Grassilli

Steven Grassilli brought a federal civil rights claim against several California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers, alleging these officers violated his constitutional rights by engaging in a series of actions against him because he complained about a CHP officer’s improper conduct. ( 42 U.S.C. § 1983 .) The first trial ended in a defense verdict. In a prior unpublished decision, we reversed the judgment because the trial court erroneously excluded evidence relevant to Grassilli’s constitutional retaliation claim. (Grassilli v. Barr (May 10, 2002, D037942) (Grassilli I).)

After a lengthy second trial, the jury found that CHP Officer Richard Barr and Sergeant Michael Toth wrongfully retaliated against Grassilli because Grassilli reported Officer Barr’s improper conduct to CHP management, and that Sergeant Toth and Sergeant Stephen Neumann were also liable for retaliation based on their positions as Officer Barr’s supervisory officers. The jury found the retaliation caused Grassilli to suffer $210,000 in economic damages and $290,000 in noneconomic damages. The jury awarded Grassilli $3 million in punitive damages against Officer Barr and approximately $1 million against…