Deb Bowers (with the assistance of Andrew Pinto) won a jury trial in the Western District, Charlotte before Judge Frank Whitney in January, 2017, representing/defending a municipality and several municipal employees and former police chief, mayor and town managers in a civil rights action brought by former residents of the town. One brother was incarcerated on other charges at the time of the lawsuit, and one was living in the county. Included as defendants and separately represented were two former police detectives who were accused of violating the brothers’ civil rights and harassment. Plaintiffs alleged that the actions of the defendants destroyed their business and alleged section 1983 and civil RICO claims against all parties. The almost 2 week long jury trial resulted in a jury finding of no liability on all claims.
Recently, on September 22, 2017, the trial Court ruled on post-trial motions, including an important motion for summary judgment on the statutes of limitations for all claims, which provides additional grounds on appeal for supporting the pre-trial dismissal of the individual City defendants, who were dismissed on qualified immunity grounds immediately before the trial against the City and others.
