Ellen O'Phelan v. Gerard Lee Loy

MEMORANDUM

Gerard Lee Loy appeals the district court’s order denying his motion for judgment as a matter of law, denying his Fed. R.Civ.P. 59(e) motion to amend the judgment, and granting O’Phelan’s motion for judgment as a matter of law, thereby awarding O’Phelan $1.00 in nominal damages. We affirm.

1. The district court properly found that there was substantial evidence to support the jury’s findings that Lee Loy had invaded O’Phelan’s privacy. Reviewing de novo the denial of a motion for judgment as a matter of law, we will uphold a verdict if it is supported by “substantial evidence.” First Nat. Mortg. Co. v. Fed. Realty Inv. Trust, 631 F.3d 1058, 1067 (9th Cir.2011).

The evidence presented to the jury included statements that Lee Loy made in a related state court matter, in which he stated that “I got,” “I saw,” “I see,” “I’m looking at,” “I do have now”; “[t]he police report which now includes the medical— some [of O’Phelan’s] medical records.” The jury could have properly relied on this evidence, along with other relevant evidence presented at trial in concluding that Lee Loy had invaded O’Phelan’s privacy. While Lee Loy presented evidence at trial to explain his…