## Facts

- Winston Johnson entered a Barnes & Noble store in Florida to buy a compact disc and a book.
- After purchasing the CD, Johnson asked a female clerk for help locating a book; during the interaction, physical contact occurred as the clerk stooped down.
- Johnson testified he was attempting to help the clerk with her shirt; the clerk reported Johnson inappropriately touched her buttocks.
- Two managers and a security guard, none of whom witnessed the incident, confronted Johnson, accused him of misconduct, and escorted him to an office.
- Johnson was detained in the office for approximately one to two hours, during which he was questioned and photographed; he testified that racially discriminatory remarks were made.
- Store employees took Johnson’s identification; when police arrived, they questioned him, returned his identification, told him to leave, and did not arrest him.
- Johnson sued Barnes & Noble for false imprisonment under Florida law.
- A jury found Barnes & Noble liable and awarded $117,000 for emotional pain and mental anguish.
- The district court denied Barnes & Noble’s motion for a new trial challenging the jury instructions and the size of the damages award.

## Issues

1. Whether the district court abused its discretion by refusing to give Barnes & Noble’s requested jury instruction referencing “breach of the peace” as a justification for the detention.
2. Whether the $117,000 emotional-distress award was so excessive as to require a new trial or other relief.

## Decision

- The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the denial of a new trial and left the jury verdict intact.
- The district court did not abuse its discretion by declining to give Barnes & Noble’s requested “breach of the peace” instruction because the charge, considered as a whole, correctly stated Florida false-imprisonment law and allowed the defense theory to be argued.
- The $117,000 award was supported by evidence of the detention and its emotional effects and was not so grossly excessive as to warrant appellate intervention.

## Legal Principles

- Under Florida law, false imprisonment requires proof of a detention against the plaintiff’s will without lawful authority; malice or lack of probable cause is not required.
- A trial court has discretion in framing jury instructions; reversal is warranted only if the instructions as a whole misstate the law or mislead the jury and cause prejudice.
- A party is not entitled to a particular phrasing of an instruction if the given instructions accurately convey the governing law and permit presentation of the party’s theory.
- Denial of a new trial based on allegedly excessive damages is reviewed for abuse of discretion; emotional-distress awards are disturbed only when grossly excessive or shocking to the conscience in light of the record.

## Conclusion

The Eleventh Circuit upheld a Florida false-imprisonment verdict against a retailer, concluding that the jury instructions sufficiently covered lawful-justification concepts without the defendant’s preferred “breach of the peace” wording and that the emotional-distress damages award was supported by the evidence and not excessive.


Johnson v. Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Inc., 437 F.3d 1112 (11th Cir. 2006)