Menghi v. Hart

745 F.Supp.2d 89

Jennifer MENGHI, Plaintiff,

v.Police Officer Teddy HART, individually and in his official capacity, and County of Suffolk, Defendants.

No. CV 02–1085 (WDW).

United States District Court, E.D. New York.

Sept. 30, 2010.

Daniel F. De Vita, Esq., Garden City, NY, for Plaintiff.Richard W. Young, Esq., Young & Young, Central Islip, NY, for Defendant Teddy Hart.Arlene S. Zwilling, Esq., Office of the Suffolk County Attorney, Hauppauge, NY, for Defendant County of Suffolk.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

WALL, United States Magistrate Judge:

Plaintiff Jennifer Menghi commenced this action against defendants Teddy Hart (“Hart”), in both his individual and official capacities, and the County of Suffolk (“the County”), alleging violations of her civil rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (“§ 1983”) and violations of the Drivers' Privacy Protection Act (“DPPA”), 18 U.S.C. § 2721 et seq. A jury found in favor of plaintiff on her DPPA claims and awarded both compensatory and punitive damages. Before the court are motions from both defendants for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Rule 50(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, or for a new trial pursuant to Rule 59. See County's Motion, Docket Entry (“DE”) [170]; Hart's Motion, DE [172]. In the alternative, both defendants argue that the compensatory damages award is excessive, and defendant Hart further seeks a reduction in the punitive damages award. Plaintiff has moved for an award of reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. DE [166]. For the reasons set forth herein, the Rule 50 motions are denied, the Rule 59 motions are granted in part and denied in part, and the motion for attorneys' fees and costs is granted in part and denied in part.

BACKGROUND

Familiarity with the underlying facts of this case and the previous orders of the court is assumed. In brief, plaintiff was arrested by defendant Hart, who was then a Suffolk County police officer, for driving under the influence on August 3, 1996. Subsequent to that lawful arrest, plaintiff received harassing and threatening anonymous phone calls at her home on several dates from February 1997 to January 2000. Plaintiff lodged complaints with the police, and as the result of an Internal Affairs Bureau (“IAB”) investigation, Hart was identified as the caller to Menghi and to several other women. The IAB investigation further discovered that Hart had accessed the police computers to run plaintiff's license plate through DMV on three occasions prior to her arrest. Those searches took place twice on August 3, 1995 and once on January 31, 1996. Hart resigned from the police department and pled guilty to charges of aggravated harassment, computer trespass, and official misconduct.

The complaint initially filed by Menghi on February 15, 2002, contained a claim under § 1983. She subsequently moved to amend her complaint to add the claims under the DPPA and a claim for liability against the County under Monell v. New York City Dep't of Social Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). On July 27, 2004, I issued a report recommending that the motion be granted. DE [53].¹ That report recommended a finding, inter alia, that plaintiff's claims under the DPPA were subject to a four-year statute of limitations and were not time barred. By Order dated September 13, 2004, Judge Seybert, noting that no objections had been filed, adopted the report and recommendation. Order, DE [59].

By Memorandum and Order date March 14, 2007, Judge Seybert granted in part and denied in part the County's motion for summary judgment, and denied both Hart's motion and plaintiff's cross-motion for summary judgment. (“SJ Order”), DE [119]. Of particular note, Judge Seybert found that a municipality may be held vicariously liable under the DPPA. SJ Order at 18. In addition, Judge Seybert rejected Hart's motion based on an argument that the DPPA claims were time barred, stating that the earlier ruling on the statute of limitations issue was binding on the parties. SJ Order at 9. Finally, Judge Seybert found that there were disputed issues of fact “as to whether Hart did in fact obtain Plaintiff's personal information from a state motor vehicle agency prior to and during her arrest.” SJ Order at 17. None of the parties sought reconsideration of Judge Seybert's SJ Order.

In March 2008, the parties consented to my jurisdiction for all purposes. After a jury trial conducted in October 2008, the jury found in favor of plaintiff Jennifer Menghi on her claims under the DPPA, but found for the defendants on her claims pursuant to § 1983. The jury responded “Yes” to the following questions on the Verdict Sheet regarding plaintiff's DPPA claim:

4. Did plaintiff Menghi prove that defendant Hart obtained, disclosed or used plaintiff's personal information obtained from a DMV record?

5. Did plaintiff Menghi prove that defendant Hart's obtaining, disclosing or using plaintiff's personal information obtained from a DMV record was for an impermissible purpose?

6. Did plaintiff Menghi prove that defendant Hart was acting within the scope of his employment when he obtained, disclosed or used plaintiff's personal information obtained from a DMV record for an impermissible purpose?

The jury awarded plaintiff $1,000,000 in compensatory damages. In addition, it awarded $2,000,000 in punitive damages against Hart.

The County defendant now moves for judgment as a matter of law with respect to the following: 1) the finding of municipal vicarious liability under the DPPA, 2) the finding that Hart was acting within the scope of his employment, 3) any claim regarding Hart's appearance at plaintiff's place of work is time barred, and 4) no evidence to show plaintiff suffered from Graves' disease. Defendants also move for a new trial, or alternatively, a remittitur of the damages awards.

DISCUSSION

I. Legal Standards

As permitted by Rule 50(b), both the County and Hart have renewed their motions for judgment as a matter of law made prior to verdict. “In ruling on a motion for judgment as a matter of law, a district court must consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-movant and draw all reasonable inferences the jury could have drawn.” Cweklinsky v. Mobil Chem. Co., 364 F.3d 68, 75 (2d Cir.2004). Additionally, “[a] jury verdict should be set aside only where there is ‘such a complete absence of evidence supporting the verdict that the jury's findings could only have been the result of sheer surmise and conjecture, or ... such an overwhelming amount of evidence in favor of the movant that reasonable and fair minded men could not arrive at a verdict against him.’ ” Kosmynka v. Polaris Indus., Inc., 462 F.3d 74, 79 (2d Cir.2006) (quoting Song v. Ives Labs., Inc., 957 F.2d 1041, 1046 (2d Cir.1992) (ellipsis in original) (quotations omitted)). In evaluating the motion, the court “cannot assess the weight of conflicting evidence, pass on the credibility of the witnesses, or substitute its judgment for that of the jury.” Tolbert v. Queens Coll., 242 F.3d 58, 70 (2d Cir.2001) (quoting Smith v. Lightning Bolt Prods., Inc., 861 F.2d 363, 367 (2d Cir.1988)). It is enough that this testimony was in evidence for the jury to consider. Defendants' liability turns on the jury's credibility determinations, which the Court “cannot disturb” unless the verdict was “egregious.” See James v. Melendez, 567 F.Supp.2d 480, 484 (S.D.N.Y.2008) (citing DLC Mgmt. Corp. v. Town of Hyde Park, 163 F.3d 124, 134 (2d Cir.1998)).

Rule 59 allows the court to grant a new trial on all or some of the issues “for any reason for which a new trial has heretofore been granted in an action at law in federal court.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(a)(1)(A). This standard is “less stringent” than that required for relief under Rule 50. Olsen v. County of Nassau, 615 F.Supp.2d 35, 39 (E.D.N.Y.2009). “In comparison to a Rule 50 motion, the Second Circuit has held that the standard for a Rule 59 motion is less onerous for the moving party in two ways: first, ‘[u]nlike judgment as a matter of law, a new trial may be granted even if there is substantial evidence supporting the jury's verdict.’ Second, in deciding a Rule 59 motion ‘a trial judge is free to weigh the evidence himself, and need not view it in the light most favorable to the verdict winner.’ ” Ramos v. County of Suffolk, 707 F.Supp.2d 421, 428 (E.D.N.Y.2010) ( quoting DLC Mgmt. Corp., 163 F.3d at 134). While the court may independently weigh the evidence, a motion for a new trial should only be granted if the court is convinced that the jury reached a seriously erroneous result or that the verdict is a miscarriage of justice and that the verdict is against the weight of the evidence. Manley v. AmBase Corp., 337 F.3d 237, 244–45 (2d Cir.2003) (citations omitted).

The jury found that Hart, while acting within the scope of his employment, obtained, disclosed or used plaintiff's personal information obtained from a DMV record for an impermissible purpose. The DPPA provides, in pertinent part, that “[a] person who knowingly obtains, discloses or uses personal information from a motor vehicle record, for a purpose not permitted under this chapter shall be liable to the individual to whom the information pertains.” 18 U.S.C. § 2724(a). A “person” under the statute “means an individual, organization or entity, but does not include a State or agency thereof.” 18 U.S.C. § 2725(2). “Personal information” is defined by the statute as “information that identifies an individual, including an individual's photograph, social security number, driver identification number, name, address (but not 5–digit zip code), telephone number, and medical or disability information.” 18 U.S.C. § 2725(3).

II. Defendant Suffolk County's Rule 50 Motion

The County raised four arguments in support of its Rule 50 motion: that it cannot be held vicariously liable for Hart's violations of the DPPA, that Hart was not acting within the scope of his employment,...