Justia Injury Law Opinion Summaries

Plaintiff filed this lawsuit against two Town of Wareham police officers, the police chief, and the Town, claiming (1) the officers arrested him without probable cause and used excessive force in pushing him into a police vehicle while trying to disperse an unruly crowd, and (2) the police chief and Town were liable because they had known of, or recklessly disregarded, prior false arrests and use of excessive force by the arresting officers and other officers in the police department. The district court bifurcated the trial, requiring Plaintiff to first try his claims against the individual officers. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the officers, and thereafter, the district court dismissed the claims against the Town and its police chief. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the trial court did not err (1) in excluding all prior complaints against one of the officers and in bifurcating the trial; (2) in denying Plaintiff’s motion for a new trial; and (3) in denying Plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend his complaint three years after he filed his initial complaint. View "Lund v. Henderson" on Justia Law