Opinion ID: 786794
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Kerman's Claims of Physical, Mental, and Emotional Injury

Text: 136 A finding that the plaintiff has been deprived of a constitutional right does not automatically entitle him to a substantial award of damages. The cardinal principle of damages in Anglo-American law, which applies to actions brought under § 1983, is that of compensation for the injury caused to plaintiff by defendant's breach of duty. Carey v. Piphus, 435 U.S. at 254-55, 98 S.Ct. 1042 (emphasis in original). For example, when a defendant has deprived the plaintiff of liberty or property without affording him a hearing as required by the Due Process Clause, but the defendant proves that the adverse action would have been taken even if a proper and timely hearing had been held, the plaintiff has not proved compensable injury and is entitled only to nominal damages. See id. at 260-63, 98 S.Ct. 1042. See also Robinson v. Cattaraugus County, 147 F.3d at 162 (If a jury finds that a constitutional violation has been proven but that the plaintiff has not shown injury sufficient to warrant an award of compensatory damages, the plaintiff is entitled to an award of at least nominal damages as a matter of law.... The jury should be so instructed, and we have held that it is plain error to instruct the jury merely that, having found a violation, it `may' [rather than must] award nominal damages.). 137 Similarly, when a jury has found that the plaintiff proved a defendant used excessive force against him in violation of his rights under the Fourth or Fifth Amendment, a verdict that the plaintiff is not entitled to compensatory damages is not necessarily impermissible. A jury could reasonably find that only nominal damages are appropriate where, for example, a plaintiff's testimony as to his injuries lacks objective support or credibility, or where both justified force and unjustified force were used, either of which could have caused his injuries, or where some of the plaintiff's injuries could have been caused by a codefendant who was not found to have used excessive force. See, e.g., Amato v. City of Saratoga Springs, 170 F.3d at 315; Haywood v. Koehler, 78 F.3d at 104-05; Gibeau v. Nellis, 18 F.3d 107, 110 (2d Cir.1994). 138 In light of these principles, we cannot conclude that Kerman is entitled to a new trial on damages for most of his claimed injuries. The injuries to which he testified were relatively minor physical injuries (pain from being transported with his hands cuffed under him and subsequent soreness in his back and neck) and emotional or psychological injuries. Taking the evidence in the light most favorable to Crossan, as the party against whom a new trial is sought, we see no valid reason why the jury could not have rejected these claims of injury. The jury could, for example, have found that any physical pain Kerman suffered was de minimis in light of both the hospital record that described him as arriving at Bellevue in no apparent physical distress (Trial Exhibit 1) and Kerman's own trial testimony that, after leaving Bellevue, he did not seek medical treatment for any physical injuries (Tr. 495, 510-12). 139 As to whether Kerman experienced mental suffering or psychological injury, the jury was not required to credit Kerman's subjective representations or the testimony of Kerman's brother, who, like Kerman, was an interested witness. Further, although Kerman presented a psychiatrist's expert opinion that he suffered posttraumatic stress disorder as a result of the incident with the police (Tr. 308), that opinion was not sufficiently specific to link that disorder to conduct for which Crossan could be held liable. The incident had begun with the officers' forcible entry into Kerman's apartment and immediate seizure of Kerman in preparation for their search for a gun. But at the second trial, only the postsearch stage of the event was at issue, as we had held in Kerman II that Crossan had immunity with respect to the entry and initial seizure. See 261 F.3d at 237-38. The psychiatrist's testimony did not link any of Kerman's claimed injuries to the stage of the incident that followed the officers' completion of their search for a gun, and the jury could permissibly have concluded that any adverse mental, emotional, or psychological effects Kerman experienced resulted from the shock of the officers' entry and the initial seizure. With regard to the postsearch period, the jury could have been persuaded that Kerman suffered no more than minimal psychic or emotional damage, given, inter alia, Kerman's testimony that although he was shocked by the entry and presence of the policemen, he became relatively calm, and Dr. Malone's testimony that, in the postsearch period, Kerman was witty. 140 Accordingly, we cannot conclude that Kerman was entitled as a matter of law to compensatory damages on the basis of his claims of physical pain, medical expenses, emotional suffering, and psychological injuries.