A federal jury returned a verdict totaling over $729,000 in a case involving the abuse of a patron by security personnel at Tunica’s Hollywood Casino and a deputy of the Tunica County Sheriff’s office. The victim, who was suspected of counting cards, a lawful activity, but not suspected of any illegal activity, was wrongfully detained by Hollywood Casino employees, who instructed cashiers to refuse to cash the victim’s chips unless the victim provided them with his identification.
The victim refused to do so and asked to be paid so that he could leave the casino. Instead, casino employees called the Sheriff’s department. Deputy Dornae Mosby responded and demanded identification from the victim, who complied with the deputy’s request but instructed the deputy not to show the identification to casino personnel. The deputy ignored this instruction, and allowed casino personnel to take possession of the victim’s identification and photocopy it, despite there being no legal basis for so doing. The victim was arrested by Mosby for disorderly conduct. The charge was subsequently dismissed.
The victim sued Hollywood casino, Tunica County, and Deputy Mosby. The jury awarded him $25,000 from Deputy Mosby individually for the violation of his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures. The jury found the casino liable for false arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, abuse of process, conversion, and trespass to chattels. The final two items involve the wrongful taking of plaintiff’s identification by casino personnel. The jury awarded $103,703 in damages to the victim from the casino, plus punitive damages of $600,550.
Case: US District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, Delta Division — Civil Action No. 2:06CV204P-A Grosch v. Tunica County et al.
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The above summary of the case and jury verdict against Hollywood Casino in Tunica and an apparently corrupt sheriff’s deputy speaks for itself. There is nothing I can add, except my thanks to the jury for doing the right thing.
Will casinos ever learn?
>Will casinos ever learn?
Probably not.
Remember that this award of punitive damages is subject to a lengthy appeal that will be costly for the Player. It is highly likely that the punitive award will be reduced on appeal due to the supposed passion and prejudice of the jury.
The casino has lots of lawyers and lots of public relations personnel. Its not worried about this at all.
Tunica has been described as ‘casinos suddenly sprouting amidst cotton fields’. All the people in the area know those cotton fields have never stimulated local businesses or funded the rennovation of the airport. Buses drop hordes of casino patrons or their spouses at local malls. Where do you think the loyalties of local law enforcement officials will be?
The Power of Remittur:
It is not necessary for the casino to actually appeal the punitive damage award. Merely threatening the plaintiff’s attorney with the time and expense of an appeal is often enough for the plaintiff to cave-in. The appellate’s court power of remittur to reduce a jury award is known as ‘remittur’. Ofcourse ‘Additure’, the power to increase the award, is rarely utilized whereas remittur is so often utilized that its very existence becomes a real factor in forcing ostensibly successful plaintiffs to settle for peanuts.