Case law

D'AMICO v. BASSA

District Court, N.D. Florida · Apr 29, 2021

Thus a public officer may be held individually liable only if the officer’s conduct violates clearly established law. Qualified immunity does not apply to official-capacity defendants. … established law and is not protected by qualified immunity.

Rolle v. West

642 F. Supp. 2d 1307 · District Court, N.D. Florida · Jul 25, 2009

The officers thus have qualified immunity. For these reasons, IT IS ORDERED: *1310 The fourth report and recommendation is ACCEPTED and adopted as the court’s opinion. … Those issues left undecided are: failure to state a claim applying a heightened pleading requirement; qualified immunity; lack of standing to present a Fourth Amendment claim at all; and collateral estoppel due to his guilty

Pace v. Platt

228 F. Supp. 2d 1332 · District Court, N.D. Florida · Aug 12, 2002

Sovereign Immunity Defendants argue that they are immune from suit on a number of Plaintiffs claims and that this Court lack subject matter jurisdiction over those claims because (a) Congress has not authorized suit against … Congress clearly established that, subject to limited exceptions that are inapplicable to the instant case, this Court does not have subject matter jurisdiction to grant declaratory relief in cases involving federal taxes

Baxter v. Adam

750 F. Supp. 2d 1313 · District Court, N.D. Florida · Sep 29, 2010

Qualified Immunity Defendants conclude by asserting a qualified immunity defense. Doc. 61, p. 20. … The defense of qualified immunity against an award of money damages in personal capacity is unavailable to Bennett-Blake or Franklin as to the narrow claims remaining.

MCKAY v. TONA

District Court, N.D. Florida · Nov 1, 2024

They also argue they are entitled to qualified immunity because they did not violate Plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment rights or any clearly established law. … was clearly established at the time of the challenged action.”

Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida

219 F. Supp. 3d 1177 · District Court, N.D. Florida · Nov 9, 2016

Any notion that players just happen in off the street and decide on their own to establish a bank is wholly fanciful. … The State says it has Eleventh Amendment and sovereign immunity from the claim. A By its terms, IGRA establishes a procedure under which a tribe may enforce the state’s duty to negotiate in good faith.

McCloud v. Fortune

510 F. Supp. 2d 649 · District Court, N.D. Florida · Jan 25, 2007

For qualified immunity purposes, the issue is not just the law as it now stands, but the clearly established law as of July 11, 2001, when the events at issue occurred. The applicable law, even then, was well settled. … established law to demonstrate that the searches of the women’s persons were unconstitutional (as required to overcome the officers' qualified immunity defense under federal law or to hold the officers individually liable

CARRIN v. SMILEDGE

District Court, N.D. Florida · May 31, 2024

A government official engaged in a discretionary function is entitled to qualified immunity unless a plaintiff can “show that: (1) the defendant violated a constitutional right, and (2) this right was clearly … This Court is well-equipped to structure the verdict form at trial to address qualified immunity under this scenario.

BAILEY v. SWINDELL

District Court, N.D. Florida · Sep 3, 2025

Swindell removed the case to federal court and sought qualified immunity. … judgment as a matter of law on qualified immunity.

Barnes v. Southwest Forest Industries, Inc.

654 F. Supp. 193 · District Court, N.D. Florida · Mar 10, 1986

The Court held that, in light of the difficulty of directly proving discrimination, the plaintiff may establish a prima facie case by demonstrating: (i) that he belongs to a racial minority; (ii) that he applied and was qualified … The answers to the plaintiffs' interrogatories clearly indicate that each of the plaintiffs was within the protected age group when he was terminated from employment by Southwest.

United States v. Briggs

366 F. Supp. 1356 · District Court, N.D. Florida · May 31, 1973

Moreover, from the history, it clearly appears that those *1359 qualified as jurors but who do not register to vote are not to be considered — it points out that such provision is not unfair, because anyone with minimum qualifications … Clearly the fear contended for by defendants, if in fact it existed to any degree, failed to exist in large numbers of the black population.

TURNER v. WESTER

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

Qualified immunity shields a public official from individual liability for damages arising out of the official’s performance of discretionary duties, unless the official’s conduct violated clearly established … Because the Second Amended Complaint sufficiently alleges the violation of clearly established constitutional rights, qualified immunity 2 In Randall, the Eleventh Circuit held and has since reaffirmed,

BAILEY

District Court, N.D. Florida · Mar 30, 2026

Qualified immunity shields governmental officials, who perform discretionary functions, from civil liability if their conduct does not violate “clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable … Edwards to establish that qualified immunity does not apply” (citing Hinson v.

ATTWOOD v. CLEMONS

District Court, N.D. Florida · Mar 17, 2021

For qualified immunity to apply, Defendant’s conduct must not violate clearly established rights at the time of the violation. Id. … Normally, courts follow a two-step analysis when determining whether qualified immunity applies; namely, 1) whether the plaintiff’s rights were violated, and 2) whether the right violated was clearly established at the

GARRISON v. POPE

District Court, N.D. Florida · Oct 21, 2021

“To be entitled to qualified immunity, the defendant must first establish that he was acting within the scope of his discretionary authority.” Gaines v. … Once that is shown, and it is undisputed here, “the burden shifts to the plaintiff to establish that qualified immunity is not appropriate.” Id.

BAXTER v. ROBERTS

District Court, N.D. Florida · Mar 28, 2021

If so, the burden shifts to the plaintiff show qualified immunity does not apply by establishing: (1) that the defendant violated a constitutional right, and (2) that this right was clearly established at the time of the … Thus, to defeat Lee’s claim of qualified immunity, Baxter must show that Lee violated a clearly established constitutional right of which a reasonable officer in the same circumstances would have known.

Byron v. University of Florida

403 F. Supp. 49 · District Court, N.D. Florida · Nov 6, 1975

The complaint contains allegations which, if proved, would tend to establish that defendant Greene was motivated in those actions by sexual bias. … The Court seized upon that omission as proof that Congress did not clearly intend to allow suits for back pay by private litigants against the States in federal court.

DVOINIK v. DWORKIN

District Court, N.D. Florida · Sep 25, 2025

The magistrate judge also concluded that the individual Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity. … Qualified immunity protects individual defendants who were exercising discretionary authority and whose conduct was not clearly established to be unconstitutional. Sebastian v.

DEBOSE v. PATTEN

District Court, N.D. Florida · Mar 17, 2025

Qualified immunity “protects an officer unless at the time of the officer’s supposedly wrongful act the law was already established to such a high degree that every objectively reasonable officer in his place would be … That is enough for me to conclude Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity.

BARCELONA v. BURKES

District Court, N.D. Florida · Oct 8, 2021

not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights. … immunity defense by showing that: (1) the defendant violated a constitutional right, and (2) violation of the right was clearly established.