In Re Estate of Ferdinand E. Marcos Human Rights Litigation
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910 F.Supp. 1460 Page 1 910 F.Supp. 1460 (Cite as: 910 F.Supp. 1460) 92XII Due Process of Law United States District Court,D. Hawai‘i. 92k304 Civil Remedies and Proceedings In re ESTATE OF Ferdinand E. MARCOS HUMAN 92k314 k. Trial. Most Cited Cases RIGHTS LITIGATION. This Document Relates to all Cases. Damages 115 205 No. MDL 840. 115 Damages Nov. 30, 1995. 115X Proceedings for Assessment 115k205 k. Assessment at Trial of Issues in General. Most In third stage of human rights class action against former Cited Cases president of the Philippines to determine compensatory In choosing procedure to determine damages in class action damages, president's estate objected to use of random with nearly 10,000 plaintiffs, due process analysis must sampling of class members' injuries to determine damages. weigh defendant's claim to right to trial in each individual The District Court, Real, J., held that use of aggregate case against judicial economy and manageability by use of procedures, with help of expert in field of inferential valid statistical procedure. U.S.C.A. Const.Amend. 14. statistics, for purpose of determining class compensatory damages, was proper. [3] Constitutional Law 92 251.5 Judgment for plaintiffs. 92 Constitutional Law 92XII Due Process of Law West Headnotes 92k251.5 k. Procedural Due Process in General. Most Cited Cases [1] Constitutional Law 92 309(1.5) In determining what kind of process is due in a given case, 92 Constitutional Law courts will balance private interest affected, risk of 92XII Due Process of Law erroneous deprivation of interest through procedures used, 92k304 Civil Remedies and Proceedings and government's interest, including all fiscal and 92k309 Parties and Process or Notice administrative burdens that additional procedure would 92k309(1.5) k. Class Actions. Most Cited Cases require. U.S.C.A. Const.Amend. 14. Federal Civil Procedure 170A 2011 [4] Constitutional Law 92 314 170A Federal Civil Procedure 92 Constitutional Law 170AXV Trial 92XII Due Process of Law 170AXV(C) Reception of Evidence 92k304 Civil Remedies and Proceedings 170Ak2011 k. In General. Most Cited Cases 92k314 k. Trial. Most Cited Cases Ninety-five percent statistical confidence level that all Damages 115 226 claims of parties to class action for damages from torture, summary execution, and disappearance would fall within 115 Damages ambit of claims randomly selected to be presented to jury 115XI Computation and Amount fulfilled requirements of due process and confrontation 115k226 k. Computation of Amount. Most Cited Cases clauses. U.S.C.A. Const.Amends. 6, 14. In class action for damages from torture, summary execution, and disappearance, use of aggregate procedures, [2] Constitutional Law 92 314 with help of expert in field of inferential statistics, for 92 Constitutional Law purpose of determining class compensatory damages, was proper; this procedure did not violate defendant's due © 2006 Thomson/West. No Claim to Orig. U.S. Govt. Works. 910 F.Supp. 1460 Page 2 910 F.Supp. 1460 (Cite as: 910 F.Supp. 1460) process right to one-on-one trial, since judgment against presence of each member of class. U.S.C.A. Const.Amend. defendant would have been larger if one-on-one trials had 7; Fed.Rules Civ.Proc.Rule 23, 28 U.S.C.A. been conducted, liability had already been determined in prior phase of litigation, and one-on-one trials would have [8] Federal Courts 170B 415 been significantly more burdensome on court. U.S.C.A. 170B Federal Courts Const.Amend. 14. 170BVI State Laws as Rules of Decision [5] Jury 230 10 170BVI(C) Application to Particular Matters 170Bk415 k. Damages, Interest, Costs and Fees. Most Cited 230 Jury Cases 230II Right to Trial by Jury Class action brought by citizens of foreign nation, for 230k10 k. Constitutional and Statutory Provisions. Most human rights abuses which occurred in that country, was Cited Cases brought in federal district court under Alien Tort Statute and Seventh Amendment was designed to preserve basic Tort Victim Protection Act (TVPA), and issue of damages institution of jury trial in only its most fundamental was therefore one of federal law. 28 U.S.C.A. § 1350. elements, not the great mass of procedural forms and details, which varied among common-law jurisdictions. [9] Federal Courts 170B 415 U.S.C.A. Const.Amend. 7. 170B Federal Courts [6] Jury 230 34(1) 170BVI State Laws as Rules of Decision 170BVI(C) Application to Particular Matters 230 Jury 170Bk415 k. Damages, Interest, Costs and Fees. Most Cited 230II Right to Trial by Jury Cases 230k30 Denial or Infringement of Right Since Congress offered no methodology as to how damages 230k34 Restriction or Invasion of Functions of Jury should be determined under Tort Victim Protection Act 230k34(1) k. In General. Most Cited Cases (TVPA), federal courts are free to and should create federal Seventh Amendment provides no formula for procedures to common law to provide justice for any injury contemplated be used in trial by jury; rather, rules of evidence and by Alien Tort Statute and TVPA or treaties dealing with procedure impact jury trials, and pragmatic application of protection of human rights. 28 U.S.C.A. § 1350. those rules, consistent with justice, is all that is necessary for presentation of facts necessary for jury determination. [10] Damages 115 226 U.S.C.A. Const.Amend. 7. 115 Damages [7] Jury 230 34(1) 115XI Computation and Amount 115k226 k. Computation of Amount. Most Cited Cases 230 Jury Aggregation of compensatory damage claims is appropriate 230II Right to Trial by Jury under federal common law for human rights claims brought 230k30 Denial or Infringement of Right under Alien Tort Statute and Tort Victim Protection Act 230k34 Restriction or Invasion of Functions of Jury (TVPA). 28 U.S.C.A. § 1350. 230k34(1) k. In General. Most Cited Cases Use of random samples at damages phase of aggregate class *1461 Robert A. Swift, Kohn, Savett, Klein & Graf, P.C., action trial did not violated Seventh Amendment right to Philadelphia, PA, Sherry P. Broder, Honolulu, Hawai‘i, for jury trial; substance of action was presented to jury, Class Plaintiffs. testimony by each class member would have been Paul Hoffman, ACLU Foundation of Southern California, repetitive, and rules governing class actions did not require Los Angeles, CA, Randall H. Scarlett, Brown, Monzione, Fabbro, Zakaria & Scarlett, San Francisco, California, © 2006 Thomson/West. No Claim to Orig. U.S. Govt. Works. 910 F.Supp. 1460 Page 3 910 F.Supp. 1460 (Cite as: 910 F.Supp. 1460) Melvin Belli, Caesar Belli, San Francisco, CA, for action each presented his or her individual claim for Individual Plaintiffs. compensatory damages to the jury in a separate part of the James Pau Linn, Linn & Helms, Oklahoma City, OK, Lex Trial. R. Smith, Kobayashi, Sugita & Goda, Honolulu, Hawai‘i, for defendants. This opinion addresses the compensatory damages phase of the trial. The Court deals here with the propriety of the use OPINION of inferential statistics to ascertain the damages suffered by FN1 each of the 9,541 class members. REAL, District Judge. FN1. Originally 10,059 claim forms were received I. BACKGROUND in this matter. On September 16, 1994 this Court signed an Order rejecting 538 facially invalid Victims of torture, summary execution and disappearance claims. And, on October 20, 1994, this Court filed suits for damages, in the form of a class action as well signed an Order reinstating 20 of the 538 rejected as individual direct actions, against the Estate of the former claims. This Court found 9,541 claims to be valid. President of the Philippines, Ferdinand E. Marcos (MARCOS), for human rights violations. Specifically, the II. MARCOS REGIME violations are alleged to have occurred during the period in which MARCOS, as President of the Philippines, declared MARCOS was elected President of the Philippines in 1965 martial law, from September 21, 1972 to February 25, 1986. and was re-elected in 1969. The Philippine Constitution of 1935, still in effect in 1972, was similar to the United States In 1986 MARCOS fled the Philippines and arrived in the Constitution, in that it limited election of the President to State of Hawaii. MARCOS was a resident of Hawaii at the two four-year terms. Thus, MARCOS would have had to time he was served with the complaints that are the leave the office of the Presidency by the end of 1973, but he subject*1462 of this litigation but he died during the did not. pendency of these actions. The Estate of Ferdinand E. Marcos (the ESTATE) has been substituted in MARCOS' On September 21, 1972 MARCOS imposed martial law on place; his widow, Imelda Marcos, and his son, Ferdinand E. all of the Philippines through Proclamation 1081, which Marcos, Jr., have appeared before this Court as suspended the Constitution, in order to keep himself in representatives of the ESTATE. office. The stated purpose for the imposition of martial law, as expressed in Proclamation 1081, was: The action was tried in the three phases: (1) liability, (2) “to maintain law and order throughout the Philippines, exemplary damages, and (3) compensatory damages, over a prevent or suppress all forms of lawless violence as well as nine year period-from 1986 to 1995. In the compensatory any act of insurrection or rebellion and to enforce obedience damages phase, Phase III, this Court allowed the jury to to all the laws and decrees, orders and regulations FN2 consider the damages to a random sample of plaintiffs as promulgated by me personally or upon my direction.” representative of the injuries suffered by those in the three subclasses; i.e.