Big Town Nursing Home, Inc. v. Newman

461 S.W.2d 195 (Tx. 1970)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Newman (P) was 67 and a retired printer and was taken to Big Town (D) by his nephew. P had Parkinson's disease, arthritis, heart trouble, a voice impairment, and a hiatal hernia. P had been arrested for drunkenness and drunken driving. The admission papers provided that P would not be forced to remain in the nursing home against his will for any length of time. Three days later, P decided that he wanted to leave and attempted to call a taxi. D's employees prevented P from leaving by locking up his clothes and by forcibly detaining him each of the six times he tried to leave. P was placed in Ward 3 and taped into a restraint chair for more than five hours. Ward 3 was for drug addicts and alcoholics. Payment of his social security checks was changed without his authorization by a doctor working for D. P was also prevented from using the phone for almost 2 months. P finally escaped. P had lost 30 pounds during his ordeal. There was never any court proceeding to confine P. P sued D for false imprisonment and received an award for actual and exemplary damages. D appealed on the grounds that the award of exemplary damages was improper in the case.