New Federal Excessive Force Lawsuit Filed in the Northern District of West Virginia
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Category Archives: Governmental Liability
Seabolt Case Settled
We settled the Seabolt v. Vensel, et al. case late last week. The settlement amount was $135,000.00.
Media Reports:
Charleston Gazette on Saturday:
Man to get $135,000 over alleged battery by Parkersburg officer
“I first became involved with civil rights issues in Parkersburg in June of 2010,” Bryan said after the settlement was reached. “With this settlement, I sincerely believe that these issues will not be coming up again. We’ve been through three years of federal court litigation, three six-figure settlements, two jury trials and two trips to the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
“I’ve interacted with local leaders, police officers, citizens, local lawyers and Charleston defense lawyers, and I believe everyone is on the same page regarding Parkersburg’s future — which means that my time in Parkersburg has probably come to an end.
“Joshua Vensel is a good person who made one mistake. I uncovered no evidence of any prior acts of excessive force by him. In the end, he did right by Mr. Seabolt, and I have no doubt he will go on to lead a successful life. Lastly, I want to thank my co-counsel Michele Rusen and my opposing counsel Jim Muldoon for being great lawyers who are not afraid to do the right thing,” he said.
Parkersburg News and Sentinel:
$135k settlement reached in brutality lawsuit
WTAP:
Seabolt Settles in Lawsuit Against Parkersburg (also includes video of the incident)
WV Record:
Sawyer Case Media Reports
There was a nice article on the front page of the Charleston Gazette this morning about the Sawyer Case.
Ruling Against Wood Deputy in Assault Stands
“Today the citizens of West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia North Carolina and South Carolina have more constitutional protections than they did yesterday,” John Bryan, Sawyer’s attorney, wrote in a statement.
“As a result of today’s ruling, which affirmed the District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, law enforcement officers will be taught to treat people differently, and that if they fail to do so, there will be consequences. Because of Brian Sawyer, and the federal court system, millions of people have more freedom. And that is something I am very proud of.”
There was also an article in the Parkersburg newspaper:
Asbury Judgment Upheld on Appeal
Well, off to another trial this morning.
ETA: We won the property dispute trial. We have been very blessed to have streak of wins in WV state-law easement disputes. Although they might seem boring, they are quickly becoming one of my favorite types of cases, second only to civil rights cases. I do enjoy interesting criminal cases. However, I do not enjoy the stress of gambling with someone’s liberty. I much rather prefer property rights or money. The worse case scenario is never the end-of-the-world.
Also an article in the WV Record:
Fourth Circuit Affirms Goodwin’s Ruling in Wood County Civil Rights Case
Victory at the Fourth Circuit
We won the Sawyer case at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The audio from the oral arguments is one post down. Here is the opinion. I have been unable to discuss the case for about a year. Obviously, this is what has been happening. I believe this is, and will be, a very important decision. Although there was no new law created, this has greatly clarified, explained, and set the course, for future excessive force litigation and instruction.
Our Brief:
West Liberty University Students Complain of Excessive Force by the Charleston PD
In the Charleston Gazette today, there is an article detailing excessive force complaints by West Liberty University students against the Charleston Police Department. First sentence of the article: the mayor is speaking out to the media, defending the officers and essentially denouncing the complaints as lies. The article contains numerous statements from the police, as well as the mayor, and has statements from numerous university officials and students who witnessed the incident.
The students and university officials have every right to voice their outrage about what happened. However, the mayor was wrong to make statements to the media, only a couple of days after the incident occurred, denouncing the complaints as lies. There obviously has been no legitimate internal investigation of the complaints, and certainly no independent or unbiased investigation. In my experience, when a mayor comes out and speaks to the media, they are worried.
Excessive Force Lawsuit Filed Against Fayette County, WV Deputies
Media Reports:
CHARLESTON – Four Fayette County deputies are accused of beating up a disabled man and later dropping him off at his home without providing him any medical treatment.
Nicholas D. Hall, Robert V. Neal, James K. Sizemore and Dana C. Wysong are named as co-defendants in a five-count civil rights suit filed by Matthew Cole in U.S. District Court. In his complaint filed Dec. 13, Cole, 37 and an Ansted resident, alleges all four beat him without provocation when they responded to a domestic violence call to his cousin’s house two years ago, only to then have Wysong return him to his mother without either explaining his injuries or seeking treatment for them.
. . .
Sawyer v. Asbury defendants asking the 4th Circuit to stop the trial
I know that many people have been following this case, so here is an update. On Monday I was ordered by the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to respond to a Petition for Writ of Prohibition filed by the defendants in the Sawyer v. Asbury 1983 excessive force case. The new jury trial on damages is scheduled for next week. I was given until yesterday to respond. Unless the Fourth Circuit says otherwise we are having a trial on Tuesday. Here is our response:
(Yes I did this in two days, so please excuse any mistakes)
Judgment as a matter of law was just granted in Sawyer 1983 case
Unfortunately we lost at jury trial. But we just received an order from the Federal Judge overturning the jury verdict and granting judgment in our favor. There will be a new trial to determine damages. Yes!
Update: Link to newspaper article.
2nd Update: Gazette article by Zac Taylor. Some excerpts:
In his order filed Friday afternoon, Goodwin recalled the Los Angeles riots in 1991, sparked after a jury acquitted Los Angeles police officers in the beating of Rodney King despite video footage of the incident.
“The public had seen the tape. The Los Angeles riots ensued,” Goodwin wrote in the order. “Here and now, as there and then, the jury did what they thought was right but simply got it wrong.”
The judge said that law enforcement officers are constitutionally prohibited from inflicting “unnecessary and wanton pain and suffering” on detainees. He said that case law also prohibits officers from using physical force in response to chatter from detainees.
. . .
“The video clearly shows Deputy Asbury punching Mr. Sawyer in the face,” Goodwin wrote, “with the force of his blow knocking Mr. Sawyer’s face to the side.”
. . .
Asbury resumed choking Sawyer. The deputies then took Sawyer to the floor, went out of view for the camera for a short period before returning, and leaving the man on the floor, Goodwin said.
Sawyer stayed on the floor while the officers apparently went on with other tasks, Goodwin said. After a while, Sawyer managed to sit up. He was later taken to the hospital with a fractured nose.
. . .During the trial, Sawyer’s lawyer, John H. Bryan, asked the judge to make a ruling on the case based on the video. Goodwin said that he had “grave concerns” that the testimony of the officers involved contradicted the footage.
“I said in response to the motion that I was reminded of the Marx Brothers’ ‘Duck Soup’ movie, in which the heiress confronts Chico Marx dressed as Groucho and says ‘I saw’, and he replies ‘Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?’ ” the judge wrote.
TV News article.
The Order:
Sawyer case going to trial on 1983 excessive force claim
Today we received the Judge’s memorandum opinion and order denying the defendant’s motion for summary judgment, finding that the defendant police officer is not entitled to qualified immunity on our primary claim. This means that we are going to have a jury trial, which is scheduled for later this month.
West Virginia Excessive Force Litigation Update: Sawyer Case
We are currently litigating the defendants’ motion for summary judgment in Sawyer v. Asbury, et al. Our response contains a fairly thorough walkthrough of excessive force law for most types of excessive force claims. Of course this is tailored to the 4th Circuit as much as possible. But the law is similar throughout all of the circuits.
Two of the exhibits: