Case law

Munzel v. Hillsborough County

District Court, M.D. Florida · Nov 23, 2021

With Officer Pisano meeting the first two prongs of the qualified immunity analysis, the burden shifts to Plaintiff to show that Officer Pisano violated a clearly established constitutional right of which a reasonable … Without such a clearly established right, Officer Pisano’s conduct cannot be described as “so obviously illegal” under the reasonable person standard so as to strip him of his qualified immunity.

McCants v. Jordan

District Court, M.D. Florida · Apr 21, 2021

“Qualified immunity . . . protects a defendant from liability in a § 1983 claim arising from discretionary acts, as long as those acts do not violate clearly established . . . … “[A] right may be clearly established for qualified immunity purposes through: (1) case law with indistinguishable facts clearly establishing a constitutional right; (2) a broad statement of principle within the Constitution

Hill v. Seaboard Coast Line Railroad

573 F. Supp. 1079 · District Court, M.D. Florida · Nov 2, 1983

To accomplish this, the defendant must clearly set forth, through the introduction of admissible evidence, the reasons for the plaintiff’s rejection. … Defendant has contended that Master Mechanic Brigman’s testimony contained clearly articulated reasons for selection of the white candidates over Plaintiffs.

Feldman v. Flood

176 F.R.D. 651 · District Court, M.D. Florida · Sep 2, 1997

Accordingly, under well established principles of Delaware law, plaintiffs have no standing to continue to prosecute this action, and this action is now moot” Motion to Dismiss at 2. … Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 , 102 S.Ct. 2727 , 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982)—(diseov-ery may be stayed to determine the dis-positive issue of immunity of government officials).

Ippolito v. State of Fla.

824 F. Supp. 1562 · District Court, M.D. Florida · Jun 14, 1993

Clearly, the first element is established since the Florida Bar is a state organization of considerable authority. The inquiry then focuses on the second element: the existence ' of a right, privilege, or immunity. … Any such claims brought on behalf of third parties is clearly barred. Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737 , 104 S.Ct. 3315 , 82 L.Ed.2d 556 (1984). 28 . Judges have absolute immunity against monetary damages. Pierson v.

Obermaier v. Kenneth Copeland Evangelistic Ass'n

208 F. Supp. 2d 1288 · District Court, M.D. Florida · Jun 21, 2002

The Supreme Court found it to be inconsistent to invoke federal jurisdiction by removal and then to deny that a federal court possessed power to proceed by asserting Eleventh Amendment immunity. … Plaintiffs choice of forum, however, should not be disturbed unless it clearly is outweighed by other considerations. Robinson v. Giarmarco & Bill, P.C., 74 F.3d 253, 260 (11th Cir.1996).

Harris v. Wingo

District Court, M.D. Florida · Feb 24, 2022

In this case, the district court denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment asserting entitlement to qualified immunity. … But denial of summary judgment on a claim of qualified immunity does not establish liability for the underlying conduct.

Woienski v. United Airlines, Inc.

383 F. Supp. 3d 1342 · District Court, M.D. Florida · May 31, 2019

He established with me on 10/13/2015. … Clearly, the expert opinions offered by Dr. Datta are important, and in the absence of those opinions, Plaintiff is unlikely to carry his burden of establishing causation.

Groover v. Polk County Board of County Commissioners

District Court, M.D. Florida · May 8, 2020

“Once the defendant establishes that he was acting within his discretionary authority, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to show that qualified immunity is not appropriate.” Id. … The primary concern in finding that a law is clearly established is that the Defendants must have had “fair warning” that their conduct violated a clearly established constitutional right. McClish v.

Hastings v. City Fort Myers

District Court, M.D. Florida · Mar 23, 2020

violate any ‘clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.’” … If the defendant satisfies this requirement, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to show that the defendant violated a clearly established constitutional right. Id.

Nocco

District Court, M.D. Florida · Nov 3, 2025

Deputy Dunn filed an interlocutory appeal of the Court’s qualified immunity determination, and the proceedings were stayed during the pendency of the appeal. … On October 10, 2023, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeal issued a split opinion ultimately concluding that Deputy Dunn was entitled to qualified immunity, but no mandate was issued at that time.

Cooper v. Lawrence

District Court, M.D. Florida · Nov 6, 2020

Qualified Immunity Defendant Pesina argues that he is protected by qualified immunity because his actions were undertaken in furtherance of his discretionary … The burden then shifts to plaintiff to establish that qualified immunity does not apply by proving that the public official violated a constitutional right that was ‘clearly established’ at

Munzel v. Hillsborough County

District Court, M.D. Florida · Mar 7, 2022

Count IV (Due Process violation against Officer Pisano—qualified immunity) Plaintiff argues that qualified immunity will not save Officer Pisano because the allegations show that he violated clearly established … Howze, 177 F.3d 1245, 1249 (11th Cir. 1999) (describing a clearly established right).

Bellay v. Shue

District Court, M.D. Florida · Sep 3, 2020

Qualified immunity is a doctrine that shields “government officials ‘from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable … violated was clearly established.”

Kahl-Winter v. Thomas

District Court, M.D. Florida · Mar 15, 2023

Despite Defendants’ misstatement about Plaintiff’s alleged constitutional claims, because they invoke qualified immunity, the burden is on Plaintiff to demonstrate he alleges the violation of a clearly established … “To be entitled to qualified immunity, the defendant must first establish that he was acting within the scope of his discretionary authority.” Gaines v.

Pilkington v. United Airlines, Inc.

921 F. Supp. 740 · District Court, M.D. Florida · Mar 27, 1996

United then began to dismantle some of the strikebreaker protections it had established under Ferris. … Quite simply, Plaintiffs’ argument demonstrates their desperation to preserve a clearly stale claim.

Sanders v. Starling

District Court, M.D. Florida · Jul 20, 2021

Qualified Immunity With respect to qualified immunity, the Eleventh Circuit has instructed: The qualified-immunity defense reflects an effort to balance “the … Thus, to defeat qualified immunity with respect to these Defendants, Sanders must show both that Defendants committed a constitutional violation, and that the constitutional right violated was clearly established.

Shaw v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

818 F. Supp. 1539 · District Court, M.D. Florida · Apr 20, 1993

Defendant’s pleadings indicate that Plaintiff has failed to establish the element of express malice to rebut the presumption of good faith raised by Defendant’s defense of qualified privilege. … Clearly, the lack of a personal friendship does not equate to express malice as defined by the Florida Supreme Court in Nodar .

Foster

District Court, M.D. Florida · Feb 24, 2026

In response to Hillman’s claim of qualified immunity, Plaintiff argues that she has alleged the violation of a clearly established right. … Thus, based on Hinson, Defendant Hillman cannot claim the protection of qualified immunity, and Hillman’s motion to dismiss based on the defense of qualified immunity is due to be denied. 2.

Cauthen v. Blackmon

District Court, M.D. Florida · Mar 30, 2022

An officer sued in his individual capacity “is entitled to qualified immunity for his discretionary actions unless he violated ‘clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person … and sadistically to cause harm’ is clearly established to be a violation of the Constitution.”).