Clay v. Woodbury County

982 F. Supp. 2d 904, 2013 WL 5937310, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 158854
District Court, N.D. Iowa·Decided November 6, 2013·No. No. C 12-4042-MWB·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER REGARDING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO EXCLUDE EXPERT TESTIMONY AND REPORT OF DONALD LEACH, II, AND DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

MARK W. BENNETT, District Judge.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION........................................................909

A. Factual Background For Summary Judgment..........................909

1. Clay’s arrest ....................................................910

2. Clay’s booking...................................................910

3. Escalation of the incident in the holding cell.......................911

B. Factual Background For The Motion To Exclude Expert Evidence.....912

C. Procedural Background..............................................914

1. Clay’s claims....................................................914

2. The pending motions.............................................916

II.CLAY’S MOTION TO EXCLUDE EXPERT EVIDENCE....................916

III. THE SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTIONS..................................918
A. Standards For Summary Judgment...................................918
B. The City Defendants’ Motion For Summary Judgment..................919

1. “Qualified immunity ”...........................................919

a. Arguments of the parties......................................919

b. “Qualified immunity” standards ..............................920

c. Application of the standards ..................................920

2. “Monell liability ”...............................................921

3. Immunity pursuant to Iowa Code § 670.4(3)........................921

4. Claim based on the Iowa Constitution.............................921

[909]*9095. Summary .......................................................922

C. The County Defendants’ Motion For Summary Judgment...............922

1. The nature and scope of Clay’s claims in Count TV..................922

2. “Qualified immunity ”...........................................925

a. Clay’s “violation of privacy rights“ claim......................925

i. Arguments of the parties................................925

ii. Analysis...............................................926

b. Clay’s “excessive force” claim.................................928

i. Arguments of the parties................................928

ii. Analysis...............................................929

c. Clay’s “free speech retaliation” claim..........................930

i. Arguments of the parties................................931

ii. Analysis...............................................931

3. Other grounds for summary judgment .............................933

4. Summary .......................................................933

IV. CONCLUSION ..........................................................934

In this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a female arrestee asserts that defendant jail officers “strip searched” her without reasonable suspicion and in an unconstitutional manner in front of male and female officers, and did so in retaliation for her vociferous complaints about her detention and a search of her purse and cell phone, all in violation of the United States and Iowa Constitutions. Thus, this case is similar in several respects to Peters v. Woodbury County, Iowa, No. C 12-4070-MWB, 979 F.Supp.2d 901, 2013 WL 5775027 (N.D.Iowa), another case that recently came before me on motions for summary judgment, in which the plaintiff and the defendants were represented by the same counsel who represent the plaintiff and some of the defendants here. The plaintiff here does not expressly assert a claim denominated as “excessive force” arising from the alleged “strip search,” as did the plaintiff in Peters, but she does assert a claim that a defendant city police officer searched her cell phone and purse in violation of her rights under the United States and Iowa Constitutions, which is different from any claim raised in Peters.

The “County Defendants” (jail officers, the former county sheriff, and the county) have moved for summary judgment on the plaintiffs “strip search” and “retaliation” claims on essentially the same grounds that the defendants raised in Peters, including “qualified immunity,” lack of a cause of action under the Iowa Constitution, and lack of any basis for “Monell liability” of the former sheriff and the county. See Peters v. Woodbury County, Iowa, 979 F.Supp.2d 901, 2013 WL 5775027 (N.D.Iowa Oct. 25, 2013). The “City Defendants” (the city police officer who arrested the plaintiff and the city) have moved for summary judgment on the “unconstitutional property search” claim against them, also on the basis of qualified immunity, invalidity of such a claim based on violation of the Iowa Constitution, and lack of any basis for “Monell liability.” Also, as a preliminary matter, the plaintiff here seeks to exclude the testimony and report of the same defendants’ expert on essentially the same grounds raised by the plaintiff in Peters, that is, that the expert has applied the wrong legal standard to her claims and has opined on legal conclusions that are within the province of the court.

I. INTRODUCTION

A Factual Background For Summary Judgment

As in Peters, my determination of what facts are actually disputed in this case— [910]*910and then whether those disputes are genuine and material — has been complicated by the parties’ submissions and, sometimes, by the lack thereof. In the first instance, the factual background stated here is drawn primarily from the County Defendants’ and the City Defendants’ separate Statements Of Undisputed Material Facts In Support Of [Their] Motion[s] For Summary Judgment (docket nos. 54-1 and 57-1) and the plaintiffs Response[s] to those Statements Of Undisputed Material Facts (docket nos. 61-2 and 64-1). The plaintiff did not submit a statement of additional material facts that she contends preclude summary judgment in response to either Motion For Summary Judgment, however, as required by N.D. Ia. L.R. 56(b)(3).

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Clay v. Woodbury County, 982 F. Supp. 2d 904, 2013 WL 5937310, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 158854 (N.D. Iowa 2013).

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