223 results for 'cat:"Civil Rights" AND cat:"Immunity"'.
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. Treadwell finds in favor of the prison doctors in a civil rights action brought by the inmate alleging that the doctors were deliberately indifferent to his medical needs and failed to timely diagnose his osteomyelitis, leading to a below-the-knee amputation of his leg. Although the doctors had a difference of opinion about the proper course of care for the inmate, no reasonable jury could find that they disregarded the risk of serious harm to the inmate presented by his bleeding toe ulcer. The doctors are entitled to qualified immunity.
Court: USDC Middle District of Georgia, Judge: Treadwell, Filed On: September 13, 2023, Case #: 5:20cv195, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, immunity, Prisoners' Rights
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J. Mehalchick finds that Scranton school board defendants are immune from certain liability as high public officials but allows a maintenance director to continue malicious prosecution, false arrest, and false imprisonment claims contending he had been "scapegoated" when the public found out the school contained toxic lead and asbestos, even though he had tried to warn the school about these hazardous conditions for years. The maintenance worker successfully alleges his arrest for endangering children had been based on false statements designed to shield school defendants from responsibility.
Court: USDC Middle District of Pennsylvania, Judge: Mehalchick, Filed On: September 11, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv1514, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Malicious Prosecution, immunity
J. Hummel dismisses, with prejudice, a self-represented litigant’s unlawful search and seizure complaint brought against the U.S. Customs and Border Protection stemming from an altercation he had with border patrol agents at the U.S.-Canada border in New York after he was denied entry into the country. His complaint asserts claims solely against the federal agency, which is protected by governmental immunity.
Court: USDC Northern District of New York, Judge: Hummel, Filed On: September 7, 2023, Case #: 8:23cv345, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: civil Rights, immunity
J. King finds that the district court properly dismissed a mother's civil rights and false reporting complaint against two doctors, a detective, a prosecutor and a social worker who alleged she had abused or neglected her son. Her third amended complaint was dismissed because defendants were immune from liability and the complaint failed to state a valid claim for relief. She waived her right to appeal the dismissal of the third amended complaint because her appeal relies on facts and allegations from a proposed fourth amended complaint that was denied by the district court. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Bevan, Filed On: September 6, 2023, Case #: 49385, Categories: Civil Procedure, civil Rights, immunity
J. Barbier denies requests by four law enforcement officers to dismiss excessive force claims by the daughter of a visibly distressed armed man who they fatally shot, allegedly firing a majority of their 36 shots after he dropped his gun and fell to the ground, incapacitated. The facts raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence that one of the officers, a Louisiana State Police trooper, fired his weapon at the gunman after he no longer posed a threat. The Fifth Circuit has held that police excessive force claims are fact-intensive inquiries, requiring an examination of the totality of circumstances to determine whether an officer in the same situation would have concluded that a threat existed justifying the particular use of force.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Barbier, Filed On: August 31, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv4587, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Constitution, immunity
J. Moore finds the lower court properly denied the police officers' motion for summary judgment on the grounds of qualified immunity because there is no evidence to support their warrantless intrusion into the victim's house after a 911 call reported a domestic disturbance. When the officers arrived at the victim's home, no evidence corroborated the neighbor's claim of a domestic disturbance, and although a timid woman was present in another room, the victim was not required to permit the officers into his home and no exigent circumstances existed to allow the officers to break down the door and subdue the victim. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Moore, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: 22-5751, Categories: civil Rights, immunity
J. Colloton finds a lower court properly dismissed a corrections officer's motion for summary judgment concerning claims for qualified immunity. The corrections officer argued that he was entitled to relief on a detainee's constitutional violations claims. However, the detainee presented sufficient evidence in court that the corrections officer sexually harassed him during a strip search by forcefully squeezing his penis, which resulted in the detainee undergoing medical care for his injury. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Colloton, Filed On: August 25, 2023, Case #: 22-2640 , Categories: civil Rights, Constitution, immunity
J. Estudillo dismisses the former deputy prosecuting attorney's claims alleging that Jefferson County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tuppence Macintyre tortiously interfered with the former deputy prosecuting attorney's business expectations by only communicating with her via court record or in writing. Macintyre is entitled to qualified immunity, as the former deputy prosecuting attorney does not cite any authority that states that communicating only via court record or in writing is an unconstitutional prior restraint on speech. It was, in fact, a neutral method of communication that was in the best interests of everyone given the fraught relationship between the parties.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Estudillo, Filed On: August 25, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv5893, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Employment, immunity
J. Higginson finds the district court improperly denied qualified immunity to the Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens, accused of civil rights violations when investigating allegations of the property lessee’s illegal hunting leasing and title forgery. The lessee did not have permission from property owners to sell hunting opportunities, nor did he have a hunting lease license. He alleges that the wardens did not have probable cause, but does not argue the wardens knowingly withheld information, so he has not shown the independent intermediary’s deliberations or decisions were tainted. Independent-intermediary doctrine defeats his allegations that there was no probable cause to prosecute him. Reversed and remanded.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Higginson , Filed On: August 21, 2023, Case #: 21-51105, Categories: civil Rights, Constitution, immunity
J. Ebel finds that the lower court improperly denied an officer qualified immunity after it was alleged that the officer used excessive force against an individual in an attempt to get a cell phone that the officer believed would prove that the individual or his fiancee has abused a child. The individual was resisting the officer during the altercation after being ordered to turn over the phone so as to prevent the destruction of evidence, so the officer was justified in deploying his taser to overcome the resistance. Because the officer's conduct was lawful, he is entitled to immunity. Reversed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Ebel, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 22-1130, Categories: civil Rights, immunity, Police Misconduct
J. Wilson finds the trial court properly found that the officer is protected by qualified immunity for shooting the driver six times. The officer attempted to pull the man over to conduct an investigatory stop and was led on a slow-speed chase through red lights and people’s yards, ending with the driver reaching into the bed of this truck after he was told to show his hands. The officer did not know that the man’s hands were empty when he shot him, and his belief that he was reaching for a weapon entitles him to immunity. Affirmed
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Wilson, Filed On: August 17, 2023, Case #: 22-30329, Categories: civil Rights, immunity, Police Misconduct
J. Wright partially denies the city, county and Department of Natural Resources and their officers' motions to dismiss the protester's suit alleging constitutional violations during protests of the death of Daunte Wright. The protester has standing to bring his claims and to seek injunctive relief, and has plausibly alleged that the county sheriff knew of an unconstitutional pattern of behavior by his subordinates sufficient to overcome a qualified-immunity defense. The protester's Fourteenth Amendment claims are dismissed for failure to state a claim, but his conspiracy claims survive.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Wright, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 0:22cv1666, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, immunity, Police Misconduct
J. Manglona grants summary judgment and reconsideration to two police officers accused of violating the Fourth Amendment by allegedly blocking a man from leaving the premises using their cars and wrongfully arresting him. He did not show that the cars effectively prevented him from leaving; rather, he had walked off his property during a confrontation with the officers when they arrested him. The officers are also entitled to qualified immunity as the man did not show that they acted unconstitutionally or in a way beyond the scope of their positions as police officers.
Court: USDC Northern Mariana Islands, Judge: Manglona, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv1, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, immunity, Police Misconduct
J. Grimberg finds in favor of the police officer and sheriff's deputy in a civil rights, malicious prosecution, assault and battery action brought by an individual arising from his arrest following an altercation with the police officer over his violation of courtroom phone etiquette protocol. There was probable cause to arrest the individual because a reasonable person would have believed he committed a criminal offense in his altercation with the officer. The officer is entitled to qualified immunity because he was acting within the scope of his discretionary authority at the time of the incident. The officer's use of force in arresting the individual was reasonable.
Court: USDC Northern District of Georgia, Judge: Grimberg, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv4846, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Malicious Prosecution, immunity
J. Stranch finds the lower court properly denied the police officer's motion for qualified immunity because the evidence in the record indicates no one was in danger at the time he shot the victim, who was slowly coming to a stop in his vehicle and was not in a position to run over the officer. Although the victim initially struck a police officer when he escaped from custody, from that point on he drove under the speed limit, avoided all pedestrians and police officers, and was in the process of complying with the officer's orders when he was shot and killed. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Stranch, Filed On: August 10, 2023, Case #: 22-3285, Categories: civil Rights, immunity, Wrongful Death
J. Treadwell finds in favor of the Department of Juvenile Justice employees in a civil rights action brought by an individual alleging that they violated his Fourteenth Amendment rights by failing to prevent a fellow juvenile detainee from assaulting him. The employees are entitled to qualified immunity. There is no evidence that detainees in the individual's unit faced a substantial risk of serious harm just by being housed with other detainees from a different city. Incidents of violence driven by the rivalry between detainees of the two cities were too infrequent to make the unit a violent place. The individual also failed to show that the employees were deliberately indifferent to any risk of serious harm.
Court: USDC Middle District of Georgia, Judge: Treadwell, Filed On: August 3, 2023, Case #: 5:21cv31, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, immunity
J. Briccetti partially denies the federal defendants' and Yonkers defendant's motion to dismiss civil rights claims stemming from the attempted arrest and fatal shooting of a man during an FBI surveillance operation who had a gun replica in his car. It is for a jury to decide the reasonableness of each officer's decision to fire subsequent shots based on whether they reasonably believed the man remained a threat when they fired the additional rounds.
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Briccetti, Filed On: July 31, 2023, Case #: 7:19cv9444, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, immunity
J. Pratt finds partially in favor of the state defendants in a disability benefits case. The individual fails to show that the state defendants lack immunity against his claims related to the termination of his long-term disability benefits. In addition, the remaining state claims for unlawful termination and breach of contract are complex, and should be heard in that venue.
Court: USDC Southern District of Indiana, Judge: Pratt, Filed On: July 31, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv2626, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, immunity, Jurisdiction
J. Wormuth grants a public school teacher’s leave to file an answer after he was sued by a former student for allegedly sexually grooming her and otherwise violating her civil rights — conduct that led to a criminal charge against the teacher for sexual contact with a minor. The teacher has shown “excusable neglect” for failing to timely file, and besides this court prefers to “decide claims on their merits rather than on pleading technicalities” — though he may not assert new qualified immunity defenses, as he has not done so before and his delay on that front is not excusable.
Court: USDC New Mexico, Judge: Wormuth, Filed On: July 28, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv276, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Education, immunity
J. Grasz finds a lower court properly denied a police officer's motion for qualified immunity, but may have erred in failing to make a ruling on claims that he may be entitled to sovereign immunity. A protestor argued that the police officer singled him out during a protest concerning the slaying of another police officer, and then intentionally sprayed pepper spray in his face, which resulted in injuries. However, the officer may be entitled to relief based on the lower court's failure to determine whether or not his actions triggered sovereign immunity. Vacated in part.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Grasz, Filed On: July 28, 2023, Case #: 22-2329, Categories: civil Rights, immunity