Opinion ID: 730893
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Dr. Brown's Appeal

Text: 11 Dr. Brown first contends the district court erred in vacating as a matter of law the jury's award of compensatory and punitive damages against Presbyterian Healthcare Services on the tortious interference with contract claim. The Court reviews the district court's order granting judgment as a matter of law de novo, applying the same standard as the district court. Thompson v. State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., 34 F.3d 932, 941 (10th Cir.1994). The legal standard for granting judgment as a matter of law is identical to the standard for granting summary judgment under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. Pendleton v. Conoco, Inc., 23 F.3d 281, 286 (10th Cir.1994). When applying this standard, a court is to examine the factual record and reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion for summary judgment or judgment as a matter of law. Wolf v. Prudential Ins. Co., 50 F.3d 793, 796 (10th Cir.1995) (citing Applied Genetics Int'l, Inc. v. First Affiliated Sec., Inc., 912 F.2d 1238, 1241 (10th Cir.1990)). Judgment as a matter of law should be affirmed only if the evidence is insufficient to permit a jury to properly return a verdict in the opposing party's favor. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 257, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2514-15, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). 12 In the present case, the jury found Presbyterian Healthcare Services liable for tortious interference with contract and awarded Dr. Brown $7,500.00 in compensatory damages and $75,000.00 in punitive damages on this claim. In its Memorandum Opinion and Order, however, the district court vacated the award of compensatory damages, concluding Dr. Brown had failed to present adequate proof of actual damages on this claim. Since the punitive damages award for tortious interference was connected only to the jury's finding that [Presbyterian Healthcare Services] intentionally interfered with plaintiffs' contractual relations, the district court also set aside the $75,000.00 punitive damages award. 13 Dr. Brown claims the district court erred in vacating the awards of damages for tortious interference with contract because the record contains sufficient evidence to support the jury's awards. Presbyterian Healthcare Services, on the other hand, contends Dr. Brown did not establish damages for tortious interference with reasonable certainty and therefore, the district court properly set aside the jury's awards of damages on this claim. As noted by the district court, damages that are based on conjecture, speculation, or guesswork are not recoverable. Smith v. Babcock Poultry Farms, Inc., 469 F.2d 456, 459 (10th Cir.1972) (citing United States v. Griffith, Gornall & Carman, Inc., 210 F.2d 11 (10th Cir.1954)). However, the fact damages are difficult to ascertain will not necessarily bar recovery. Id. Under New Mexico law, which is applicable in the present case, [t]he lack of certainty that will prevent a recovery is uncertainty as to the fact of damages, not as to the amount. Camino Real Mobile Home Park Partnership v. Wolfe, 119 N.M. 436, 891 P.2d 1190, 1201 (1995). Damages need not be computed with mathematical certainty and recovery will not be denied where the evidence afford[s] a reasonable basis for estimating [plaintiff's] loss. Archuleta v. Jacquez, 103 N.M. 254, 704 P.2d 1130, 1134 (App.1985). In reviewing a jury's award of damages, the court should sustain the award unless it is clearly erroneous or there is no evidence to support the award. Hudson v. Smith, 618 F.2d 642, 646 (10th Cir.1980). 14 Here, Dr. Brown's alleged damages for intentional interference with contract stem from Presbyterian Healthcare Services' interference with Dr. Brown's attempts to hire Dr. Mark Reib. In an effort to prove the hospital's interference with Dr. Reib caused her damages, Dr. Brown presented testimony at trial from Dr. Michael McDonald, an economic expert. Dr. McDonald testified regarding the additional patient receipts Dr. Steven Frey, 7 a family practitioner who joined Dr. Brown's practice in May 1992, brought in to Dr. Brown's practice in 1992 and 1993. According to Dr. McDonald, Dr. Frey's patient receipts averaged around $6,000.00 per month in 1992, and almost $15,000.00 per month in 1993. Dr. McDonald also testified concerning the additional costs Dr. Brown would have incurred in obtaining additional patient revenues. Based on Dr. Brown's 1993 financial statements, Dr. McDonald determined Dr. Brown's costs would increase by 34.1 cents for every dollar of additional receipts. Hence, Dr. McDonald concluded 65.9 percent of any increment in patient receipts will go to the bottom line, the net income of [Dr. Brown's practice]. 15 Dr. George Rhodes, Jr., an economist for the defense, also testified concerning the additional revenue Dr. Frey brought in to Dr. Brown's practice in 1992 and 1993. Dr. Rhodes testified the hiring of Dr. Frey increased the revenue to Dr. Brown's practice by $15,000.00 to $20,000.00 per month in 1993. Additionally, Dr. Rhodes firmly concluded the addition of another physician to Dr. Brown's practice would result in an increase in the practice's revenue. 16 From the above testimony, it is clear Presbyterian Healthcare Services' interference with the hiring of Dr. Reib caused financial harm to Dr. Brown's practice. Although the testimony of Dr. McDonald and Dr. Rhodes does not provide a precise model for determining the extent of Dr. Brown's damages, it does provide a reasonable basis for estimating the plaintiff's loss. From the testimony regarding the amount of additional revenue Dr. Frey brought into Dr. Brown's practice, the jury could have reasonably determined the hiring of Dr. Reib would have resulted in a similar increase in revenue. Such a determination finds support in New Mexico law (see, e.g., Ranchers Exploration & Dev. Corp. v. Miles, 102 N.M. 387, 696 P.2d 475, 477 (1985) (historic profits of established business may be considered in determining lost profits) (citing J.R. Watkins Co. v. Eaker, 56 N.M. 385, 244 P.2d 540, 544 (1952)), and is particularly sound in light of the similar training and professional backgrounds of Dr. Frey and Dr. Reib, and the temporal proximity of the period in which Dr. Frey began his employment with Dr. Brown to the period in which Presbyterian Healthcare Services interfered with the hiring of Dr. Reib. Finally, from Dr. McDonald's testimony concerning the amount of additional costs Dr. Brown would have incurred from increased patient revenues, the jury could have reached a rational conclusion as to the amount of lost profits Dr. Brown's practice incurred due to Presbyterian Healthcare Services' tortious interference with contract. 17 As explained in Restatement (Second) of Torts, once an injured person establishes his business or transaction would have been profitable, 18 it is not fatal to the recovery of substantial damages that he is unable to prove with definiteness the amount of the profits he would have made or the amount of harm that the defendant has caused. It is only essential that he present such evidence as might reasonably be expected to be available under the circumstances. 19 Restatement (Second) of Torts § 912(d), at 483 (1979). Given the circumstances of this case, we believe the evidence concerning the increase in revenues resulting from the recruitment of Dr. Frey was a reasonable method of establishing damages. This is especially so in light of the fact that the certainty of damages was 'made hypothetical by the very wrong' of the defendant. See Restatement (Second) of Torts § 774A comt. c (1979). We find the jury's award of compensatory damages to be reasonably based upon sufficient evidence in the record, and we therefore reverse the district court's order vacating this award. 20 Having reversed the district court's order vacating the jury's award of compensatory damages for tortious interference with contract, we must next determine whether its order setting aside the jury's award of punitive damages on this claim should stand. The district court set aside the punitive damages award solely because it was dependent on the jury's award of compensatory damages on the tortious interference claim. Since we have reinstated the compensatory damages award, the punitive damages award likewise must be reinstated. We therefore reverse the district court's order vacating the jury's award of punitive damages on the tortious interference with contract claim. 21 Dr. Brown also contends the district court erred in setting aside the jury's award of punitive damages against Dr. Williams on the antitrust claim. The district court did so pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 59(e), which ruling we review for abuse of discretion. Webber v. Mefford, 43 F.3d 1340, 1345 (10th Cir.1994). Under the abuse of discretion standard, 22 a trial court's decision will not be disturbed unless the appellate court has a definite and firm conviction that the lower court made a clear error of judgment or exceeded the bounds of permissible choice in the circumstances. When we apply the abuse of discretion standard, we defer to the trial court's judgment because of its firsthand ability to view the witness or evidence and assess credibility and probative value. 23 Moothart v. Bell, 21 F.3d 1499, 1504 (10th Cir.1994) (quoting McEwen v. City of Norman, 926 F.2d 1539, 1553-54 (10th Cir.1991)). In this circuit, abuse of discretion is defined as  'an arbitrary, capricious, whimsical, or manifestly unreasonable judgment.'  FDIC v. Oldenburg, 34 F.3d 1529, 1555 (10th Cir.1994) (quoting United States v. Hernandez-Herrera, 952 F.2d 342, 343 (10th Cir.1991)). 24 In the present case, the jury found Dr. Williams liable on the antitrust conspiracy claims and awarded punitive damages against her in the amount of $75,000.00. Thereafter, in accordance with 15 U.S.C. § 15(a) (1994), 8 the district court entered an award of treble damages against Dr. Williams on the antitrust claims. However, the district court vacated the jury's award of punitive damages against Dr. Williams, noting such an award would be duplicative because the treble damages provision already embodies punitive damages. 25 Dr. Brown now contends the district court erroneously set aside the punitive damages award because [t]he Defendants proposed a verdict form calling for punitive damages for antitrust violations. According to Dr. Brown, the defendants invited the jury to erroneously award punitive damages against Dr. Williams, and consequently, the defendants are now precluded from seeking judicial review of this invited error. As an initial matter, the court notes it is clearly improper to allow a plaintiff to recover punitive damages along with trebled damages on an antitrust claim. Punitive damages beyond the statutory trebled damages cannot be awarded for an antitrust violation. The enhancement of damages in an antitrust case is the damages trebled. McDonald v. Johnson & Johnson, 722 F.2d 1370, 1381 (8th Cir.1983) (citing Clark Oil Co. v. Phillips Petroleum Co., 148 F.2d 580, 582 (8th Cir.) (treble damage provision encompasses both punitive and compensatory damages), cert. denied, 326 U.S. 734, 66 S.Ct. 42, 90 L.Ed. 437 (1945)). See also Spence v. Southeastern Alaska Pilots' Ass'n, 789 F.Supp. 1014, 1029 (D.Alaska 1992) ([p]unitive damages are not available on federal anti-trust claims). 26 Notwithstanding the patent impropriety of allowing a plaintiff to recover punitive damages on an antitrust claim, Dr. Brown argues Dr. Williams' failure to object to the jury instructions and verdict sheet that permitted the recovery of such damages serves to preclude subsequent judicial review of the jury's award of punitive damages. As Dr. Brown points out, an appellant may not generally complain on appeal of errors he has himself induced or invited. See, e.g., Meredith v. Beech Aircraft Corp., 18 F.3d 890 (10th Cir.1994) (citing Gundy v. United States, 728 F.2d 484, 488 (10th Cir.1984)). However, where the jury has returned a special verdict, the trial judge is obligated to apply appropriate legal principles to the facts found by the jury. Thedorf v. Lipsey, 237 F.2d 190, 193 (7th Cir.1956). [I]t is for the court to decide upon the jury's answers ... what the resulting legal obligation is. Id. Moreover, in determining whether to grant or deny a Rule 59(e) motion to alter or amend the judgment, the district court is vested with considerable discretion. Edward H. Bohlin Co. v. Banning Co., 6 F.3d 350, 355 (5th Cir.1993) (citing Lavespere v. Niagara Machine & Tool Works, Inc., 910 F.2d 167, 174 (5th Cir.1990)). The district court may grant a motion to alter or amend the judgment where it is necessary to correct manifest errors of law. Charles Alan Wright et al., Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil 2d § 2810.1, at 124-25 (1995). 27 In the case at bar, the jury instructions and special verdict form were exhaustive and labyrinthine. The jury's responsibilities included determining the liability of six defendants for as many as seven distinct claims. The special verdict form alone was twelve pages and contained more than thirty individual questions. Given the numerous parties, claims and overall complexity of the case, we do not believe the trial judge abused his discretion in vacating the jury's award of punitive damages against Dr. Williams. As stated in the district court's Memorandum Opinion and Order, it would have been impractical and confusing to the jury to have drafted the special verdict to include all of the combinations of circumstances under which punitive damages could or could not have been awarded against various defendants. The district court's decision to vacate the award of punitive damages served to correct a manifest error of law and did not prejudice Dr. Brown. Under these circumstances, we are not left with a definite and firm conviction that the lower court made a clear error of judgment or exceeded the bounds of permissible choice in the circumstances. Hence, we affirm the district court's order vacating the award of punitive damages against Dr. Williams. 28