# Ayers v. City of Holly Spring

> Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · August 8, 2007 · 235 F. App'x 269

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/52085

## Case

- **Full name:** Grant AYERS, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Joseph THOMAS, Sr., in His Individual Capacity, Defendant-Appellant
- **Court:** Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- **Decided:** August 8, 2007
- **Citations:** 235 F. App'x 269
- **Precedential status:** Unpublished
- **Opinion:** Opinion
- **Judges:** Jolly, Dennis, Clement
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

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## Opinion text

United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT August 8, 2007

Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
No. 06-60999
Summary Calendar

GRANT AYERS

Plaintiff-Appellee,

versus

JOSEPH THOMAS, SR., in his individual capacity,

Defendant-Appellant.

--------------------
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Mississippi
USDC No. 3:05-CV-75
--------------------

Before JOLLY, DENNIS, and CLEMENT, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

Appellant Joseph Thomas, Sr., a police officer for the City of

Holly Springs, has filed an interlocutory appeal of the district

court’s order denying summary judgment on his qualified immunity

defense in a case involving a dispute between Thomas and the

plaintiff, Grant Ayers, over a traffic stop.

A district court’s decision to deny qualified immunity on a

motion for summary judgment is only immediately appealable if it

turns on an issue of law, and is not immediately appealable if it

is based on a claim regarding the sufficiency of the evidence.

*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that
this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except
under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
No. 06-60999
-2-

Gobert v. Caldwell, 463 F.3d 339, 344 (5th Cir. 2006). “Therefore,

if the district court concludes that the summary judgment record

raises a genuine issue of material fact with respect to whether ...

qualified immunity is applicable, then that decision is not

immediately appealable....” Id., quoting Palmer v. Johnson, 193

F.3d 346, 351 (5th Cir. 1999). The only authority Thomas cites to

the contrary is Petta v. Rivera, 143 F.3d 895, 899 (5th Cir. 1998),

a case in which the district court denied summary judgment without

any explanation. In this case, the district court explained its

decision in a written opinion, concluding that the evidence

presented “clearly establishes fact issues” as to the First

Amendment claims. The court deferred a decision on the Fourth

Amendment claims, noting that it was disinclined to ultimately

allow them to proceed. Even if this deferral is assumed to

constitute a final order, the court’s decision was also based

solely on whether there were “triable jury issues regarding

plaintiff’s Fourth Amendment claims against Thomas.” We therefore

DISMISS THE APPEAL for lack of jurisdiction.

---

Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/52085. Public record. Not legal advice.