90 results for 'cat:"Civil Rights" AND cat:"Wrongful Death"'.
J. Huffaker dismissed and directs this suit to be closed in favor of the county commission, other departments and community in this racial wrongful death claim brought by the father of his decedent. The father alleges the county’s E-911 department failed to provide equal and non-discriminatory services to Black residents after he heard gunshots in the area where the decedent was shot. He fails to show any evidence that the official county policy would hold the commission liable and failed to cure his deficiencies in the original complaint to state a plausible claim to any of the claims.
Court: USDC Middle District of Alabama, Judge: Huffaker, Filed On: December 11, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv693, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Negligence, wrongful Death
J. McShane dismisses the family's federal claims accusing the city's officers of allowing decedent to asphyxiate in their custody, whereupon he permanently lost consciousness and died several months later. There is no evidence that one specific officer saw the seatbelt wrap around decedent's throat and did not intervene, and there is no evidence of inexcusable negligence among the other officers.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: McShane, Filed On: December 7, 2023, Case #: 6:21cv142, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, wrongful Death, Police Misconduct
Per curiam, the circuit finds the trial court properly denied qualified immunity to the deputy in a civil rights case. The decedent died of a heart attack while detained in the back of a patrol car. The decedent was not suspected of any crime, posed no threat to anyone's safety and made no attempt to resist arrest. A deputy seized him under the mistaken assumption he was videotaping the officers. There was no evidence the deputy's actions were compelled by necessity and exigency. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: December 6, 2023, Case #: 23-30253, Categories: civil Rights, wrongful Death, Police Misconduct
J. Griggsby grants, in part, the police department, a major and several officers’ motion to dismiss and summary judgment in claims brought after a suspect crashed with a driver and passenger during a high-speed chase. The driver died and the passenger was seriously injured, the negligence in the chase fell on the police department, a major and the officers. In the amended complaint, the unrebutted evidence fails to show that driver and passenger’s harm was caused by the officers or related to poor training by the department. The amended complaint is dismissed.
Court: USDC Maryland, Judge: Griggsby, Filed On: December 6, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv969, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Negligence, wrongful Death
J. Bryant denies the police officers' motion for summary judgment, ruling they are not entitled to qualified immunity on excessive force claims brought by the estate. There are too many questions of fact to allow the court to determine whether the officers' actions following an attempted block-in of the decedent's vehicle were reasonable. The speed of the decedent's vehicle, the path of the vehicle in relation to the officers who fired the fatal shots, and whether the decedent struck police vehicles or police vehicles struck the decedent's car are all questions of fact that must be answered by a jury.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Bryant, Filed On: December 4, 2023, Case #: 3:18cv1594, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Immunity, wrongful Death
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J. Johnston grants in part the West Virginia Public Service Commission police officer's motion for summary judgment in the estate's claims he violated a man's civil rights when he failed to render aid after a Mingo County deputy sheriff shot the man in the presence of his parents after the man evaded capture by another deputy. The WVPSC officer owed the decedent no affirmative duty of care since he was not in his custody at the time of the detention and subsequent shooting, but a jury could determine the officer acted recklessly when he pulled the decedent's father away from him when he attempted to protect his son from further harm. Additionally, the three commissioners' motion for summary judgment is granted, because the estate's Monell claim fails since it applies only to municipalities and not public officials.
Court: USDC Southern District of West Virginia, Judge: Johnston, Filed On: November 15, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv247, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Government, wrongful Death
J. Freeman denies in part a motion to dismiss wrongful death claims against Santa Clara officials stemming from the suicide of an inmate at the Santa Clara County Jail. While some failure to train and other civil rights claims are tossed, it's plausible that jail policies, such as one that allowed decedent to be kept in a cell with "obvious hanging points," contributed to the death.
Court: USDC Northern District of California, Judge: Freeman, Filed On: October 31, 2023, Case #: 5:22cv4321, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, wrongful Death
J. Moore vacates the lower court's finding for a nurse on an estate's deliberate indifference claim arising from the death of an inmate, who overdosed on methamphetamine. The decedent's clear signs of distress throughout his booking process into the jail, which only escalated once he was placed in a holding cell, should have made the medical staff aware he was suffering either from some kind of drug withdrawal or medical emergency. Reversed in part.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Moore, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: 23-5133, Categories: civil Rights, Evidence, wrongful Death
J. Stras finds a lower court improperly denied three corrections officers' motion for qualified immunity. An estate administrator argued that corrections officers failed to attempt to resuscitate an inmate who had ingested fentanyl, which resulted in death by overdose. However, the corrections officers sufficiently showed in court that the lower court may have "tilted the scales too far" in the estate administrator's favor. Remanded.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Stras, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 22-1843, Categories: civil Rights, Immunity, wrongful Death
J. Starnella grants a sergeant summary judgment in excessive force and battery causing wrongful death claims brought after he shot and killed a suspect in a standoff. The suspect barricaded himself in a basement, set it on fire, and emerged from the basement holding what appeared to be a club, and he threatened officers before he was shot.
Court: USDC Colorado, Judge: Starnella, Filed On: October 18, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv982, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, wrongful Death
J. Pulliam finds a San Antonio officer is entitled to qualified immunity in a civil rights lawsuit stemming from a deadly police shooting. The victim in the shooting, a young woman who was walking near a school with a BB gun, may have had “no malintent” in reaching for the BB gun during a police encounter, but regardless she made a “clear, deliberate and indisputable effort to reach for it,” giving the officer probable cause for use of deadly force.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pulliam, Filed On: October 2, 2023, Case #: 5:21cv281, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, wrongful Death, Police Misconduct
J. Blackwell partially grants the city and police officers’ motion for summary judgment in a wrongful death suit brought by the family of a man shot and killed by police in a highly publicized incident. A Fourth Amendment excessive force claim related to less-lethal munitions is dismissed as to the officers who used lethal munitions, and a substantive due process claim is dismissed because it is subsumed in Fourth Amendment claims. The motion is otherwise denied.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Blackwell, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 0:20cv1508, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, wrongful Death, Police Misconduct
J. Barker denies, in part, the jail employees' motions for summary judgment, ruling the guard on shift at the time of the inmate's death and the shift supervisor are not entitled to judgment on the estate's deliberate indifference claim. Several red flags - including the inmate's refusal to eat breakfast and her admission she had taken drugs before her arrest - should have alerted them that she needed medical treatment. However, the guard assigned to duty on the day of the inmate's death cannot be held liable because he had only one interaction with the inmate, during which he saw her sleeping, and was unaware she had taken drugs prior to her arrest.
Court: USDC Northern District of Ohio, Judge: Barker, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 5:21cv959, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, wrongful Death
J. Kleeh grants in part, denies in part and holds in abeyance in part two of the estate’s motions in limine, and grants four and denies four of the Lewis County Commission’s motions in the estate’s civil rights suit accusing three Lewis County deputy sheriffs of causing a developmental disabled man’s death on Nov. 12, 2018, after deploying their Tasers on him multiple times while arresting him for violating parole. A Feb. 26, 2024, trial date is scheduled.
Court: USDC Northern District of West Virginia, Judge: Kleeh, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv47, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, wrongful Death, Discovery
J. Rothstein denies both the mother's and the county's motions for summary judgment regarding the mother's complaint alleging that the county's officers wrongfully shot and killed her son, a Black man, when he fled a sting operation meant to arrest him for selling 50 Xanax pills to an informant. The evidence that the decedent held a cellphone presents a dispute of fact as to whether the officer who fired was justified because he believed the decedent was armed or if the shooting was unjustified based on claims that the decedent held up his phone so his mother could witness the event on FaceTime. The case shall proceed to trial.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Rothstein, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv5384, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, wrongful Death, Police Misconduct
J. Hall grants the prison officials' renewed motion to dismiss a civil rights and wrongful death action brought by the widow after her incarcerated husband was fatally stabbed by his cellmate. The widow failed to sufficiently allege that the officials knew the husband faced a risk of serious harm due to the cellmate's history of violent attacks and getting caught with contraband. There are no allegations that the supervisory officials directly participated in the alleged deliberate indifference to the husband. The supervisory officials are entitled to qualified immunity.
Court: USDC Southern District of Georgia, Judge: Hall, Filed On: September 27, 2023, Case #: 6:22cv80, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, wrongful Death
J. Dimke denies judgement as a matter of law to the prison healthcare services company against the sole-surviving child's complaint alleging that the former did not give her mother adequate medical care while she was in Spokane County's jail for drug possession, resulting in her death. The prison healthcare services company claims that the nurse, not the company, is ultimately responsible for denying the decedent healthcare, but the nurse believed that the decedent required monitoring for medical issues and thus sent the decedent to medical watch as part of the prison healthcare services company's unofficial custom.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Washington, Judge: Dimke, Filed On: September 27, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv410, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, wrongful Death
J. Gilliam Jr. allows some civil rights claims to continue against Arcata officials stemming from an incident where police fatally shot a man in the back of the head while responding to reports of decedent acting strangely while walking around with a holstered gun and a briefcase. Decedent's estate sufficiently alleges that two of the officers' conduct was "outrageous," with one of the officers reportedly saying they were "just going to unload on him." Fellow officers allegedly had the chance to intervene in the shooting but did not do so, so the bulk of the claims proceed.
Court: USDC Northern District of California, Judge: Gilliam Jr. , Filed On: September 26, 2023, Case #: 4:22cv4804, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, wrongful Death, Police Misconduct
[Consolidated.] J. Ryu allows some civil rights and wrongful death claims to continue against Alameda officials stemming from the death of a man that asphyxiated after officers handcuffed him and placed their weight on him for several minutes. The city provides no argument for why decedent was detained for possible theft after investigation of that offense had ceased. Also, a reasonable jury could find that keeping decedent pinned down while handcuffed for nearly four minutes until he became unresponsive constituted lethal force.
Court: USDC Northern District of California, Judge: Ryu, Filed On: September 25, 2023, Case #: 4:22cv718, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, wrongful Death, Police Misconduct
J. Mahan grants the city's motion for summary judgment in this civil rights suit brought by the estate of a man who was fatally shot by the city's SWAT team after he refused to surrender during negotiations regarding his brandishing and firing of a handgun. Expert testimony shows that the man displayed active resistance to officers' requests and directions, putting the public in danger. It is undisputed that he fired at least one round in the middle of a park, telling a witness “it’s gonna [sic] get bad around here.”
Court: USDC Nevada, Judge: Mahan , Filed On: September 20, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv1542, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, wrongful Death, Police Misconduct
J. Teilborg grants a police officer's motion for qualified immunity concerning excessive force claims brought by an estate administrator. The police officer sufficiently showed in court that the estate administrator's decedent drove erratically in traffic, fled police while armed with a screw driver, and then intentionally attempted to ram his car into an occupied police vehicle. Affirmed.
Court: USDC Arizona, Judge: Teilborg, Filed On: September 14, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv8055, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Immunity, wrongful Death
J. Docherty partially grants the father's motion to amend a scheduling order and his complaint and grants the county and its employees' motion to amend the scheduling order, but denies the county and employees' motion for a protective order precluding the father from deposing the assistant county attorney who represented the county in a CHIPS case concerning his now-deceased child. The father may amend his complaint to add a negligence claim, but not a claim alleging civil rights violations since that claim would be rendered futile by precedent regarding state-created danger claims involving children removed from, then returned to, abusive environments. He may also add a claim for punitive damages. The father may depose the assistant county attorney, but may only inquire as to her impressions of a particular meeting and to advice she gave that is at issue here. The county and employees have not shown any extraordinary circumstances warranting their proposed amendments to the scheduling order, whereas the father's is "based on a sea-change in Minnesota law."
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Docherty, Filed On: September 11, 2023, Case #: 0:22cv2035, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Civil Procedure, civil Rights, wrongful Death
J. Pryor finds that the district court properly ruled in favor of the school system and school officials in a civil rights and wrongful death action brought by the family members arising from the nine-year-old daughter's death by suicide due to racist bullying. The family failed to show that the officials or school system were deliberately indifferent to the bullying and race-based harassment the daughter faced. The daughter's teacher disciplined the bully for calling the daughter the n-word and the assistant principal put a safety plan in place. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Pryor, Filed On: September 1, 2023, Case #: 22-11317, Categories: civil Rights, wrongful Death