Opinion ID: 528815
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Verdict as to Albright.

Text: 45 As we have concluded that Albright's verdict may not stand to the extent it rests on Good Shepherd's status as a state actor, the next question is how much of the verdict requires reversal. The jury found the hospital liable for suppressing Albright's speech by having him arrested, for supplying false information to the police, and for denying his due process rights when it fired him. The first and third claims must fall: a private actor can not actionably suppress first amendment rights nor violate the due process clause. 46 The second claim leaves us bewildered. Both the fourth amendment and Texas state law render actionable under certain circumstances the willful supplying of false information to trump up an arrest. Under the fourth amendment, Good Shepherd could be liable, if it was a state actor, for causing Albright's arrest without probable cause. See, e.g., Thomas v. Kippermann, 846 F.2d 1009, 1011 (5th Cir.1988) (per curiam); Wheeler v. Cosden Oil and Chemical Co., 734 F.2d 254, 260 (5th Cir.1984). Alternatively, even as a private actor, the hospital becomes liable for damages if it acted in concert with arresting public officials. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 152, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 1605, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970); see also Howard Gault Co. v. Texas Rural Legal Aid, Inc., 848 F.2d 544, 555 (5th Cir.1988) (private parties cannot be considered state actors merely because they invoke a state statute). The state law of false arrest could support a verdict for Albright on the propounded jury interrogatory even if the hospital is neither a state actor nor a conspirator with state actors. See Dupree v. Piggly Wiggly Shop Rite Foods Inc., 542 S.W.2d 882, 889 (Tex.Civ.App.--Corpus Christi 1976, writ ref'd n.r.e.) (Piggly Wiggly store held liable for false arrest caused by private security guards who were agents of the store); Armstead v. Escobedo, 488 F.2d 509, 511 (5th Cir.1974) (private party can incur liability if it actually directs police to make the arrest). Albright seems to have two legs to stand on after our rejection of Good Shepherd's status as a state actor: either the in concert with liability under Sec. 1983, or pendent state law false arrest liability. 47 Our bewilderment stems from the fact that Albright has argued before us only the in concert with basis for upholding his verdict. Neither the jury interrogatories, however, nor the court's charge, nor most importantly, the evidentiary record supports this theory. Albright has failed to adduce any evidence that Good Shepherd conspired with the Longview police to arrest Albright falsely. The record reveals instead that Good Shepherd reported Albright's conduct as trespassing, and the police, not illegitimately, assumed its charge was correct. See Bodzin v. City of Dallas, 768 F.2d 722, 725 (5th Cir.1985) (officers could rely on complainant's claim that property was private and plaintiff was trespassing). 48 We are led to question, therefore, whether it is appropriate to sustain a $250,001 award, plus punitive damages, on a state law false arrest claim which is not presented to us as an alternate ground of recovery for Albright. For two reasons we answer in the negative and remand for the trial court to reassess the verdict. First, it may be that Albright argues solely the in concert with basis for liability because Good Shepherd, whose burden it is to frame the issues for appeal, attacks only the portion of the verdict in which the hospital was deemed to be a state actor. Indeed, in its briefs Good Shepherd does not attack the damage award separately from the finding that as a state actor it had violated section 1983. The purpose of Albright's conspiracy argument would then be to uphold the jury verdict as a Sec. 1983 violation in another mold. 49 An alternative possibility, however, is that Albright neglected at trial to pursue a pendent state claim for false arrest against Good Shepherd, in which case he may have waived that ground for recovery. We have perused his last amended complaint, the pretrial order, and the jury charge and remain unable to state with certainty whether Albright's false arrest claim was presented only as a constitutional claim or also as a pendent state law claim. 3 Lending credibility to the possibility that Albright did not sue under state law is the fact that Good Shepherd's brief focuses entirely on the section 1983 issues. The district court is in a much better position to determine what claims were actually raised and litigated by Albright. We therefore remand for the district court to consider whether Albright may recover for a state law tort of false arrest. 50 The second reason for remanding lies in the ambiguity of the jury's damage award. If Albright may recover on a state-law based false arrest claim, the $250,001 award of actual damages mixes both the vacated claims for his discharge with those for false arrest. The $1.00 nominal damages for violation of constitutional rights must fall with the determination that Good Shepherd is not a state actor. More importantly, we are unable to separate the mental anguish and other damages claimed for false arrest from the lost wages and damages solely attributable to his discharge. In such an event a new trial on damages is required. Memphis Community Sch. Dist v. Stachura, 477 U.S. 299, 312, 106 S.Ct. 2537, 2545-46, 91 L.Ed.2d 249 (1986) (when damage instruction is faulty and verdict does not reveal the means by which the jury calculated damages reassessment of damages is necessary); Auster Oil & Gas, Inc. v. Stream, 835 F.2d 597, 603 (5th Cir.1988) (same). Further, inasmuch as we must vacate the award of actual damages, it is prudent to vacate the punitive damage award for retrial. See Crossland v. Canteen Corp., 711 F.2d 714, 726 n. 12 (5th Cir.1983). We emphasize again, however, that a retrial on damages will be necessary only if the court finds Good Shepherd liable for a state law false arrest violation. THE PAGE CLAIMS 51 Page won a jury verdict on the ground that she had been retaliated against for having filed a worker's compensation claim, and she won a bench verdict on her section 1981 and Title VII claims. The defendants argue that there is insufficient evidence to uphold the jury verdict and that the district judge erred in his interpretation of the retaliatory discharge law, Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. art. 8307c (Vernon Supp.1989). 4 They further contend that this statute does not require an employer to hold a job open for an unlimited time, nor does it require an employer to make special accommodations for injured employees who want to return to work. 52 Texas courts, however, in interpreting article 8307c, have held that the clear intent of the statute is that an employer may not use the filing of a Worker's Compensation claim as a reason to discharge or otherwise discriminate against an employee even if there are other reasons. Santex Inc. v. Cunningham, 618 S.W.2d 557, 559 (Tex.Civ.App.--Waco 1981, no writ). The record contains ample evidence from which the jury could conclude that Page's termination was motivated in part by the fact that she had filed a worker's compensation claim. For instance, accommodations were made for Page's replacement when the replacement hurt her leg in a car accident and could not perform a nurse's usual ambulatory duties. There was also testimony that when Eberly was removed from her job as director of nursing, the administration created a new supervisory position that did not require any lifting. The jury could infer at least that Page was not treated the same as were other employees who were injured or sustained disabilities. 53 Further, Page presented to the jury a memo from Rice, Vice-President of Nursing, to Mary Hess, who was in charge of monitoring compensation claims, criticizing the personnel department for not taking action against claimants with suspected back injuries who are border-line employees. That memo prompted a response to the effect that the worker's compensation law prohibited discriminating against injured employees. Page testified that Rice had previously ordered Page to fire employees who had sustained injuries on the job. Finally, the testimony indicated that there was substantial animus between Page and Rice, which resulted in large part from Rice's having hired her friend Eberly as director of nursing. In this context, the facts presented to the jury were sufficient to have created a conflict in substantial evidence. 54 Defendants also assert that Page was never actually terminated from her joB. However, Page presented the testimony of payroll supervisor Mattie Jones, who said she received a list of terminated employees from the personnel department in March 1987 and Page's name was on that list. In addition, several witnesses testified that Page had been permanently replaced. 55 With respect to Page's Title VII and 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1981 claims, the defendants challenge the court's reliance on the jury's finding that Good Shepherd discriminated against Page and object to the admission of two items of testimonial evidence. 56 The jury was told to answer Special Interrogatory B: 57 Did the plaintiff [Page] prove that the defendants discriminated against her by failing to restructure her position, as they allegedly had in the past, in such a manner that she could perform it in light of her medical disabilities? 58 The jury responded affirmatively. The trial court purported to rely on this finding as one basis for its conclusion that Page was discriminated against because she was black. Defendants argue that because discrimination was not defined in the charge as racial discrimination, the jury interpreted it to mean discrimination against persons who had filed worker's compensation claims. Defendants' argument is enhanced by a related jury interrogatory which asked whether Page was discharged or not re-employed because she filed a worker's compensation claim. 59 Even if this is true, however, the district court specifically found, independently of the jury's determination, that the hospital's refusal to reinstate Page was racially motivated. Such a finding is not inconsistent with a jury finding that the hospital also discriminated against Page because she had filed a worker's compensation claim. The court did not rely solely upon the jury's verdict, and its independent finding is supported by evidence of racial incidents and slurs about Page and other blacks at the hospital. 60 With respect to evidence of past racial discrimination and certain incidents involving Page, we are not persuaded that district court abused its discretion in admitting such evidence. See Johnson v. Chapel Hill Independent School District, 853 F.2d 375, 380 (5th Cir.1988). The district court carefully detailed the independent evidence supporting equitable relief for Page. Since the record supports the court's findings, and these findings were consistent with that of the jury, it does not appear that the introduction of the evidence concerning past discrimination prejudiced the defendants. 61 Finally, the defendants complain that the award of punitive damages to Page was improper. Inasmuch as they admit that they failed to object to the punitive damages instruction prior to submission of the issue to the jury, appeal on the issue is foreclosed. Fed.R.Civ.P. 51. In any event, punitive damages could properly be awarded as part of Page's claim pursuant to Art. 8307c. Carnation Co. v. Borner, 610 S.W.2d 450 (Tex.1980).