Case law

Joe Richardson Jr v. Oakland County Animal Shelter

Michigan Court of Appeals · Sep 10, 2020

“An official has qualified immunity from suits under 42 USC 1983 when the official’s conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” … question was clearly established, to analyze first).

Rivera v. Senkowski

62 F.3d 80 · Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · Aug 8, 1995

Finally, the district court rejected defendants’ defense of qualified immunity as to the retaliation claim since (1) the constitutional right against retaliation had been clearly established by 1990 and (2) defendants’ acts … Appellate Jurisdiction The affirmative defense of qualified immunity “shields public officials from liability for their discretionary acts that do ‘not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which

Tommy D. Hopkins v. John L. Saunders

Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Aug 23, 1996

Qualified Immunity Under the doctrine of qualified immunity, government officials are generally immune from suit in performing discretionary duties if "their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory … The district court determined, however, that the right to such a hearing was clearly established by section 105.055 and thus denied the officials qualified immunity. We disagree.

Kantamanto v. King

651 F. Supp. 2d 313 · District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania · Jul 2, 2009

Thus, the Court must turn to the remaining prong of qualified immunity analysis: “whether ... defendant [North] is entitled to qualified immunity on the grounds that his conduct did ‘not violate clearly established statutory … The fact that the right is clearly established, however, does not end the qualified immunity analysis in the First Amendment retaliation context.

Wagner v. Bay City Texas

227 F.3d 316 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Sep 27, 2000

as to how long the de- unreasonable excessive force in light of clearly fendants held Gutierrez on the ground, how established law. … summary established right has been violated judgment on their qualified immunity defenses.

BALLARD v. DAVIS

District Court, M.D. Georgia · Sep 26, 2025

While the complaint appears to acknowledge the clearly established law prong of qualified immunity, Ballard’s brief does not. … Vickers, 929 F.3d 1304, 1316 (11th Cir. 2019) (“[T]he qualified immunity analysis requires a clearly established right to be defined with specificity.”).

Rodriguez v. Phillips

66 F.3d 470 · Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · Sep 15, 1995

Moreover, defendants’ actions at that time must have been objectively unreasonable in light of clearly established federal law; otherwise, those actors are entitled to qualified immunity. … Summary judgment is particularly appropriate when the qualified immunity defense is based on a showing that an asserted right was not clearly established since the inquiry as to whether a right was or was not clearly established

Sherman L.G. Noble v. Janice Schmitt and Connie Stevens

87 F.3d 157 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Jun 14, 1996

Under the qualified immunity doctrine, “government officials performing discretionary functions generally are shielded from liability or civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory … Preferably, the claimant will make factual allegations in his complaint which are sufficient to establish a violation of clearly established law before the qualified immunity issue arises. Dominque, 831 F.2d at 676 .

Stein v. Gunkel

District Court, E.D. Kentucky · Nov 2, 2021

Hamblen Cty., Tennessee, 969 F.3d 592, 601 (6th Cir. 2020) (noting that an unresolved question of law cannot qualify as “clearly established law” under the qualified immunity test and assuming the Farmer standard applies … If the law was not clearly established, then neither Gunkel nor Sterling could have violated Stein’s rights and qualified immunity bars Stein’s claims against them.

Penn v. Escorsio

764 F.3d 102 · Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · Aug 22, 2014

established such that Defendants are not entitled to qualified immunity. … If the assumed facts indicated that they were merely inattentive or careless, then qualified immunity would shield them despite the fact that [they] violated [an inmates’s] clearly established rights.

Backlund v. Barnhart

778 F.2d 1386 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Dec 17, 1985

that those rights were clearly established at the time of the conduct at issue. 23 See also Harlow v. … Davis extended the rule of qualified immunity to state officials. 104 S.Ct. at 3020 n. 12.

High v. Fuchs

74 F. App'x 499 · Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · Aug 25, 2003

prohibited and, and therefore, qualified immunity was improper. … We have established that there are two ways in which a plaintiff seeking to overcome the bar of qualified immunity can show that a right was clearly established in the law at the time the alleged violation occurred.

Clay Blanchard v. City of Des Moines

Court of Appeals of Iowa · Dec 4, 2024

immunity available to the [City].” … Those questions are to be resolved early because qualified immunity not only serves as protection from liability—it protects government defendants from the risks and distractions of trial as well. See Harlow v.

Bruning v. Pixler

949 F.2d 352 · Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · Nov 15, 1991

Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 , 102 S.Ct. 2727 , 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982), the Court adopted an objective standard for qualified immunity. … alleged conduct violated the law and that that law was clearly established when the alleged violation occurred."

Dale v. Kelley

908 F. Supp. 125 · District Court, W.D. New York · Dec 6, 1995

“Under qualified immunity, a government official may claim immunity from suit only when in light of clearly established law and the information the official possesses, it was objectively reasonable for him to think that his … One basis upon which a qualified immunity defense can be established is by showing that the right allegedly violated was not clearly established at the time of the acts in question.

Service Employment Redevelopment v. Fort Worth Independent School District

Texas Court of Appeals, 2nd District (Fort Worth) · Mar 3, 2005

code did not clearly and unambiguously waive school district’s immunity from suit); City of Dallas v. … provides the “requisite clarity to establish a waiver of immunity from suit”). 8: San Antonio ISD , 2004 WL 2450919 , at *2-3 (mem. op.)

Lusk v. Arne

District Court, E.D. Wisconsin · May 2, 2022

The defendants present no argument as to why they are entitled to qualified immunity. … Farnham, 394 F.3d 496, 485 (7th Cir. 2005) (rejecting qualified immunity defense because it is clearly established that refusing to provide an inmate with his inhaler while he was experiencing breathing problems was a constitutional

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.

Acevedo-Garcia v. Vera-Monroig

Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · Feb 17, 2000

changes in work conditions and <br>responsibilities was "clearly established." … clearly enough to reject the <br>qualified immunity defense of the defendants.

Bentley v. Dennison

852 F. Supp. 2d 379 · District Court, S.D. New York · Feb 10, 2012

Qualified Immunity Qualified immunity protects officials from liability if “their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” 30 The Second … lower courts, and that therefore Earley’s holding was not clearly established, has been the linchpin of their continued success in obtaining qualified immunity.