Opinion ID: 203690
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Civil penalties in comparable cases

Text: Under the final BMW guidepost, we consider the difference between the punitive damages awarded by the jury and the civil penalties authorized or imposed in comparable cases. [16] State Farm, 538 U.S. at 428, 123 S.Ct. 1513. In discussing this guidepost, the Supreme Court has asked reviewing courts to accord deference to legislative judgment about the appropriate sanction for the conduct at issue. BMW, 517 U.S. at 583, 116 S.Ct. 1589. In the case of section 1983, however, Congress did not address damage awards; therefore, we compare the present award with awards we have permitted in similar section 1983 suits. Davis, 264 F.3d at 117 (citing Zimmerman v. Direct Federal Credit Union, 262 F.3d 70, 82 (1st Cir. 2001)). While we look first to authorities within our own circuit, we are not confined to such sources. See BMW, 517 U.S. at 584, 116 S.Ct. 1589 (considering statutes from various jurisdictions); Romanski, 428 F.3d at 646, 648 (looking outside circuit case law). Although Méndez-Ayala argues that this Court has upheld far larger punitive awards, the facts in those cases differ in critical respects from the facts here. For example, we have affirmed large punitive awards where the plaintiff suffered significant physical injury. In Davis, where we affirmed a punitive damages award of over $1 million, the plaintiff was thrown to the ground and repeatedly punched in the head. Davis, 264 F.3d at 94; see also Casillas-Diaz, 463 F.3d at 86. Where we have approved large awards in the absence of violence, the conduct at issue was typically intentional or malicious, such as discrimination. See, e.g., Rivera-Torres v. Ortiz Velez, 341 F.3d 86, 102 (1st Cir.2003) (affirming a punitive award of $250,000 for politically motivated discrimination); Zimmerman, 262 F.3d at 83-84 (affirming an award of $400,000 for violations of state discrimination law); Romano, 233 F.3d at 673 (affirming an award of $285,000 for violations of Title VII and state law). In contrast, our case law provides no guidance for determining what penalty is appropriate for engaging in a non-violent violation of the Fourth Amendment. Outside our circuit, similar cases have resulted in punitive awards under $100,000. See, e.g., Dean v. Olibas, 129 F.3d 1001, 1007 (8th Cir.1997) (affirming an award of $70,000 for malicious prosecution); Lee, 101 F.3d at 813 (reducing a punitive award from $200,000 to $75,000 for malicious prosecution). The only case upholding a substantially larger punitive award for a non-violent violation of Fourth Amendment rights, Romanski, 428 F.3d at 632, involved malicious conduct not present here.