Gaston v. Ploeger

297 F. App'x 738
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedOctober 23, 2008
Docket08-3028, 08-3033
StatusUnpublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 297 F. App'x 738 (Gaston v. Ploeger) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gaston v. Ploeger, 297 F. App'x 738 (10th Cir. 2008).

Opinion

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

BOBBY R. BALDOCK, Circuit Judge.

Jeffrey Ray Belden committed suicide on August 14, 2002, while he was incarcerated as a pretrial detainee in Brown County, Kansas. Thereafter, Mr. Bel-den’s mother, plaintiff-appellant Marie Ga-ston, brought this lawsuit on his behalf asserting: (1) 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims that various Brown County officials were deliberately indifferent to the risk that Mr. Belden would commit suicide; and (2) state-law negligence claims. Defendants moved for summary judgment on the *740 § 1983 claims based on qualified immunity and on the state-law claims based on immunity. The district court granted the motion with respect to the § 1983 claims against County Commissioners Warren Ploeger, Glen Leitch, and Steve Roberts, but denied the motion with respect to the § 1983 claims against Sheriff Lamar Shoemaker, Sergeant Brett Hollister, and Officer Brandon Roberts. The court also denied summary judgment as to all defendants on plaintiffs state-law claims.

Sheriff Shoemaker and Sergeant Hollister then appealed the district court’s decision denying them qualified immunity with regard to plaintiffs § 1983 claims. In an unpublished order and judgment, another panel of this court reversed the district court’s denial of qualified immunity for Sheriff Shoemaker and Sergeant Hollister and remanded the case with a mandate for the district court to enter summary judgment in them favor on plaintiffs federal constitutional claims. See Gaston v. Ploeger, 229 Fed.Appx. 702, 704, 710-13 (10th Cir.2007). However, because Officer Brandon Roberts’ name did not appear in the text or caption of the notice of appeal filed on behalf of Sheriff Shoemaker and Sergeant Hollister, the panel concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to consider whether Officer Roberts was entitled to summary judgment based on qualified immunity. Id. at 708-09. Nonetheless, the panel noted that, “[o]f course, Officer Roberts may again assert qualified immunity later in the [remand] proceedings. See Langley v. Adams County, 987 F.2d 1473, 1481 n. 3 (10th Cir.1993). Nothing we say here is meant to indicate any opinion about whether Officer Roberts is entitled to qualified immunity.” Id. at 709 n. 5.

In the remand proceedings before the district court, plaintiffs remaining claims were her § 1983 claim against Officer Roberts and her state-law negligence claims against all defendants. As expressly permitted by an amended pretrial order that the district court entered following this court’s remand, see Aplt.App., Vol. Ill, Tab 15 at 400, Officer Roberts then filed: (1) a motion to dismiss all of plaintiffs claims on the grounds of lack of personal jurisdiction and statute of limitations; and (2) a second motion for summary judgment on plaintiffs § 1983 claim based on qualified immunity. In addition, all of the defendants filed a motion asking the district court to decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over plaintiffs state-law claims. In a thorough and well-reasoned memorandum and order, the district court denied Officer Roberts’ motion to dismiss, but granted his second motion for summary judgment. See Gaston v. Ploeger, No. 04-2368-DJW, 2008 WL 169814, at *1-6, *14 (D.Kan. Jan. 17, 2008). The court also declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over plaintiffs state-law claims, and it dismissed those claims without prejudice. Id. at *16. Plaintiff is now appealing the grant of summary judgment in favor of Officer Roberts and the dismissal of her state-law claims, and Officer Roberts is cross-appealing the denial of his motion to dismiss. Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm the grant of summary judgment in favor of Officer Roberts on plaintiffs § 1983 claim and dismiss his cross-appeal as moot. We also affirm the dismissal of plaintiffs state-law claims.

I. Background.

The background facts pertaining to Mr. Belden’s suicide, which are either undisputed or viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiffs case, are set forth in detail in: (1) the order and judgment that was entered in the prior appeal to this court, see Gaston, 229 Fed.Appx. at 704-07; and (2) the memorandum and order entered by the district court in January 2008, see Gaston, 2008 WL 169814, at *6-9. We will assume a working familiarity with the *741 background facts pertaining to Mr. Bel-den’s suicide, and we will not repeat those facts here.

II. Standard of Review.

“This court reviews the district court’s summary judgment decision de novo, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party; in this case, in [plaintiffs] favor.” Herrera v. Lufkin Indus., Inc., 474 F.3d 675, 679-80 (10th Cir.2007). Summary judgment is appropriate “if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).

We review the district court’s decision to decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over plaintiffs state-law claims for an abuse of discretion. Exum v. U.S. Olympic Comm., 389 F.3d 1130, 1139 (10th Cir. 2004). In accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3), a district court has the discretion to decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over a state-law claim if “the district court has dismissed all claims over which it has original jurisdiction.” See also Smith v. City of Enid ex rel. Enid City Comm’n, 149 F.3d 1151, 1156 (10th Cir.1998) (“When all federal claims have been dismissed, the court may, and usually should, decline to exercise jurisdiction over any remaining state claims.”); Ball v. Renner, 54 F.3d 664, 669 (10th Cir.1995) (noting that, when a state-law claim is no longer supplemental to any federal question claim, “the most common response to a pretrial disposition of federal claims has been to dismiss the state law claim or claims without prejudice”).

III. Qualified Immunity and Deliberate Indifference Standard.

As noted above, Officer Roberts moved for summary judgment on plaintiffs § 1983 claim based on the doctrine of qualified immunity.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
297 F. App'x 738, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gaston-v-ploeger-ca10-2008.