Andrew Rutherford v. Jason McKissack

Andrew Rutherford sued Jason McKissack, Jonathan Chin and the City of Seattle on civil rights violations under 42 U.S.C. 1983 claiming taht he Fourth Amendment rights to be free from illegal seizure and excessive force claiming that he wrongfully detained by Chin and that excessive force was used by McKissack, Chin and other officers when he moved because he believe that he was in danger or being run over by a police car.



Rutherford was a passenger in a vehicle that Chin claimed run a red light and cut him off at an intersection. Chin, who was off duty and in plain clothes, followed the offending vehicle into a dead end street where it stopped and Rutherford and the other occupants of the vehicle got out of it. Chin confronted the men, and at gun point, ordered them to the ground while he waited for backup. When the backup officers arrived, Rutherford became concerned and jumped up to protected himself. In response, he was tackled. In the process he sustained head and facial injuries that required $3,500 in medical treatment. He was also charged with obstructing an officer but the charges were dropped.



Chin and the City of Seattle denied wrongdoing.

After a seven-day trial, the jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of Plaintiff as to only one claim, unlawful seizure, and found for the individual defendants and the City on all other claims. The jury found that Defendant Chin exceeded the reasonable length and scope of the investigatory stop. (Dkt. No. 171.) The jury did not award Rutherford any compensatory damages—that is, they did not find that he was harmed in a manner that could be compensated monetarily. The jury awarded no nominal damages.



The Court granted Plaintiff’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict to correct the verdict and awarded nominal damages in the amount of one dollar.





Because of this victory, Rutherford was permitted to seek and obtain the reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred in successfully prosecuting the matter. Congress expressly authorized every successful litigant who defends constitutional rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to seek attorney’s fees and costs in order “to ensure that federal rights are adequately enforced.” Perdue v. Kenny A. ex rel. Winn, 130 S. Ct. 1662, 1671 (2010). In light of the jury’s verdict, the Court finds that Defendants must pay the reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, which are less than what Rutherford requests.



Rutherford sought an award of attorney’s fees and costs in the total amount of $437,700.96. The Court granted the motion and awarded $83,600 in fees and $6,442.12 in costs. Defendants were ordered to pay the sum of $90,042.12 within 10 days of entry of this order.

Editor's Note: The Defendants reported spent $331,000 in defending themselves against Plaintiff's civil rights violation claims.

On September 15, 2011, the City of Seattle City Attorney's office offered to pay $105,000, including a $15,000 "bonus" to Plaintiff's attorneys to join in a request to vacate the judgment in Plaintiff's favor.