By Jeff McDonald
Years of litigation and appeals have paid off for San Diego County, which has won a major victory in the case of a sheriff鈥檚 deputy who beat a handcuffed man and sicced a police dog on him as he complied with officers鈥 orders.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the $5 million in damages that a San Diego federal jury awarded to Mickail Myles in 2022, saying the award for his injuries and emotional distress should instead be capped at $1.5 million.
鈥淭here was little evidence of lasting physical injury to Myles,鈥 the appellate judges wrote in the ruling issued May 12. 鈥淗e did not suffer any permanent impairment from the dog bite apart from some small scars.
鈥淢yles does not have a reduced physical or intellectual capacity,鈥 they added.
The three-judge panel also did away with a ruling that ordered the county to pay Myles鈥 legal team almost $6 million.
鈥淒efendants argue that the district court abused its discretion by granting $5,837,820 in attorneys鈥 fees,鈥 the ruling said. 鈥淏ecause we remand to the district court on the issue of Myles鈥 damages, we vacate the grant of attorneys鈥 fees as a matter of course.鈥
The 9th Circuit ruling marks a rare courtroom victory for San Diego County and its Sheriff鈥檚 Office, which have been plagued by negligence and misconduct claims that have cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars in recent years.
The Sheriff鈥檚 Office also has a documented history of stopping and questioning people of color more often than White people. Myles is Black.
County officials said the ruling validated arguments made by their legal team.
鈥淭he 9th Circuit鈥檚 careful analysis of the issues in this matter found several prejudicial errors prevented the county from having a fair trial and also found these errors increased the damages awarded to plaintiff,鈥 the statement said.
鈥淭he county continues working with the court and plaintiff to determine whether the case can be resolved or will be retried on the issue of damages,鈥 it added.
Lawyers for Myles 鈥 who left San Diego County more than two years ago, after he said he was repeatedly pulled over and questioned by deputies 鈥 called the decision a win because it upheld the jury鈥檚 finding of misconduct.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe it was an adverse ruling; it was a huge victory for civil rights and public safety in San Diego County, holding a department accountable under the highest standards,鈥 attorney Daniel Balaban said. 鈥淲e are proud to shine a light on the county鈥檚 failure to investigate a known predatory deputy who had a long history of abusing minorities.鈥
Balaban said cases like this one were not all about the money.
鈥淲ould we have liked the jury鈥檚 award upheld? Absolutely,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut the main thing was holding that department to account, and we did that loud and clear.鈥
The ruling awards Myles the right to retry the case, but only as far as damages may be concerned. The jury finding in October 2022 that the county was responsible for Myles鈥 injuries is no longer in dispute.
Any damages must be capped at $1.5 million, the 9th Circuit ruling said.
鈥淏ecause we lack objective evidence of Myles鈥 emotional damages, we set an upper limit to the district court鈥檚 remittitur amount,鈥 the judges said a footnote in the 11-page decision.
Myles was a 26-year-old preschool teacher who had just picked up his brother from a roller rink when he was pulled over in Fallbrook in 2014 by deputies looking for a group of teens wanted for playing 鈥渄oorbell ditch,鈥 court records show.
He was cooperating with deputies 鈥 while handcuffed 鈥 when then-Deputy Jeremy Banks arrived at the scene. Banks clocked Myles in the head and sicced his dog on the restrained driver, according to trial evidence.
The Belgian Malinois named Bubo, which had a history of aggressive behavior, repeatedly bit Myles around the torso.
Witnesses told deputies that Myles was not one of the teenaged suspects, but Banks arrested him anyway on suspicion of resisting an officer. The District Attorney鈥檚 Office never filed criminal charges against Myles.
Myles sued the county and Banks in 2015, and the case finally went to trial in 2022.
Several deputies at the scene in 2014 provided sworn testimony that Myles had been cooperating with their demands at the time Banks struck him about the head and sent the dog after him.
Even so, the county argued that the use of force was appropriate.
Myles鈥 lawyer subsequently learned that Banks had racked up at least 17 accusations of excessive force and that his dog had previously been shown to be overly aggressive.
The trial judge concluded that lawyers for San Diego County failed to turn over evidence to the plaintiff, and that the improper withholding of records had 鈥渆ffectively hogtied鈥 their efforts to defend motions filed by the defendants.
鈥淭he court finds that upon review of the record, it is clear that defendants have acted in bad faith in not producing discovery,鈥 U.S. District Court Judge John Houston said from the bench.
The judge relied in part on that finding when he awarded the plaintiff鈥檚 lawyers nearly $6 million in fees.
But the appeals judges said the fees were too high, given the jury award was vacated. They also challenged some of Myles鈥 lawyers鈥 time calculations and hourly rates and said the trial judge wrongly applied a 1.3 multiplier due to county lawyers鈥 actions.
鈥淭he district court may have found defendants鈥 behavior objectionable, but the district court had other remedies at its disposal to deter inappropriate attorney conduct such as monetary and discovery sanctions,鈥 the judges wrote.
After a hearing June 18, Judge Houston laid out a schedule for upcoming motions related to a pending remittitur 鈥 the legal term for a proceeding aimed at revising an excessive jury award.
The plaintiff鈥檚 lawyers must submit their motion by Aug. 1, with a response from the county due by Aug. 18. Legal fees will be debated once a damages award is reached.