Remsburg v. Weitman

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS

LUBBOCK DIVISION

DANIEL REMSBURG,

Institutional ID No. 01381699

Plaintiff,

V. No. 5:21-CV-00001-H

E. WEITMAN,

Defendant.

ORDER ACCEPTING FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND

RECOMMENDATION OF THE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

AND REQUIRING A MOTION ON QUALIFIED IMMUNITY

The United States Magistrate Judge made findings, conclusions, and a recommendation

(FCR) that this Court enter a scheduling order as to Plaintiffs claim that Defendant E.

Weitman, in his individual capacity, subjected him to unconstitutional conditions of

confinement by holding him in a room without a toilet for approximately 24 hours. (Dkt. No.

24.) No objections were filed. The District Court has reviewed the FCR for plain error.

Finding none, the Court accepts and adopts the findings, conclusions, and recommendation of

the United States Magistrate Judge.

In his Answer, Defendant Weitman asserted several affirmative defenses, including the

defense of qualified immunity. (See Dkt. No. 23.) As soon as a defendant invokes an

entitlement to qualified immunity, “the burden is on the plaintiff to demonstrate the

inapplicability of the defense.” McClendon v. City of Columbia, 305 F.3d 314, 323 (Sth Cir. 2002)

(en banc) (per curiam); see also Hunter v. Bryant, 502 U.S. 224, 227 (1991) (noting that “we

repeatedly have stressed the importance of resolving immunity questions at the earliest possible

stage in litigation”); Harris v. Serpas, 745 F.3d 767, 771 (Sth Cir. 2014) (“Once the defendant

raises the qualified immunity defense, ‘the burden shifts to the plaintiff to rebut this defense by

establishing that the official’s allegedly wrongful conduct violated clearly established law.’”

(quoting Brumfield v. Hollins, 551 F.3d 322, 326 (Sth Cir. 2008))); Shaw v. Villanueva, 918 F.3d

414, 416-17 (5th Cir. 2019) (“When a defendant asserts qualified immunity, the plaintiff bears

the burden of pleading facts that demonstrate liability and defeat immunity.” (citations

omitted)).

To promote the efficient determination of the qualified-immunity issues, the Court

requests a motion for summary judgment on that limited issue. Accordingly, Defendant

Weitman is ordered to file a motion for summary judgment with supporting evidence on the

issue of qualified immunity no later than April 28, 2022.1 The summary-judgment motion, any

response, and any reply must comply with the requirements of the Local Civil Rules of the

Northern District of Texas.

All discovery is stayed pending a ruling on the anticipated motion for summary

judgment or further order from the Court. See Wicks v. Miss. State Emp’t Servs., Inc., 41 F.3d 991,

994-95 (5th Cir. 1995); see also Backe v. LeBlanc, 691 F.3d 645, 648 (Sth Cir. 2012); Lion Boulos v.

Wilson, 834 F.2d 504, 507 (5th Cir. 1987); Webb v. Livingston, 618 F. App’x 201, 206 (Sth Cir.

2015) (per curiam), If a claim survives summary judgment on immunity grounds, then the

parties are entitled to all appropriate discovery, even discovery that does not relate to the

qualified-immunity defense. See Zantiz v. Seal, 602 F. App’x 154, 159 (5th Cir. 2015) (quoting

Lion Boulos, 834 F.2d at 507-08).

Where a defendant has asserted a qualified-immunity defense, the Court may, under

certain circumstances, permit limited discovery that is narrowly tailored to uncover facts that

the Court needs to rule on the qualified-immunity defense. See Wicks, 41 F.3d at 994. Ona

| After the issue of qualified immunity is resolved, an additional summary-judgment motion on any

or all remaining issues may be filed if appropriate. See LR 56.2(b).

proper request, the Court may authorize a plaintiff to conduct limited discovery in order to

respond to the qualified-immunity issues raised in the expected motion for summary judgment.

See Backe, 691 F.3d at 648 (“[T]his court has established a careful procedure under which a

district court may defer its qualified immunity ruling if further factual development is necessary

to ascertain the availability of that defense.”). Hinojosa v. Livingston, 807 F.3d 657, 670 (Sth Cir.

2015) (“[A] district court may elect the defer-and-discover approach ‘when the defendant’s

immunity claim turns at least partially on a factual question’ that must be answered before a

ruling can issue.” (quoting Lion Boulos, 834 F.2d at 507)); of Nance v. Meeks, No. 3:17-cv-1882-L-

BN, 2018 WL 5624202, at *4 (N.D. Tex. Aug. 1, 2018) (“[A] court’s qualified immunity inquiry

at [the summary judgment] stage requires that the Court ‘accept the plaintiffs version of the

facts (to the extent reflected by proper summary judgment evidence) as true.’” (quoting Haggerty

v. Tex. §. Univ., 391 F.3d 653, 655 (5th Cir. 2004) (citations omitted)), rec. accepted, 2018 WL

5620469 (N.D. Tex. Oct. 30, 2018).

After Defendant files his motion for summary judgment, the Court will set procedures

and deadlines for any possible request for limited discovery related to the affirmative defense of

qualified immunity. Plaintiff may file a response by no later than 30 days from the date shown

on the certificate of service attached to the motion for summary judgment.

So ordered.

Dated fet auer oe , 2022.

JAMES WESLEY HENDRIX

United States District Judge