Rinker v. County Of Napa

831 F.2d 829 Steven A. RINKER, Plaintiff-Appellee-Cross-Appellant, v. COUNTY OF NAPA; City of Napa; City of Calistoga; City of St. Helena, and Randall Fitt, Defendants-Appellants-Cross-Appellees. Nos. 85-1868, 85-1920, 85-2789 and 85-2813. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Feb. 11, 1987. Decided Oct. 22, 1987. Stuart R. Mandel, Beverly Hills, Cal., for plaintiff-appellee-cross-appellant. Donald T. Ramsey, San Francisco, Cal., for defendants-appellants-cross-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Before ANDERSON, ALARCON and HALL, Circuit Judges. J. BLAINE ANDERSON, Circuit Judge: 1 This case arose out of a shooting which occurred on March 14, 1980, in which officer Randall Fitt of the Napa Special Investigations Bureau shot Steven Rinker in the face during a drug raid. A jury found appellants liable for battery and negligence and for violating 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 . Appellants moved for judgment notwithstanding the verdict ("JNOV") on the Sec. 1983 violation. The district court denied the motion. We reverse. FACTS 2 After an investigation of Kim Dixon, who rented a home in Napa, California,…