Opinion ID: 2406015
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: issues

Text: The McCrorys contend that the trial court erred in dismissing the claim against circuit court clerk Jacquetta Alexander in that it stated a cause of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1982). We hold otherwise. A county court clerk can be sued for damages in a § 1983 suit. See Scott v. Dixon, 720 F.2d 1542 (11th Cir.1983), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 832, 105 S.Ct. 122, 83 L.Ed.2d 64 (1984). However, a clerk may have either absolute or qualified immunity for acts done in his or her official capacity. Absolute immunity bars a suit at the outset and frees the defendant official of any obligation to justify his actions, while qualified immunity is in the nature of an affirmative defense and protects an official from liability only if he can show that his actions did not contravene clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person in his position should have known. Gray v. Bell, 712 F.2d 490 (D.C.Cir.1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1100, 104 S.Ct. 1593, 80 L.Ed.2d 125 (1984). See also Imbler v. Pachtman, 424 U.S. 409, 96 S.Ct. 984, 47 L.Ed.2d 128 (1976). Clerks who perform ministerial functions, such as filing orders and notifying parties, are entitled only to qualified good faith immunity. Henriksen v. Bentley, 644 F.2d 852 (10th Cir.1981). A court clerk who performs a judicial function, such as issuing warrants, enjoys absolute immunity in a § 1983 suit. Scott, supra . See also Sharma v. Stevas, 790 F.2d 1486 (9th Cir.1986). Having determined above that a judge, not a clerk, should issue writs of attachments, it follows that the act of issuing such writs is a judicial function. See Scott, supra . Thus, Jacquetta Alexander was entitled to absolute judicial immunity. The trial court properly dismissed the claim against her.
The McCrorys contend that the trial court erred when it refused to instruct the jury that to the extent section 19 of the lease might be construed to authorize the landlord to reenter the premises upon a default by the tenant and remove the tenant's possessions, such section of the lease was invalid, illegal, and not to be enforced against the tenant. We agree. Section 19 of the lease provided in part that upon default by the tenant, the lessor may re-enter the premises remove all persons therefrom and also that the [l]essor shall have a lien on all buildings and moveable property on the premises belonging to the lessee while rent is in arrears.... In Gorman v. Ratliff, 289 Ark. 332, 712 S.W. 2d 888 (1986), we held that lease provisions authorizing self-help by a landlord are illegal and invalid. Therefore, section 19 of the lease, to the extent it allowed self-help by Johnson as landlord, was also illegal and invalid. The McCrorys proffered the following instruction: You are instructed to the extent that section 19 of the lease signed by Barbara McCrory and Brad Houston might authorize Mr. Houston to reenter the premises upon a default by Barbara McCrory and eject Barbara McCrory or Thomas McCrory from the premises or remove the possessions of Barbara or Thomas McCrory from the premises, then such section of the lease is invalid, illegal, and shall not be enforced against Barbara McCrory or Thomas McCrory. The trial court instead gave the following instruction: Ms. McCrory has asserted that Thomas J. Johnson and Brad W. Houston have violated Ark.Stat.Ann. 34-1501 which is called the Forcible Entry and Detainer Statute. This statute is concerned with certain obligations and rights of both landlords and tenants. In order to prove this claim, Ms. McCrory has the burden of proving the following elements: First, that at the time she was a tenant at 23 Lucy Lane, Brad W. Houston carried away or caused to be carried away property belonging to Ms. McCrory without her permission. Secondly, that such intentional conduct was a proximate cause of any damages suffered by Ms. McCrory. It is the obligation of a trial judge to instruct the jury upon the law of the case with clarity and in such a manner as to leave no basis for misrepresentation or mistake. W.M. Bashlin Co. v. Smith, 277 Ark. 406, 643 S.W.2d 526 (1982). As we stated in Holiday Inns, Inc. v. Drew, 276 Ark. 390, 635 S.W.2d 252 (1982), quoting Beevers, Adm'x v. Miller, 242 Ark. 541, 414 S.W.2d 603 (1967): Even if the court's general instructions could be said technically to have covered the matter in a general way, it is error to refuse to give a specific instruction correctly and clearly applying the law to the facts of the case, even though the law in a general way is covered by the charge given unless it appears that prejudice has not resulted. The instruction given to the jury covered the law of the case in a very general and incomplete manner. The jury very well may have been misled or confused by this instruction. The McCrorys' proffered instruction correctly and clearly applied the law to the facts of the case. Therefore, the trial judge erred by not giving this instruction. The appellees argue that section 19 of the lease was not relevant to the issues in the case. This argument is meritless. The illegality of this section was relevant to the issue of whether the appellees' actions in removing the property were contrary to lawwhich is what the McCrorys' counterclaim, in part, was based upon. Furthermore, not only was the entire lease admitted as an exhibit, but also the validity of this section was contested from the beginning of the case. Additionally, the appellees argue that the proffered instruction was not a correct instruction in that it was not simple, brief, impartial, and free from argument. See Paul v. Safley Const. Co., 287 Ark. 412, 700 S.W.2d 55 (1985). This contention is also without merit.
The McCrorys assert that the trial court erred when it informed the jury that the writ of attachment was legal. We agree. The following dialogue occurred at trial between Barbara McCrory, Mr. DePriest (her lawyer), and the trial judge. Q. DePriest: Did you ever get access to your property? A. McCrory: Quite awhile later the Court dissolved the Writ of Attachment and determined it wasn't legal and let me have it. The Court: No, you ladies and gentlemen, disregard that. The Court didn't say the Writ of Attachment wasn't legal. To the contrary, the Writ of Attachment, of course, was legal. As previously noted, the trial court discharged the writ of attachment (which had been issued by the circuit clerk) because Thomas Johnson had not met his burden of showing, pursuant to Ark.Code Ann. § 16-110-101 (1987) that Barbara McCrory was about to remove or had removed her property, or a material part thereof, from the state. The trial court, in effect, found that under the circumstances the issuance of the writ was not authorized or permitted by our code provisions. Black's Law Dictionary 673, 803 (5th ed. 1979) defines illegal as against or not authorized by law, and legal, in part, as permitted by law. By incorrectly stating at trial that the Writ of Attachment, of course, was legal, the court may have led the jury to mistakenly believe that the writ was permitted or authorized by law (legal) and erroneously conclude that the McCrorys did not have a cause of action based upon the wrongful issuance of the writ. It is reversible error for a trial court to make an incorrect statement or conclusion of law which tends to mislead the jury in arriving at its verdict. Kidd v. Gardner Associated, Inc., 92 Idaho 548, 447 P.2d 414 (1968); Gaito v. City of Pittsburgh, 390 Pa. 409, 135 A.2d 746 (1957). See also Haseman v. Union Bank of Mena & Haseman, 262 Ark. 803, 562 S.W.2d 45 (1978). The trial court's comment was improper and should not have been made.
The McCrorys argue that the trial court erred in excluding the testimony of Elizabeth Baxley because her testimony was both relevant and admissible, and its exclusion was prejudicial to the McCrorys. We hold otherwise. On March 30, 1987, Barbara McCrory submitted a complaint to the Prosecuting Attorney's Office concerning the removal of her property from the house that she had leased from Johnson through his agent, Houston. Elizabeth Baxley, a paralegal in the Prosecuting Attorney's Office, contacted Keith Vaughn, appellee Houston's attorney, concerning the property. During trial, the court informed the McCrorys that Baxley's testimony would not be admissible but that it would allow McCrory to proffer this testimony. Baxley testified in chambers that Vaughn told her that he had advised Houston not to take the property. Vaughn's advice to Houston to not take the property was protected under the attorney-client privilege since it was made for the purpose of facilitating the rendition of legal services between a lawyer and client. Ark.R.Evid. 502(b)(1). Under Rule 502, Houston had the privilege to prevent Elizabeth Baxley from disclosing this confidential communication. Therefore, the trial court acted properly in excluding her testimony. Reversed and remanded. PURTLE and NEWBERN, JJ., not participating.