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Keywords

plaintiffdefendantdamagescorporationexemplary damages
plaintiffdefendantdamagestrialverdictpunitive damages

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Fisher v. Carrousel Motor Hotel, Inc., 424 S.W.2d 627

Facts

Fisher, a mathematician with NASA, attended a luncheon at the Carrousel Motor Hotel, where he was invited by Ampex Corporation. While in line for a buffet, Flynn, the manager of the Brass Ring Club, snatched Fisher's plate and loudly declared that he could not be served due to his race. Although Fisher was not physically touched, he experienced significant embarrassment and humiliation as a result of Flynn's actions. The jury found that Flynn's actions constituted a battery and awarded Fisher damages for his suffering.

The jury found that Flynn ‘forceably dispossessed plaintiff of his dinner plate’ and ‘shouted in a loud and offensive manner’ that Fisher could not be served there, thus subjecting Fisher to humiliation and indignity.

Issue

The main legal issues were whether an actionable battery occurred and if the corporate defendants were liable for exemplary damages due to Flynn's conduct.

The questions before this Court are whether there was evidence that an actionable battery was committed, and, if so, whether the two corporate defendants must respond in exemplary as well as actual damages for the malicious conduct of Flynn.

Rule

In Texas, a battery can occur without physical contact with the plaintiff's body, as long as there is contact with an object closely associated with the person. Additionally, a principal is liable for exemplary damages if the agent was acting within the scope of employment and in a managerial capacity.

In Texas, a principal or master is liable for exemplary or punitive damages because of the acts of his agent, but only if: (a) the principal authorized the doing and the manner of the act, or (b) the agent was unfit and the principal was reckless in employing him, or (c) the agent was employed in a managerial capacity and was acting in the scope of employment, or (d) the employer or a manager of the employer ratified or approved the act.

Analysis

The court determined that Flynn's act of snatching the plate from Fisher's hand constituted a battery, as it was an offensive invasion of Fisher's person. The court emphasized that the humiliation and indignity suffered by Fisher were sufficient grounds for awarding damages, even in the absence of physical injury. Furthermore, since Flynn was acting in a managerial capacity and within the scope of his employment, the hotel was liable for exemplary damages.

We hold, therefore, that the forceful dispossession of plaintiff Fisher's plate in an offensive manner was sufficient to constitute a battery, and the trial court erred in granting judgment notwithstanding the verdict on the issue of actual damages.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court reversed the lower courts' judgments and ruled in favor of Fisher, awarding him $900 in damages.

The judgments of the courts below are reversed, and judgment is here rendered for the plaintiff for $900 with interest from the date of the trial court's judgment, and for costs of this suit.

Who won?

Fisher prevailed in the case because the court found that Flynn's actions constituted a battery and that the hotel was liable for exemplary damages due to Flynn's conduct while acting in his managerial capacity.

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