Case law

Brown v. City of Hous.

297 F. Supp. 3d 748 · District Court, S.D. Texas · Dec 26, 2017

"To be 'clearly established' for purposes of qualified immunity, 'the contours of the right must be sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right.' " Id. … "Thus, Mitchell clearly establishes that an order rejecting the defense of qualified immunity at either the dismissal stage or the summary judgment stage is a 'final' judgment subject to immediate appeal."

McIntosh Ex Rel. Estate of McIntosh v. Smith

690 F. Supp. 2d 515 · District Court, S.D. Texas · Feb 2, 2010

Qualified Immunity “[government officials performing discretionary functions generally are shielded from liability for civil damages [by qualified immunity] insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory … and the then clearly established law.

Mallett Jr. v. Goines

District Court, S.D. Texas · Nov 22, 2021

This second prong of the qualified immunity analysis involves “two separate inquiries: whether the allegedly violated constitutional rights were clearly established at the time of the incident; and, if so, whether the conduct … City of Arlington, Texas, 16 F.4th 1159 (Sth Cir. 2021) (affirming the dismissal of claims based on qualified immunity when “the plaintiffs failed to identify any clearly established law that would place beyond doubt the

Rohan for Rohan v. Exxon Corp.

896 F. Supp. 666 · District Court, S.D. Texas · Aug 7, 1995

Thus, DOHSA clearly supplies the applicable law in this wrongful death case. In Miles v. … The same analysis applies to claims for mental anguish, which are clearly non-pecuniary in nature.

Neri v. City of San Benito, Texas

District Court, S.D. Texas · Aug 22, 2024

In his Motion to Dismiss, Stansbury pleads qualified immunity. Dkt. No. 17, pp. 3- 4. Resultingly, it is Neri who bears the burden of establishing that qualified immunity is inappropriate. … Given the above, Stansbury is entitled to the protections of qualified immunity because there is no clearly established law that put him on notice that his conduct was unconstitutional.

Terrell v. Harris County

District Court, S.D. Texas · Sep 6, 2022

Marcantel, 567 F.3d 156, 169 (5th Cir. 2009) (an off-duty officer responding to a traffic violation was not entitled to qualified immunity because the officer allegedly violated clearly established law). … “Qualified immunity protects government officials from civil liability in their individual capacity to the extent that their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights.

Sturm v. Ross

11 F. Supp. 2d 942 · District Court, S.D. Texas · Aug 10, 1998

Qualified immunity protects government officials from liability for conduct in the course of their official duties unless the alleged conduct violated clearly established law of which a reasonable public official would have … The Fifth Circuit has developed a two-step process for the examination of a claim of qualified immunity. The first inquiry is whether Plaintiff has alleged a violation of a clearly established constitutional right.

Limon v. City of Laredo

District Court, S.D. Texas · Aug 4, 2025

Qualified immunity shields government officials from § 1983 liability unless their conduct violates a constitutional right that was clearly established at the time of the alleged misconduct. Mace v. … To overcome qualified immunity on his excessive force claim, Christian must show that Officer Martinez violated a constitutional right and that the right was clearly established. Guerra v.

Harvey v. City of Galveston

District Court, S.D. Texas · Jul 17, 2025

Hanna, 726 F.3d 631, 638 (5th Cir. 2013) (qualified immunity requires alleging a violation of a clearly established constitutional right at the time of the conduct). … Because the complaint plausibly alleges facts supporting a violation of clearly established right under the Fourteenth Amendment, Roy is not entitled to qualified immunity at this stage.

Simms v. Rivers

District Court, S.D. Texas · Feb 12, 2024

Clark, 1 F. 4th 411, 421 (5th Cir. 2021) (denying qualified immunity on the basis that prior precedent “clearly established that pretrial detainees have a Fourteenth Amendment right to medical care”). … Because this right was clearly established, they are not entitled to qualified immunity.

Watson v. Cook

District Court, S.D. Texas · Aug 4, 2025

Once an officer pleads qualified immunity, the plaintiffhas the burden to establish that the officer violated the plaintiff s clearly established federal rights. Jd. at 1088. “This is a demanding standard.” … City of Palestine, 333 F.3d 621, 623 (Sth Cir. 2003) (“Qualified immunity protects officers from suit unless their conduct violates a clearly established constitutional right.”’).

Grimes v. Fitts <b><font color="red"> AS OF 10/19/22, FILINGS FROM SHALL BE SCREENED BEFORE BEING DOCKETED [74]</font></b>

District Court, S.D. Texas · May 21, 2024

Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting qualified immunity and arguing that Plaintiff cannot establish a genuine dispute of material fact as to his claims (see Dkt. No. 116 at 1, 3, 16–18). … The Sixth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of qualified immunity to the warden at summary judgment. Id. at [*13– 14].

Hughes v. City of Houston

District Court, S.D. Texas · Nov 10, 2022

of qualified immunity. … The opinion further notes that qualified immunity should have been granted even if a constitutional violation had been pled because (1) “much more is needed” to demonstrate a clearly established law than for a court to

Humble

District Court, S.D. Texas · Jan 14, 2026

in light of clearly established law. … at 502 (holding that defendants failed to establish qualified immunity).

Atkinson v. Pustilnik

District Court, S.D. Texas · May 2, 2024

established, meaning qualified immunity was warranted) … Violation of a Clearly Established Right The second prong of the qualified immunity inquiry requires me to determine if the “right at issue was clearly established at the time of the defendant

Pinder v. Skero

375 F. Supp. 3d 725 · District Court, S.D. Texas · Mar 21, 2019

"The doctrine of qualified immunity protects government officials from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person … The Fifth Circuit has explained the "clearly established" prong as follows: Qualified immunity should not be denied unless the law is clear in the more particularized sense that reasonable officials should be "on notice that

Zollicoffer v. Livingston

169 F. Supp. 3d 687 · District Court, S.D. Texas · Mar 14, 2016

Qualified Immunity Qualified immunity shields government officials performing discretionary functions from liability for civil damages so long as their conduct does not violate clearly established rights of which a reasonable … That “runs directly counter to Farmer’s directive,” and contravenes clearly established law. Id. Accordingly, Plaintiff has alleged facts that could defeat qualified immunity.

Khansari v. City of Houston

14 F. Supp. 3d 842 · District Court, S.D. Texas · Apr 9, 2014

’s Fourth Amendment rights, the court turns directly to the second analytical step of the qualified immunity analysis: whether that right was clearly established when the actions at issue occurred. … January 26, 2010), plaintiffs acknowledge that [f]or the purposes of the qualified immunity analysis, “ ‘clearly established’ means that the ‘contours of the right’ are ‘sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would

Carter v. Diamond URS Huntsville, LLC

175 F. Supp. 3d 711 · District Court, S.D. Texas · Mar 30, 2016

“The ‘clearly established’ standard does not mean that official’s conduct is protected by qualified immunity unless ‘the very action in question has previously been held unlawful.’” … The officer is “entitled to qualified immunity if his or her conduct was objectively reasonable in light of the legal rules that were clearly established at the time of his or her actions,” even if the conduct violated the

Howard v. City Of Houston

District Court, S.D. Texas · Apr 18, 2022

Wade, 776 F.3d 368, 388 (5th Cir. 2015) (“It is well established that ‘municipalities have no immunity from damages liability flowing from their constitutional violations.’” (quoting Owen v. … Serrano and Vieira overstate the scope of any potential qualified immunity. See Pelletier, 516 U.S. at 312. Serrano was denied qualified immunity for allegedly conducting an unreasonable strip search.