~$550K Award Related to Doctor's False Alleged Accusation of Nose Punch by Colleague
Reason · RC · trust 31/100
Some excerpts from Thursday's long decision in Zafar v. Saghier , by Texas Court of Appeals Justice Wade Birdwell, joined by Justices Mike Wallach and Brian Walker:
Appellant Sunbal Zafar claimed that her fellow doctor, Appellee Sadaf Saghier, hit her in the nose at the medical practice where they worked, and she reported the alleged assault to the Texas Medical Board and to the police. But the Texas Medical Board dismissed Zafar's complaint, and although the police initially arrested Saghier for felony aggravated assault, the district attorney's office later reduced and then dismissed the criminal charges against Saghier.
So, when Zafar sued Saghier for civil damages for the alleged assault, Saghier counterclaimed for malicious prosecution and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The jury sided with Saghier and awarded her $1 million in compensatory and exemplary damages.
In what we construe as three overarching issues, Zafar asserts that (1) the evidence was insufficient to support the compensatory damages awarded for Saghier's criminal attorney's fees and mental anguish; (2) the award of exemplary damages was premised on a defective jury charge and, regardless, must be adjusted in accordance with the statutory cap if this court reverses any of the compensatory-damage awards; and (3) the trial court abused its discretion by allowing Saghier's counsel to ask her leading questions.
Saghier concedes that the damage award for her criminal attorney's fees lacked sufficient evidentiary support, and the record reveals that the award for future mental anguish also lacked sufficient evidentiary support. These flawed awards, in turn, require a reduction of the exemplary-damages award in accordance with the statutory cap. With these modifications of the judgment, we will affirm....
The pivotal incident occurred at the parties' medical practice in April 2022. According to Zafar, Saghier grabbed her hand "hard," alluded to a rent-related issue, and hit her in the face. {Zafar was taken to the hospital, where tests revealed a nasal fracture. The fracture's age was ambiguous and disputed.} According to Saghier, she never touched Zafar or referenced rent; instead, Zafar "pounded hard on the table," alluded to a prior complaint that Saghier had made about Zafar to the practice's leadership {regarding damaged office items and Saghier's suspicion that Zafar had caused the damage}, then screamed and accused Saghier of hitting her.
Saghier immediately called both the practice's leadership and 911. Police body-camera footage from that day showed Saghier relaying her side of the story, asking the police to swab her hands and Zafar's nose to establish her innocence, and attempting to diffuse tension between Zafar's husband and her own (both of whom arrived at the medical practice after the incident).
Saghier later testified that, as soon as the police responded to Zafar's accusation of assault, she "kn[e]w what [wa]s at stake"—her "whole life[; her] license [wa]s at stake." By the time she arrived home that evening, she was "desperate" for professional mental help. She explained to the jury that she had "two small kids" and was "the breadwinner of the family," and after the incident, she "[c]ould not cry ... [or] sleep" and "d[id]n't even know how to handle this." She found a psychiatrist who had availability "the very next day" and scheduled an appointment.
The psychiatrist's records—which were later admitted into evidence at trial—described Saghier as "very anxious" and "tearful" at the appointment. The records noted that Saghier was suffering from "poor appetite, poor sleep, [and] anhedonia," i.e., "los[s of] the ability to enjoy the things [she] usually d[id]."
Meanwhile, the practice's leadership told Saghier "not to come back to the office," and Zafar reported Saghier's alleged assault to the Texas Medical Board. Within a day of the incident, a surgical facility where Saghier practiced had "precautionarily suspended" her privileges due to "an immediate risk of substantial harm to the health and safety" of those who worked there. The surgery center asked Saghier to undergo a fitness-to-practice evaluation, and Saghier took a leave of absence to do so.
But the fallout continued. Less than two weeks after the incident, Zafar hired an attorney to sue Saghier for assault, and the attorney sent Saghier a letter informing her of the impending litigation and asking her to preserve evidence. Saghier's psychiatrist's notes reflected that, not long thereafter, Saghier began suffering from "nightmares, crying spells, [a] sense of helplessness, insomnia, [and] flashbacks," as well as "intrusive, invasive, or unwanted thoughts" and "feelings of loneliness, isolation, hopelessness/worthlessness." The psychiatrist diagnosed Saghier with "PTSD" and "[a]djustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood." She prescribed Saghier medication for her anxiety and PTSD.
As this was happening, Zafar was also working with the police to pursue Saghier's criminal prosecution. About two months after the incident—in June 2022—the police issued a warrant for Saghier's arrest for felony aggravated assault. Saghier later told the jury that, in an attempt to protect her children, she waited until they went to sleep before turning herself in on the warrant. She spent the night in jail where, according to Saghier, she was strip-searched and had her mugshot taken. She described jail as the "[w]ors[t] experience" and recounted an illustrative anecdote about being told that "there [had been] a murder in the room [she was in] between the two inmates," and the "other people [in the jail room with her we]re laughing about murder cases, [and about] how they have been in and out."
The district attorney later reduced the charge against Saghier to a misdemeanor. But the reduced charge did not stop Saghier's mugshot from spreading throughout her social and professional community, nor did it spare her the expenses…
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