Case law

Shemwell v. Cannon

352 F. Supp. 3d 690 · District Court, N.D. Texas · Jan 15, 2019

Qualified Immunity Qualified immunity insulates a government official from civil damages liability when the official's actions do not "violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person … In analyzing whether an individual defendant is entitled to qualified immunity, the court considers whether plaintiff has alleged any violation of a clearly established right, and, if so, whether the individual defendant's

Mata v. Anderson

760 F. Supp. 2d 1068 · District Court, D. New Mexico · Jan 24, 2009

Clearly Established Law. … Moreover, he does not enjoy qualified immunity, because retaliatory prosecution has been clearly established as a constitutional violation, and the allegations in the First Amended Complaint, if taken as true, establish such

Vann v. City of Southaven

199 F. Supp. 3d 1129 · District Court, N.D. Mississippi · Aug 10, 2016

As such, if a court concludes that the “clearly established” prong provides a clearer basis for deciding the qualified immunity issue, then it may consider that prong first. Pearson v. … Thus, the plaintiff in this case has done exactly what the Supreme Court stated he should not do, namely rely upon the broad Gamer standard in order to meet the “clearly established” prong of the qualified immunity test.

Siegert v. Gilley

692 F. Supp. 1406 · District Court, District of Columbia · Jun 30, 1988

When the Harlow Court redefined the qualified immunity defense it provided an additional basis for defendant to retain his qualified immunity even if his actions violated clearly established statutory or constitutional rights … Our inquiry does not end with the identification of a violation of a clearly established constitutional right and the stripping away of defendant’s qualified immunity.

Jones v. Buckner

963 F. Supp. 2d 1267 · District Court, N.D. Alabama · Aug 9, 2013

Qualified immunity is applicable unless the official’s conduct violated a clearly established constitutional right.” Pearson v. … However, the Eleventh Circuit has “held time and again that clearly established general principles of law will seldom if ever suffice to strip a defendant of qualified immunity.” Harbert Intern., Inc. v.

Safar v. Tingle

178 F. Supp. 3d 338 · District Court, E.D. Virginia · Apr 4, 2016

As the Fourth Circuit has explained, “to escape dismissal of a complaint on qualified immunity grounds, a plaintiff must (1) allege a violation of a right (2) that is clearly established at the time of the violation.” … This is a flaw in the qualified immunity doctrine; because cases resolved on the basis of qualified immunity — or, as here, on the basis of absolute immunity— are often resolved without reaching the merits, no clearly established

Claudio v. United States

836 F. Supp. 1219 · District Court, E.D. North Carolina · Feb 2, 1993

Moreover, even if the asserted right is “clearly established,” the qualified immunity defense still protects the official if “he neither knew nor should have known of the relevant legal standard.” … Rights Clearly Established The First and Fifth Amendment rights to free speech, due process and equal protection certainly are clearly established.

Foreman v. PA BECKWITH

260 F. Supp. 2d 500 · District Court, D. Connecticut · Apr 10, 2003

For the defendants to avail themselves of the protection of qualified immunity, we must determine “if their actions were objectively reasonable, as evaluated in the context of the legal rules that were clearly established … We move now to the second inquiry of qualified immunity analysis to see if the right the defendants are alleged to have violated was clearly established. A.

SOL v. City of Miami

776 F. Supp. 2d 1375 · District Court, S.D. Florida · Apr 11, 2011

The City submits that the contribution claim against Estevez is barred by qualified immunity unless Fritzler can demonstrate Estevez violated a clearly-established constitutional or statutory right. … He claims he already pled everything necessary to overcome qualified immunity: i.e., that Estevez did, in fact, violate maritime navigation rules, and that those navigation rules were clearly established.

Johnson v. Adams

District Court, E.D. Michigan · Dec 28, 2021

Plaintiff argues that Defendants are not entitled to qualified immunity. Plaintiff first asserts that his federal malicious prosecution and Brady violation claims were clearly established in 1999. … To overcome a qualified immunity defense, a plaintiff must show that the official violated a constitutional right that was “clearly established at the time” of the official’s conduct. District of Columbia v.

Vincent v. Yelich

812 F. Supp. 2d 276 · District Court, W.D. New York · Aug 29, 2011

The defense of qualified immunity shields public officials from an action for civil damages, to the extent that their challenged acts do not violate “clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable … Because the defendants’ actions did not violate any constitutional right that was clearly established at the time of the alleged violations, they are entitled to qualified immunity. *282 CONCLUSION For the foregoing reasons

Wojcik v. Town of North Smithfield

874 F. Supp. 508 · District Court, D. Rhode Island · Jan 4, 1995

Second, the RCC defendants argue that they enjoy qualified immunity from plaintiffs’ cause of action because plaintiffs have not alleged a violation of a clearly established constitutional right. … Unlike state actors or private individuals charged with a deprivation of rights, a municipality is not entitled to claim qualified immunity, even for violation of rights that are not clearly established. Leatherman v.

Adams v. Franklin

111 F. Supp. 2d 1255 · District Court, M.D. Alabama · Jul 31, 2000

Similarly, under the defense of qualified immunity, a defendant is “immune from liability” if the complaint “fails to state a violation of a ‘clearly established ... constitutional right[ ] of which a reasonable person would … As stated, the qualified immunity inquiry is "fact-specific,” and is dependent upon whether the law was clearly established on the day in question. Harris, 21 F.3d at 390 . 17 .

Hall v. Conklin

966 F. Supp. 546 · District Court, W.D. Michigan · Apr 1, 1996

In assessing qualified immunity, a defendant’s action is analyzed “in light of the legal rules that were ‘clearly established’ at the time it was taken.” Anderson v. … And if a plaintiff fails altogether to state a claim of violation of clearly established law, defendants are entitled to dismissal on grounds of qualified immunity. Cameron v.

Odhuno v. Reed's Cove Health & Rehab., LLC

355 F. Supp. 3d 1026 · District Court, D. Kansas · Dec 14, 2018

Thus, Mallen does not support a clearly established constitutional right that defeats Rose and Sunderraj's claims of qualified immunity. … The Court next examines the second prong of qualified immunity-whether the law was clearly established.

Newkirk v. Enzor

240 F. Supp. 3d 426 · District Court, D. South Carolina · Mar 8, 2017

Qualified Immunity Government officials performing discretionary functions generally are shielded from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional … and (2) whether that right was clearly established at the time of the alleged misconduct.

Burns v. Citarella

443 F. Supp. 2d 464 · District Court, S.D. New York · Jul 18, 2006

Qualified Immunity: Merits The doctrine of qualified immunity shields “government officials performing discretionary functions ... from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established … Nevertheless, “Even where the plaintiffs federal rights and the scope of the official’s permissible conduct are clearly established, the qualified immunity defense protects a government actor if it was ‘objectively reasonable

Smith v. Peyman

93 F. Supp. 3d 738 · District Court, E.D. Kentucky · Mar 18, 2015

clearly established constitutional law. … The second prong of the qualified-immunity analysis asks whether the right in question was “clearly established” at the time of the violation. Hope v. Pelzer, 536 U.S. 730, 739 , 122 S.Ct. 2508 , 153 L.Ed.2d 666 (2002).

VAN VALEN v. LANIGAN

District Court, D. New Jersey · Feb 21, 2020

established law, Lanigan would be entitled to qualified immunity. … Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 231 (2009) (“[t]he doctrine of qualified immunity protects government officials ‘from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established

Young v. City of Albuquerque

77 F. Supp. 3d 1154 · District Court, D. New Mexico · Dec 24, 2014

established prong of the qualified immunity analysis. … Clearly Established Rights in the Qualified Immunity Analysis.