Civil Rights : Sexual Assault – Jury Instruction – Damages

(1)Where a developmentally disabled woman who was sexually assaulted by a kitchen employee of the facility where she lived brought an action for deprivation of her substantive due process right to bodily integrity, denial of the kitchen employee’s motion for a new trial is affirmed because a consent instruction was proper, and the jury had enough evidence to find the employee liable for acting without the woman’s consent.

(2)Where a disabled woman who was sexually assaulted by a kitchen employee at her live-in facility was awarded $1 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages, the record showed that the woman suffered extensively from the incident and from having to move to a new facility, so the compensatory damages award was supported by the evidence, and the punitive damages award is also affirmed because the employee who assaulted her exhibited reckless disregard for her wellbeing and sought to evade responsibility.
Judgment is affirmed.

Lee v. Borders (MLW No. 66862/Case No. 13-3128 – 13 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8^th Circuit, Kelly, J.) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, Adelman, J. (Dana Walker Tucker, St Louis, argued for appellant; Robert J Isaacson appeared on the brief) (Douglas Barrett Rudman, St Louis, argued for appellee).

Read the full text of this opinion. (PDF)