228 results for 'cat:"Civil Rights" AND cat:"Immunity"'.
J. McHugh finds that the lower court properly granted immunity to a series of state officials after a doctor sued them with claims that he was arrested without good cause and that social workers took his children away after they entered his home without a warrant. He was arrested over reports of sexual abuse against a minor, though eventually the charges against him were dropped and his children returned. Given the evidence available to investigators at the time, they had reasonable suspicion to think that the children were in danger. Affirmed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: McHugh, Filed On: May 7, 2024, Case #: 23-2056, Categories: civil Rights, immunity
J. Stras finds a lower court properly dismissed a prison guard's motion for qualified immunity for excessive force against an inmate. The prison guard, who serves in the A-Team group at the maximum security facility, argued that he was obligated to strike the prisoner in his leg and face for failing to comply during transfer. However, the inmate presented sufficient evidence in court that the prison guard violated his Eighth Amendment rights by accosting him while he was completely restrained. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Stras, Filed On: May 6, 2024, Case #: 23-1869, Categories: civil Rights, Constitution, immunity
J. Oldham finds the district court properly denied qualified immunity for the Houston officers. The good Samaritan was arrested after effectuating a citizen's arrest after a drunk driver crashed. He was charged with felony impersonation of an officer and spent thousands of dollars defending himself before the city dropped the charges. The Samaritan's actions were in accordance with Texas law, and the only evidence he impersonated an officer was the drunk driver’s statement that he identified himself as police. The driver was highly intoxicated and gave other, wildly inconsistent statements, and no reasonable officer could have suspected a felony had occurred. A corrected warrant affidavit could not have established probable cause. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Oldham , Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 22-20621, Categories: civil Rights, immunity, Police Misconduct
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J. Jackson-Akiwumi finds that the lower court improperly granted qualified immunity to two probation officers who failed to release a man jailed for a probation violation months after his probation should have been over. The officers' jobs involved correcting unlawfully long probation terms, but they did nothing when they discovered the error, not even tell someone about the problem. Their decision to do nothing about the mistake was egregious and unreasonable. Reversed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Jackson-Akiwumi, Filed On: April 30, 2024, Case #: 21-3332, Categories: civil Rights, immunity
J. Bloomekatz finds the lower court properly rejected the police officer's request for qualified immunity on excessive force and deliberate indifference claims filed by the estate. Video evidence and the testimony of other officers clearly indicate the decedent was not a threat at the time he was shot and killed in his home after officers were called there for a well check. The decedent had put his gun on the table at which he was seated and merely leaned toward the ground at the time he was shot; therefore, he did not represent a threat to the officer, while he was also required to do more than simply call paramedics after the shooting, at which time the decedent was hemorrhaging blood and struggling to breathe. Affirmed in part.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Bloomekatz, Filed On: April 29, 2024, Case #: 23-3296, Categories: civil Rights, immunity, Due Process
J. Robertson grants the city defendants' motions for summary judgment in this lawsuit arising from a traffic stop that allegedly ended with the driver's arrest. The driver, who was initially stopped for an alleged headlight violation, brings claims for false arrest, excessive force and failure to train. The arresting officer is entitled to qualified immunity, as the evidence does not show excessive force in the use of the handcuffs. The officer was also authorized to arrest the driver after the driver refused to sign the citation.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Oklahoma, Judge: Robertson, Filed On: April 29, 2024, Case #: 6:22cv146, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, immunity
J. Brown finds that a school district, a principal and a teacher are not liable for the actions of an older student who touched younger female students inappropriately in the context of a student tutoring program. The district’s training of the teacher and principal is adequate and did not lead to the violations of the female students’ rights. The teacher and the principal are entitled to qualified immunity in that a reasonable person would not suspect that a mentoring program would lead to constitutional violations. Although the offending student violated the constitutional rights of the female students, he is not a state actor because mentorship is not considered a governmental function under Texas law, and the plaintiffs have not provided an authority that would support such a conclusion. The motions of the district, principal and teacher to dismiss are granted.
Court: USDC Northern District of Texas , Judge: Brown, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv1243, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: civil Rights, immunity, Negligence
J. Holmes finds that the lower court properly granted qualified immunity to a handful of police officials after a person who was convicted and then later declared innocent of burglary sued them with claims that they doctored up evidence to wrongfully convict him. It is recognized that our "system’s imperfection" resulted in the man being imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, but he has not gone so far as to show that the officers violated his rights or acted with blatant disregard towards his well-being during their investigation.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Holmes , Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 22-8015, Categories: civil Rights, immunity
J. Erickson finds a lower court properly dismissed a case manager and a corrections employee's motion for qualified immunity concerning an inmate's Eighth Amendment claims. The case manager and the corrections employee argued that they did not act with deliberate indifference when they deprived him from obtaining toothpaste. However, the inmate sufficiently showed in court that he used his money from an inmate account to buy toothpaste, and suffered tooth decay as a result of not receiving it. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Erickson, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 22-3617, Categories: civil Rights, Constitution, immunity
J. Navarro-McKelvey dismisses the department's appeal of the lower court's decision to apply a multiplier to the award of attorneys' fees to the employee who prevailed in a sexual harassment suit. The department failed to show that the issue of waiver of sovereign immunity for attorneys' fees multipliers falls under the jurisdictional exception to the claim preservation requirements.
Court: Missouri Court Of Appeals, Judge: Navarro-McKelvey, Filed On: April 23, 2024, Case #: ED111748, Categories: civil Rights, immunity, Attorney Fees
J. VanDyke finds that the district court improperly denied a Redwood City police officer qualified immunity in an action alleging constitutional and state law violations arising from the deadly shooting of an individual. Officers responded to a call involving a man attempting suicide with a knife in his backyard. When they arrived, they found the man’s wife covered in blood and frantically pleading for help. After making contact with police, the man moved toward officers while brandishing the knife and was subsequently shot and killed by one officer. Decedent's family failed to show that the officer’s conduct was objectively unreasonable. Reversed.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: VanDyke, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 22-17008, Categories: civil Rights, immunity
J. Clarke denies the paramedics summary judgment for the family's complaint alleging that the fire station denied their loved one ambulance care, forcing her domestic partner to drive her to the hospital, and causing her to die from a cardiac event on the way. The paramedics claim that they have qualified immunity, but the family sufficiently argues that their loved one had a constitutional right to be free from state-created danger, which can overcome the presumption of qualified immunity. Also, it is unclear if the paramedics knew the danger they created with their actions.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: Clarke, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv161, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, immunity
J. Evanson denies the police officer summary judgment for the family's 14th Amendment claim in their complaint accusing the city's officers of wrongfully and fatally shooting their loved one on Nov. 1, 2020, after they attempted to bring him in for questioning for a domestic violence situation. The city concedes that it is unclear if the police officer is entitled to qualified immunity because the court denied its motion to strike evidence that the family relied on in their opposition.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Evanson, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv5759, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, immunity
J. Stacy finds the district court properly dismissed this tort suit. The inmate alleges correctional services medical staff negligently determined he was mentally ill, involuntarily administering the antipsychotic "Haldol" by injection. Being the involuntary injection was a battery, it falls under the battery exemption, conferring sovereign immunity. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Supreme Court, Judge: Stacy , Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: S-23-627, Categories: civil Rights, immunity, Prisoners' Rights
J. Wynn finds the lower court properly denied summary judgment to the police officer. The police were called by the mother of a 15-year-old boy who claims her son was hitting her. When police arrived, they found the teen unarmed and began approaching him as he attempted to back away before lunging toward him and tackling him to the ground. Despite one officer already tasing the teen who was on the ground, the police officer punched the teen five times in the back of the head while he lay helpless. There is still a genuine dispute over whether the officer used excessive force, thus precluding summary judgment based on qualified immunity. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Wynn, Filed On: April 15, 2024, Case #: 22-2115, Categories: civil Rights, immunity, Police Misconduct
J. Forrest finds that the district court properly entered summary judgment for the City and County of Fresno, a number of its law enforcement officers, and a paramedic in an action brought by the family of an individual who asphyxiated and died after the officers, at the direction of the paramedic, used their body weight to restrain him while he was prone in order to strap him to a backboard for hospital transport. The law-enforcement officers and the paramedic are entitled to qualified immunity. Affirmed.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Forrest, Filed On: April 15, 2024, Case #: 22-15546, Categories: civil Rights, immunity
Per curiam, the circuit dismisses an interlocutory appeal in claims brought against a police officer after plaintiff's arm was broken as he resisted being handcuffed following a domestic incident. The officer seeks dismissal based on qualified immunity, which had been granted to others who assisted in the arrest, but the district court held that issues remained unresolved as to whether the officer used excessive force.
Court: 2nd Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 12, 2024, Case #: 23-901-cv, Categories: civil Rights, immunity
J. Holcomb finds in favor of the state agency against the attorney's complaint, which alleges that the state agency must independently investigate the judge who served as an arbitrator in an underlying divorce action because the judge was actually a temporary judge. The Eleventh Amendment bars this action, because it gives states and state agencies sovereign immunity to cases filed in federal court.
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Holcomb, Filed On: April 8, 2024, Case #: 5:22cv1709, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Judiciary, immunity
J. Traynor grants a motion to dismiss a matter stemming from the Dakota Access pipeline protests in which officers used anti-riot and less-than-lethal munitions to disperse a crowd. An individual claims she was struck in the arm by an aerial signaling/warning munition and was later treated at the Hennepin County Medical Center and "incredibly avoided amputation." The court held that the officers are afforded immunity from
her state law claims under North Dakota law.
Court: USDC North Dakota , Judge: Traynor, Filed On: April 3, 2024, Case #: 1:18cv236, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, immunity
J. Crenshaw grants the dismissal motion filed by the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, as well as the motion filed by the City of Mt. Juliet, in this lawsuit arising from the shooting death of an individual on the side of Interstate 65. The complaint alleges that he was shot 12 times, including five times "after he had fallen to the ground," and the court concludes that it plausibly alleges excessive force against the individual officers. However, the surviving spouse abandoned her Section 1983 claims against the Metro government and fails to show that the municipal defendants waived their immunity to the negligence claim.
Court: USDC Middle District of Tennessee , Judge: Crenshaw, Filed On: April 1, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv721, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, immunity
J. Chatigny finds that summary judgment is premature in a case in which detectives withheld exculpatory evidence in a criminal case that resulted in plaintiffs’ wrongful imprisonment. Plaintiffs’ claim rests on negligence of detectives and a narrow identifiable person imminent-harm exception to discretionary immunity. Evidence related to the exception must be further reviewed. Defendant’s motion for summary judgment denied in part and granted in part.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Chatigny, Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: 3:19cv388, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Evidence, immunity
J. Kelly finds a lower court properly dismissed a mother's civil rights and deliberate indifference claims against a police department and a county detention center. The mother argued that corrections employees failed to prevent her son from hanging himself inside of a jail cell, which resulted in his death. However, the corrections center employees are protected by qualified immunity. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Kelly, Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: 21-2459, Categories: civil Rights, immunity, Negligence
[Consolidated.] J. Chatigny finds that summary judgment is premature in a case in which detectives withheld exculpatory evidence in a criminal case that resulted in plaintiffs’ wrongful imprisonment. Plaintiffs’ claim rests on negligence of detectives and a narrow “identifiable person imminent harm” exception to discretionary immunity. Evidence related to the exception must be further reviewed. Defendant’s motion for summary judgment denied in part and granted in part.
Court: USDC Connecticut, Judge: Chatigny, Filed On: March 29, 2024, Case #: 3:18cv1502, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, immunity, Damages