Judge Tosses Out $33-Million Verdict

A Los Angeles County judge threw out a $33-million jury verdict against the Los Angeles Police Department and Budget Rent A Car on Friday, calling the monetary damage award “utterly shocking and wholly irrational.”

Superior Court Judge Elizabeth A. Grimes upheld the jury’s November finding that LAPD officers were negligent when they handcuffed a Miami surgeon, injuring his wrist, after stopping him in what they believed was a stolen car.

Budget admitted at the trial that it was responsible for putting the wrong license plate on the vehicle that Dr. Angelo E. Gousse rented in Los Angeles in 2001, causing the confusion that led to the police stop.

But Grimes, in a four-page ruling, granted a new trial on what she called the “excessive damages” the jury awarded to Gousse and his wife.

“The jury awards for Dr. Gousse and for Mrs. Gousse are so staggeringly disproportionate to the injuries suffered that the results shock the conscience,” she wrote.

The jury gave Gousse $31 million for past and future medical expenses, lost earning capacity, physical pain and mental suffering, and added $2 million for his wife’s loss of consortium.

At the time, Gousse said he hoped the police would use the verdict, one of the largest negligence awards ever against the LAPD, to revisit safety measures during traffic stops. Gousse also contended that permanent nerve damage to his wrist hindered his ability to perform the delicate surgeries he had trained for.

But the judge ruled there was no credible evidence that Gousse, an associate professor of clinical urology at the University of Miami School of Medicine, “had actual plans to enter private practice that were dashed and forever destroyed by this incident.”

Grimes said although Gousse has suffered pain, the evidence showed he has “remained a respected urologist with a successful and lucrative career in a highly specialized field.”

While representatives of the city and car rental agency praised the ruling, Gousse’s attorney, Browne Greene, said his client was “crushed” by the judge’s action.

“He can’t believe it,” said Greene, who added that no decision has been made on an appeal. All sides are in settlement talks.

After the monthlong trial, the jury ordered the LAPD to pay $14.2 million and Budget to pay the remaining $18.8 million.