Cengage Advantage Books: Business Law Today, The Essentials 10th Edition by Roger LeRoy Miller

تمرين 11

Shoyoye v. County of Los Angeles
FACTS Adetokunbo Shoyoye was lawfully arrested in 2007 when he was at a police station reporting an unrelated incident. The police discovered that he had two outstanding warrants: one for an unpaid subway ticket, and another for grand theft, which was actually issued because a former roommate had stolen his identity and been convicted of grand theft under Shoyoye's name. Shoyoye was incarcerated. Shortly thereafter, he appeared before a magistrate who ordered him released on the first warrant. A few days later, a different court released him on the second warrant.
A Los Angeles County employee mistakenly attached information related to another person-who was scheduled to be sent to state prison for violating his parole-to Shoyoye's paperwork. Subsequently, this erroneous information was entered into the computer system under Shoyoye's name. As a result, instead of being released as ordered, Shoyoye was held in jail for sixteen days, subjected to strip searches, required to wait naked in line to shower in close proximity to other inmates, and shackled. During this time, Shoyoye made numerous attempts to explain to various officials that he was being detained for no reason. He was housed in a large dormitory with hundreds of inmates, many of whom were gang members, and witnessed criminal activity and fights. He feared that he might be sent to prison, be put into "the hole" for discipline, or become a victim of violence. After his release, he sued the County of Los Angeles for, among other things, false imprisonment. A jury awarded him $22,700 in economic damages (for past and future lost earnings and property loss), and $180,000 in noneconomic damages (for past and future pain and suffering). The County of Los Angeles appealed.
ISSUE Did the County of Los Angeles wrongfully detain Shoyoye because of its clerical errors?
DECISION Yes. The reviewing court found that Shoyoye had experienced false imprisonment and held that the jury award for economic damages and noneconomic damages was appropriate under the circumstances.
REASON "The elements of a tortious claim of false imprisonment are: (1) the non-consensual, intentional confinement of a person, (2) without lawful privilege, and (3) for an appreciable period of time, however brief." The court concluded that the evidence presented at trial "was clearly sufficient to establish these elements." Had any county employees simply looked at the paper file on Shoyoye rather than the computer records, they would have realized that the "hold" on Shoyoye did not pertain to him. The erroneous paperwork on Shoyoye resulted in sixteen days of undeserved detention in a less-than-desirable environment.
CRITICAL THINKING-Ethical Consideration Shoyoye asked numerous county employees to verify that he had been wrongfully detained. What obligation did those employees have to attempt to discover "the truth" ?