Opinion ID: 3065418
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Well, in the end [I] shot him because he was try-

Text: ing to hit me with the flashlight and I definitely felt like he was trying to kill me. He said he had a gun. I don’t know why else he would tell anybody you have a gun you wanted the kill them or what-have- you. The whole circumstances fighting, running, assaulting my — and then ultimately the flashlight is when I shot. Q. Why did you believe, maybe it’s obvious, but tell the jury why did you believe he was trying to kill you? A. That flashlight is no doubt, to me that’s a deadly weapon when you[‘re] swinging that flashlight somebody, to me it’s painfully obvious he was trying to kill me. After Watkins’s death, Mahach-Watkins filed suit against Depee and several other defendants in state court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and various provisions of California law. Defendants removed to federal court. Mahach-Watkins filed an amended complaint in federal court, pleading a number of federal and state-law claims. Mahach-Watkins’s § 1983 claims were contained in her Sixth Cause of Action which contained two “counts.” Count 1 included an allegation of excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment, as well 1830 MAHACH-WATKINS v. DEPEE as allegations of First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment violations, on behalf of Mahach-Watkins and Watkins’s estate. Count 2 was an allegation of a conspiracy to violate Watkins’s constitutional rights. In addition, in her Seventh Cause of Action Mahach-Watkins brought a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3) alleging a failure to prevent civil rights violations and a conspiracy to cover up such violations. MahachWatkins’s state-law claims included wrongful death, assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and negligent hiring, training and retention. After motions to dismiss, to strike, and for summary judgment, only three claims survived, as to which Depee was the sole defendant. The claims were a § 1983 Fourth Amendment claim by Mahach-Watkins, a § 1983 Fourth Amendment claim by Watkins’s estate, and a state-law wrongful death claim by Mahach-Watkins. The district court held a threeweek jury trial, divided into liability and damages phases. At the conclusion of the liability phase, the jury returned a verdict against Depee on the estate’s § 1983 Fourth Amendment excessive force claim and Mahach-Watkins’s state-law wrongful death claim. In the damages phase, the district court instructed the jury that it could return an award of only one dollar in nominal damages on the § 1983 claim, irrespective of what the evidence showed. The court instructed the jury that it could return an award on the wrongful death claim in whatever amount the evidence supported. At the conclusion of the damages phase, the jury awarded one dollar in nominal damages on each of the two claims. Mahach-Watkins moved for a new trial on the issue of damages on the wrongful death claim. The district court denied the motion, explaining that in its view the evidence in support of damages was consistent with the jury’s verdict. In the court’s words, the evidence showed a “complicated picture of the relationship” between Watkins and his mother. MAHACH-WATKINS v. DEPEE 1831 Although Mahach-Watkins testified that she and her son “loved each other and had a close relationship,” the evidence showed that Watkins had threatened his mother “on several occasions,” that she was “afraid of him and periodically requested police assistance with him,” that he “had difficulty forming any meaningful relationships,” and that he “had a serious history of poorly-managed psychiatric instability.” Mahach-Watkins moved for attorney’s fees and costs under 42 U.S.C. § 1988 based on the jury’s favorable verdict on the § 1983 claim. She sought $686,796.74 in attorney’s fees and $117,654.68 in costs. The district court tolled the time for taking an appeal in order to consider the motion for fees. The court awarded $136,687.35 in attorney’s fees, reducing the requested amount due to Mahach-Watkins’s limited success in her § 1983 suit. The court held that Mahach-Watkins was entitled to recover costs under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54, but wrote that it was unable to determine the amount without more information. The court denied the motion for costs and authorized Mahach-Watkins to file a renewed motion after the clerk taxed costs. Depee appealed the award of attorney’s fees. MahachWatkins did not file a timely cross-appeal.