## Facts

- Noel Bender lived at and managed an apartment complex in Palmdale, California, where tenants reported frequent law-enforcement harassment after an officer had been shot there earlier in the year.
- On the day of the incident, a tenant testified that Deputy Scott Sorrow entered the complex and shouted a racial slur.
- Late on August 26, 2009, Bender returned from college classes, handled property matters, and went outside to shut off pool water and secure the front gate.
- Deputies, including Sorrow, entered the complex through the front gate and encountered Bender.
- Bender alleged he was unlawfully arrested and then beaten by deputies while handcuffed and not resisting.
- Bender sued the County of Los Angeles and involved deputies, asserting (among other claims) a violation of the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act (Civil Code § 52.1).
- A jury found for Bender on the Bane Act claim and awarded damages.
- Post-trial, the court awarded attorney’s fees, expert witness fees under Code of Civil Procedure § 998, and costs for trial technology and presentation.

## Issues

1. Whether a Bane Act claim based on unlawful arrest and excessive force requires “threats, intimidation, or coercion” that are separate from, and independent of, the Fourth Amendment violation.
2. Whether the trial court erred in denying a new trial based on asserted evidentiary errors and excessive damages.
3. Whether the attorney’s fee award, expert witness fees under § 998, and trial-technology/presentation costs were unauthorized or excessive.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeal affirmed the judgment and all post-trial awards.
- The court held the Bane Act does not require threats, intimidation, or coercion independent from the unconstitutional seizure or excessive force in this context.
- The court found no reversible error in the evidentiary rulings and no basis to disturb the damages verdict or the denial of a new trial.
- The court upheld the attorney’s fee award, expert witness fees under § 998, and trial-technology/presentation costs as within the trial court’s authority and discretion.

## Legal Principles

- Civil Code § 52.1 imposes liability for interference (or attempted interference) with federal or state rights by threats, intimidation, or coercion.
- In unlawful-arrest/excessive-force cases, the coercive conduct constituting the constitutional violation may itself satisfy § 52.1’s “threats, intimidation, or coercion” element; no additional, separate threatening act or “separate-right” showing is required.
- Orders denying a new trial and rulings on evidentiary matters and damages are reviewed for abuse of discretion and are upheld when supported by the record.
- Prevailing Bane Act plaintiffs may recover reasonable attorney’s fees.
- When a plaintiff makes an unaccepted § 998 offer and obtains a more favorable judgment, expert witness fees may be shifted under § 998.
- Trial-technology and presentation expenses may be recoverable as costs when permitted by statute and allowed in the trial court’s discretion.

## Conclusion

The court affirmed a jury’s Bane Act verdict arising from an unlawful arrest and beating of a handcuffed, nonresisting plaintiff, holding that § 52.1 does not require threats or coercion distinct from the seizure and force used; it also affirmed the denial of a new trial and the awards of attorney’s fees, § 998 expert fees, and trial-presentation costs.


Bender v. County of Los Angeles, 217 Cal. App. 4th 968, 159 Cal. Rptr. 3d 204 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013)