Case law

Melody Cooper v. Officer James Doyle

Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · Dec 30, 2025

a right was not clearly established.” … Nevertheless, “[a] right need not be recognized by a court in a specific factual context before such right may be considered ‘clearly established’ for purposes of qualified immunity.” See Wilson v.

Anderson v. Snyder

389 F. Supp. 3d 1082 · District Court, S.D. Florida · Mar 20, 2019

"Qualified immunity offers complete protection for government officials sued in their individual capacities as long as their conduct violates no clearly *1095 established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable … There are two ways to determine if a right is clearly established. First, a constitutional right may be clearly established if there is an existing decision by the U.S.

Eugene Burns v. County Of Cambria

971 F.2d 1015 · Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit · Jul 28, 1992

Finally, in considering the qualified immunity defense of the two Roberts defendants, the court held that they were not entitled to qualified immunity as a matter of law. Id. II. … Clearly Established Standard 44 Roberts argues, however, that it was not clearly established at the time of these dismissals that deputy sheriffs, as distinguished from other public officials, were indeed protected under

Melba J. Burrell v. The Board of Trustees of Ga. Military College, Jacob L. Goldstein, Etc., and Alva L. Baggarly, Etc., Melba J. Burrell v. The Bd. Of Trustees of Ga. Military College, Alva L. Baggarly, Individually & in His Official Capacity as Chief Exec. Officer of First Fed. Sav. & Loan Assn. Of Milledgeville, the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Milledgeville and Unknown Co-Conspirators, James E. Baugh, Indiv. & in His Official Capacities as Mayor of the City of Milledgeville, Ga. & Chairman of the Bd. Of Tr. Of Ga. Military College, Jacob L. Goldstein, Indiv. & in His Official Capacities as a Member of the Bd. Of Dir. Of First Fed. Sav. & Loan Assn. Of Milledgeville & as a Member of the Bd. Of Tr. Of Ga. Military College, Melba J. Burrell v. The Board of Trustees of Ga. Military College, James E. Baugh, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Ga. Military College, Jacob L. Goldstein, as a Member of the Board of Trustees of Ga. Military College, and the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Milledgeville, Alva L. Baggarly, Etc.

970 F.2d 785 · Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · Oct 29, 1992

facts, if true, constitute a violation of clearly established law by the defendant[s]." … B. 45 In part II B., we established that public officials cannot assert qualified immunity against a section 1985(3) claim.

Freeman v. Gore

483 F.3d 404 · Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Apr 3, 2007

denial of a public official’s motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity.”). … Third, the deputies assert that, in any event, they are entitled to 9 qualified immunity because their actions were not objectively unreasonable in light of clearly established law.

Curtis Henderson v. Michael P. Lane and J. Gallassi, Curtis Henderson v. Michael P. Lane and J. Gallassi

979 F.2d 466 · Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · Aug 13, 1992

An official is entitled to qualified immunity when his actions do not violate “clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” Williams v. … Thus, there is no “clearly established” right to more than one hour of exercise per week, and the defendants are entitled to qualified immunity on this claim.

Wall-DeSousa v. Florida Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles

691 F. App'x 584 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Jun 2, 2017

(“Unless the plaintiffs allegations state a claim of violation of clearly established law, a defendant plead *590 ing qualified immunity is entitled to dismissal before the commencement of discovery.”). III. … This is because, to survive dismissal in this case, the Wall-DeSousas must additionally allege sufficient facts to overcome the second prong of qualified immunity, i.e., clearly established federal law.

Roberto Valderrama v. Officer Carl Rousseau

780 F.3d 1108 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Mar 16, 2015

The district court granted their motions in part, but it denied them qualified immunity as to several of the § 1983 claims. The officers now appeal the denial of qualified immunity as to Mr. … clearly established.

McGarr v. City of Peekskill

975 F. Supp. 2d 377 · District Court, S.D. New York · Sep 27, 2013

Doctrine of Qualified Immunity “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 … Qualified immunity shields a defendant from standing trial or facing other burdens of litigation, “if either (a) the defendant’s action did not violate clearly established law, or (b) it was objectively reasonable for the

Devereaux v. Perez

218 F.3d 1045 · Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Jul 12, 2000

ANALYSIS Standard of Review A district court’s decision that an asserted federal right was “clearly established” such that qualified immunity in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action attached at a particular point in time is a question … Bailey, 957 F.2d 920, 931 (1st Cir.1992) (noting that “the dimensions of [the] right [to family integrity] have yet to be clearly established” and applying qualified immunity to suit in which social worker allegedly interfered

Ellen Storck v. City of Coral Springs

354 F.3d 1307 · Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · Dec 30, 2003

[are] specific enough to establish clearly the law applicable to particular conduct and circumstances and to overcome qualified immunity, even in the total absence of case law. … In short, we are satisfied that Storck failed to establish a constitutional violation, and that even if she did, she has not shown that it was “clearly established,” within the meaning of qualified immunity analysis.

Jose Zurita v. Richard Hyde

665 F.3d 860 · Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · Dec 22, 2011

Nevertheless, Biang would enjoy qualified immunity as to this claim if applicable law was not clearly established as of July 1, 2004. … In some cases, the district court may conclude that even under the facts presented by the defendant, the defendant’s actions violated clearly established law and qualified immunity does not apply.

Ronald C. Denius v. Wayne Dunlap and Gary Sadler 1

209 F.3d 944 · Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · Apr 11, 2000

If the rights were not clearly established, then the official is immune from suit and the claim is dismissed. See Richardson v. … for which Dunlap cannot receive qualified immunity.

Brown v. Fogle

819 F. Supp. 2d 23 · District Court, District of Columbia · Oct 18, 2011

Qualified immunity is “a defense that shields officials from suit if their conduct ‘d[id] not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.’ ” Bame v. … "If no constitutional right would have been violated were the allegations established, there is no necessity for further inquiries concerning qualified immunity." Id.

Rebecca Judge v. City of Lowell

160 F.3d 67 · Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · Nov 18, 1998

The Court specifically reserved judgment on the question whether its “qualified immunity jurisprudence would require a heightened pleading in eases involving individual government officials.” Id. … “This option exists,” the Court went on to state, “even if the official chooses not to plead the affirmative defense of qualified immunity.”

Campbell v. Casey

166 F. Supp. 3d 144 · District Court, D. Massachusetts · Feb 29, 2016

Defendant seeks summary judgment' due to qualified immunity as well as on the merits. a. … That right has been clearly established by the U.S. Supreme Court for decades.

William T. Broderick v. Francis Roache, Arthur Morgan, Jr.

996 F.2d 1294 · Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · Jun 18, 1993

Tirado-Delgado, 982 F.2d 34, 38 (1st Cir.1993) (awarding defendant qualified immunity from damage claim because the implicated constitutional right was not clearly established at the time of the complained of acts). … Intent and Qualified Immunity Morgan’s first argument, that the question of his intent is immaterial to the qualified immunity analysis, is premised upon a broad reading of certain language in Harlow .

TULLIS v. KNIGHT

District Court, S.D. Indiana · Feb 9, 2023

Additionally, even if a reasonable jury could find an Eighth Amendment violation, the Defendants are entitled to summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds because Tullis has not shown a clearly established right to … Pauly. 137 S.Ct. 548, 551 (2017) ("Qualified immunity attaches when an official's conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known."

Ferreira v. Westchester County

917 F. Supp. 209 · District Court, S.D. New York · Jan 19, 1996

Immunity Defense Qualified immunity shields government officials performing discretionary functions from liability for civil damages when “their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights … The Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that defendants were not entitled to qualified immunity because the right — to be protected from warrantless searches absent probable cause — was clearly established.

Engblom v. Carey

572 F. Supp. 44 · District Court, S.D. New York · Jul 15, 1983

If the law was clearly established, the immunity defense ordinarily should fail, since a reasonably competent public official should know the law governing his conduct. … established” at the time of the events in question and therefore that the defendants are protected by a qualified immunity and entitled to summary judgment.