Lillian M. Shore v. County Of Mohave

644 F.2d 1320 8 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 224 Lillian M. SHORE, and Andrea Shore, by and through her Guardian Ad Litem, Lillian M. Shore, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. COUNTY OF MOHAVE, STATE OF ARIZONA, Sheriff of Mohave County, Arizona, Defendants-Appellants. No. 79-3453. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted March 11, 1981. Decided May 11, 1981. Brian Kaven, Phoenix, Ariz., argued for defendants-appellants; Burch, Cracchiolo, Levie, Guyer & Weyl, P. A., Thomas G. Bakker, Phoenix, Ariz., on brief. John W. Miner, Los Angeles, Cal., for plaintiffs-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Before KILKENNY and SNEED, Circuit Judges, and GRANT * , District Judge. SNEED, Circuit Judge: 1 The plaintiffs, a California resident and her daughter, sued Mohave County and its Sheriff's Department for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution under Arizona law. The district court, acting under diversity jurisdiction, found the defendants liable and awarded the plaintiffs more than $125,000, including $25,000 in punitive damages. The defendants seek a new trial and they argue that the court erred in awarding punitive damages.…