KATHY CRAIG V. NICHOLAS PETROPULOS, No. 19-55324 (9th Cir. 2021)
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NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FILED AUG 18 2021 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT KATHY CRAIG; GARY WITT, individually and as successors-in-interest to Brandon Lee Witt, deceased, No. U.S. COURT OF APPEALS 19-55324 D.C. No. 8:17-cv-00491-CJC-KES Plaintiffs-Appellees, MEMORANDUM* v. NICHOLAS PETROPULOS, Defendant-Appellant, and COUNTY OF ORANGE, Defendant. KATHY CRAIG; GARY WITT, individually and as successors-in-interest to Brandon Lee Witt, deceased, No. 19-56188 D.C. No. 8:17-cv-00491-CJC-KES Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. COUNTY OF ORANGE; NICHOLAS PETROPULOS, * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. Defendants-Appellants. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California Cormac J. Carney, District Judge, Presiding Submitted May 5, 2021** Pasadena, California Before: OWENS and LEE, Circuit Judges, and SIMON,*** District Judge. Dissent by Judge LEE Nicholas Petropulos and the County of Orange (“Defendants”) appeal from a jury verdict awarding $1.8 million in “loss of life” damages to Brandon Witt, who died in the custody of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm. On appeal, the Defendants argue that the district court improperly awarded compensatory damages for “the loss of life experienced by” Witt. Specifically, the Defendants contend that death is not compensable because a person cannot “experience” his loss of life; such damages are inherently speculative; and loss of life awards are not authorized by Chaudhry v. City of Los Angeles, 751 F.3d 1096 (9th Cir. 2014). We recently rejected these arguments in Valenzuela v. City of ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). *** The Honorable Michael H. Simon, United States District Judge for the District of Oregon, sitting by designation. 2 Anaheim, No. 20-55372, 2021 WL 3355499, at *4-5 (9th Cir. Aug. 3, 2021), when we upheld the jury’s loss of life award and determined that California state law prohibiting such damages was “inconsistent with [42 U.S.C.] § 1983.” Valenzuela is indistinguishable from this case. As a result, we affirm the jury’s $1.8 million damages award for Witt’s loss of life. AFFIRMED. 3 FILED Craig v. Petropulos, 19-55324 AUG 18 2021 LEE, Circuit Judge, dissenting: MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS I agree that the issue in this case is indistinguishable from our previous discussion of loss of life damages in Valenzuela v. City of Anaheim, No. 20-55372, 2021 WL 3355499 (9th Cir. Aug. 3, 2021). Therefore, I respectfully dissent for the same reasons laid out in my dissent in Valenzuela.
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