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Clayton v. Branson6/7/2005
The parties appeal from post-trial orders entered following a verdict and judgment in favor of plaintiff. We reverse in part and dismiss as moot in part. This case arises out of events occurring 20 December 1994, when defendant-Officer, T.H. Branson of the Greensboro, North Carolina Police Department, transported plaintiff (John Clayton) from plaintiff's home in Greensboro to the city magistrate's office. On 19 December 1997 plaintiff filed suit against Branson, both individually and in his official capacity, and against defendants Greensboro Police Department and City of Greensboro ("the city"). Plaintiff's complaint was voluntarily dismissed in 1999, but later refiled on 28 April 2000. The complaint alleged, inter alia that: (1) when plaintiff was taken to the magistrate's office, Branson placed him in the back seat of a patrol car equipped with a metal safety screen between the front and back seats; (2) the screen made the back seat too cramped for plaintiff to use a seat belt; (3) on the drive downtown Branson drove 60-70 miles per hour in a 35 mph zone; (4) when another driver stopped on the road in front of them, Branson "slammed on his brakes and jerked his patrol vehicle to the right and then to the left in order to avoid a collision"; (5) Branson's maneuvers to avoid a collision "propelled [plaintiff] forward into the metal screen . . . with great force and violence"; and (6) as a result of this incident, he " undergone three surgeries on his back and continue to suffer excruciating and intractable pain to this day." On the basis of these and other factual allegations, plaintiff brought claims against (1) Branson in his individual and official capacity for negligence, gross negligence, and willful and wanton misconduct; and (2) the Greensboro Police Department and the City of Greensboro on the theory of respondeat superior, and for negligent construction and installation of the metal screen in the patrol car. Plaintiff later amended his complaint to add a third claim against the city (the constitutional claim), seeking damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violation of his rights to "substantive due process and equal protection of the laws" under the North Carolina and U.S. constitutions. The defendants denied the material allegations of plaintiff's complaint, and raised the defense of governmental immunity. Defendants also moved for summary judgment, which the trial court denied.
Defendants appealed from the denial of their summary judgment motion, and on 15 October 2002 this Court issued its opinion in Clayton v. Branson, 153 N.C. App. 488, 570 S.E.2d 253 (2002) ("Clayton I"). The Court held that governmental immunity precluded plaintiff's negligence claims against Branson, the Greensboro Police Department, and the city of Greensboro, and reversed the trial court's denial of summary judgment on these claims. The Court also held that governmental immunity did not bar plaintiff's gross negligence claim against Branson individually, and upheld thecourt's denial of summary judgment on that claim. Finally, the Court upheld the trial court's denial of summary judgment on plaintiff's § 1983 constitutional claim, on the basis that "defendants have no defense of governmental immunity against the § 1983 claim." Clayton I, 153 N.C. App. at 494, 570 S.E.2d at 257.
Plaintiff's surviving claims, against Branson for gross negligence, and against the city for violating his constitutional rights, were tried before a jury in September, 2003. After presentation of evidence, four issues were submitted to the jury:
1. Was the plaintiff, John A. Clayton, III, injured by the willful or wanton negligence of the defendant T.H. Branson?
Answer: Yes.
2. What amo
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