. City of Detroit, 437 N.W.2d 326, 331 (Mich. Ct. App. 1989) (recognizing
compensatory damages but not punitive damages on assault and battery claim).

Thus, in

Michigan, punitive damages are not recoverable for common-law battery claims.
Here, the trial court impermissibly treated the terms “exemplary” and “punitive” damages
interchangeably. It did not explicitly instruct the jury regarding exemplary damages (and Hill
did not request such an instruction), and no exemplary-damages line appears on the verdict form.
[R. 112] Instead, the jury instructions and the verdict form addressed only an award of punitive
damages. The instruction on this issue provided:
If you find that the Defendant is liable for the Plaintiff’s injuries, you must award
the Plaintiff the compensatory damages that he has proven. You also may award
punitive damages if the Plaintiff has proved that the Defendant acted with malice
or willfulness or with callous and reckless indifference to the safety or rights of
others. One acts wilfully [sic] or with reckless indifference to the rights of others
when he acts in disregard of a high and excessive degree of danger about which
he knows or which would be apparent to a reasonable person in his condition.
They are awarded to punish a Defendant for outrageous conduct and to detour
[sic] the Defendant and others from engaging in similar conduct in the future.

-6-

Case: 14-1954

Document: 44-2

Filed: 08/31/2015

Page: 7

Case Nos. 14-1954/2014, Broadnax-Hill v. Hosington
If you determine that the Defendant’s conduct was so shocking and offensive to
justify an award of punitive damages, you may exercise your discretion to award
those damages. In making any award of punitive damages, you should consider
that the purpose of punitive damages is to punish a Defendant for shocking
conduct, and to deter the Defendant and others from engaging in similar conduct
in the future. The law does not require you to award punitive damages. However,
if you decide to award punitive damages, you must use sound reason in setting the
amount of the damages. The amount of an award of punitive damages must not
reflect bias, prejudice, or sympathy toward any party. It should be presumed the
Plaintiff has been made whole by compensatory damages. So, punitive damages
should be awarded only if the Defendant’s misconduct, after having paid
compensatory damages, is so reprehensible as to warrant the imposition of further
sanctions to achieve punishment or deterrence. You may consider the financial
resources of the Defendant in fixing the amount of punitive damages.
[R. 139, Page ID # 2352–53] The plain language of the instruction specifically allows the jury to
award damages to punish the defendant. But as noted above, “[p]unitive damages, which are
designed to punish a party for misconduct, are generally not recoverable in Michigan,” Casey v.
Auto Owners Ins. Co., 729 N.W.2d 277, 286 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006), and exemplary damages are
not permissible for the purpose of punishment. Jackovich, 326 N.W.2d at 464.
Under Michigan law, exemplary damages would include items such as mental distress
and humiliation, which are intangible and incapable of exact pecuniary measure. They are a
form of compensatory damages. The jury’s award in this case of $5,000 as compensatory
damages for battery would have presumably included exemplary damages. Hayes-Albion v.
Kuberski, 364 N.W.2d 609, 617 (Mich. 1984); Veselenak v. Smith, 327 N.W.2d 261, 265 (Mich.
1982).
Because the jury’s award may not be properly construed to include a separate award of
exemplary damages, and because punitive damages are not permitted on battery claims under
Michigan law, the district court erred in including an award of $37,500 in the final judgment
entered in the case. We therefore will reverse that portion of the judgment.

-7-

Case: 14-1954

Document: 44-2

Filed: 08/31/2015

Page: 8

Case Nos. 14-1954/2014, Broadnax-Hill v. Hosington
B.

Inconsistent Verdict

Hill argues that the jury’s award of punitive damages necessarily resulted in an
inconsistent verdict. He contends that the jury could not have found that Hosington committed a
battery and awarded punitive damages without also concluding that Hosington used excessive
force. Stated differently, Hill does not suggest that the jury instructions led to the inconsistent
verdict. Instead, he urges the court to find that the jury failed to apply its findings uniformly to
each cause of action.
In addressing this issue, this court must first determine whether the alleged inconsistent
jury verdicts may be reconciled. See Atl. & Gulf Stevedores, Inc. v. Ellerman Lines, Ltd., 369
U.S. 355, 364 (1962) (“Where there is a view of the case that makes the jury’s answers to special
interrogatories consistent, they must be resolved that way.”); Morales v. Am. Honda Motor Co.,
Inc., 151 F.3d 500, 509 (6th Cir. 1998). While Hill is correct that a § 1983 excessive-force claim
and a battery claim overlap in the context of an arrest, they are not identical. Neither the
elements of a state-law battery claim nor the requirements for a punitive-damages award require
a finding of excessive force.
In returning a verdict against Hosington on the battery claim, the jury necessarily found
that the “Defendant wilfully [sic] and intentionally touched the Plaintiff against the Plaintiff’s
will.” [R. 139, Page ID # 2350–51] Regarding punitive damages, the jury was instructed:
You also may award punitive damages if the Plaintiff has proved that the
Defendant acted with malice or willfulness or with callous and reckless
indifference to the safety or rights of others. One acts wilfully [sic] or with
reckless indifference to the rights of others when he acts in disregard of a high
and excessive degree of danger about which he knows or which would be
apparent to a reasonable person in his condition.
[R. 139, Page ID # 2352–53] The jury was further instructed that it could exercise its discretion
to award punitive damages if it “determine[d] that the Defendant’s conduct was so shocking and
-8-

Case: 14-1954

Document: 44-2

Filed: 08/31/2015

Page: 9

Case Nos. 14-1954/2014, Broadnax-Hill v. Hosington
offensive to justify” such an award. [R. 139, Page ID # 2353] It was not required to find that
excessive force was used during the altercation.
Excessive-force claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 are analyzed under the Fourth
Amendment and its reasonableness standard. In determining whether Hosington used excessive
force, the jury was instructed to consider: (1) the extent of the injury suffered; (2) the need for
the application of force; (3) the relationship between the need and the amount of force used;
(4) the threat reasonably perceived by the responsible officials; and (5) any efforts made to
temper the severity of a forceful response. [R. 139, Page ID # 2349] The district court explained
to the jury that “[i]njuries which result from, for example, an officer’s use of force to overcome
resistance to an incident do not involve constitutionally protected interests. An officer’s use of
excessive force does not give constitutional protection against injuries that would have occurred
absent the excessive force.” [R. 139, Page ID # 2349] The jury also received the following
instructions regarding the reasonableness of the force used:
The reasonableness of a particular use of force must be judged from the
perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with hindsight. The
nature of reasonableness must allow for the fact that police officers are often
forced to make split second judgments; under circumstances that are tense,
uncertain, and rapidly evolving, about the amount of force that is necessary in a
particular situation.
The reasonableness inquiry is an objective one. The question is whether the
Defendant’s actions were objectively reasonable in light of the facts and
circumstances confronting him without regard for his underlying intent or
motivations.
If you find that Defendant’s actions were objectively reasonable, you should find
for the Defendant. If you find that Defendant’s actions were objectively
unreasonable, you should find for the Plaintiff.
[R. 139, Page ID # 2350]

-9-

Case: 14-1954

Document: 44-2

Filed: 08/31/2015

Page: 10

Case Nos. 14-1954/2014, Broadnax-Hill v. Hosington
Under the instructions given, it would be possible for a jury to determine that Hosington
committed a battery against Hill and also used excessive force in violation of § 1983 in the
course of committing the battery. However, that is not the only conclusion the jury could have
drawn from the facts presented As the Supreme Court has noted, “[n]ot every push or shove,
even if it may later seem unnecessary in the peace of a judge’s chambers, violates the Fourth
Amendment.” Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 396 (1989) (citation and internal quotation
marks omitted). Thus, a plain reading of the instructions does not support Hill’s argument that
the jury necessarily should have found that Hosington used excessive force. See Atl. & Gulf
Stevedores, 369 U.S. at 364.
No part of the jury instructions regarding battery or punitive damages prevented the jury
from finding against the plaintiff on his excessive-force claim. It was possible for a jury to
conclude that the defendant officer’s unjustified use of force constituted a battery (and could
result in an award of punitive damages if such damages had been allowed under Michigan law),
but also conclude that his actions did not constitute excessive force in violation of Hill’s
constitutionally protected rights. In short, the jury could logically find that Hosington’s battery,
while willful and not justified in carrying out his duties, was not excessively forceful under the
facts presented. Because this view of the case results in a consistent jury verdict, Hill’s argument
on this point fails.
IV.
We REVERSE the portion of the district court’s judgment awarding punitive damages to
the plaintiff and AFFIRM the district court’s conclusion that the jury verdicts were not
inconsistent for the reasons set out above. This case is REMANDED for entry of judgment in

- 10 -

Case: 14-1954

Document: 44-2

Filed: 08/31/2015

Page: 11

Case Nos. 14-1954/2014, Broadnax-Hill v. Hosington
accordance with this opinion, resulting in a total award of compensatory damages to Hill of
$5,000.

- 11 -