Mchenry V. Chadwick

The plaintiff-appellee E. Scott McHenry brought this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging a deprivation of his constitutional rights while a prisoner at Brushy Mountain Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee. Specifically, McHenry claimed he was twice assaulted by correctional officers in violation of his rights under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. The jury awarded him $150.00 in compensatory damages and $2,600.00 in punitive damages. The district judge also awarded McHenry reasonable attorney's fees and costs pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988. The defendants-appellants now appeal the order of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee denying their motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, or alternatively, for a new trial. We affirm.