Hegarty v. Somerset County

848 F. Supp. 257, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4424, 1994 WL 125270
CourtDistrict Court, D. Maine
DecidedMarch 23, 1994
DocketCiv. 93-0004B
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 848 F. Supp. 257 (Hegarty v. Somerset County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hegarty v. Somerset County, 848 F. Supp. 257, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4424, 1994 WL 125270 (D. Me. 1994).

Opinion

ORDER AND MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

BRODY, District Judge.

Shortly after midnight on May 16, 1992, Katherine Hegarty was shot and killed in her home by police officers attempting to execute a warrantless entry and arrest. Her husband, John Hegarty, both individually and on behalf of his wife’s estate, brings this action against the officers involved in the incident, county and state supervisory personnel, and Somerset County. He claims, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, that Defendants deprived him and his wife of their rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. He also brings a number of pendant state claims under the Maine Civil Rights Act, 5 M.R.S.A. §§ 4681-4685 (Supp.1993), and the Maine Tort Claims Act, 14 M.R.S.A. §§ 8101-8118 (1980 & Supp. 1993).

Defendants move for summary judgment on all counts. 1 They assert that they are *261 entitled to summary judgment on Plaintiffs claims under § 1983- and the Maine Civil Rights Act because of qualified immunity. They further contend that discretionary immunity bars Plaintiffs recovery on his state claims.

The Court finds that Defendants Atwood, Demers, Havey, and Somerset County are immune from suit on Plaintiffs § 1983 and Maine Civil Rights Act claims on the basis of qualified immunity; but that Defendants Wright, Guay, Hines, Crawford, and Giroux are not. The Court also finds that all Defendants except Somerset County are immune from suit on Plaintiffs state tort claims on the basis of discretionary immunity.

I. Standard

On a motion for summary judgment, the Court “reads the record and indulged] in all inferences in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party.” Levy v. FDIC, 7 F.3d 1054, 1056 (1st Cir.1993) (quoting Rivero-Ruiz v. Gonzalez-Rivera, 983 F.2d 332, 333-34 (1st Cir.1993)). To succeed on a motion for summary judgment, “the moving party must show that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party’s position.” Febus Rodriguez v. Betancourt-Lebron, 14 F.3d 87, 91 (1st Cir.1994). If the moving party accomplishes this, the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to show that there is an issue of fact that could affect the outcome of the litigation and from which a reasonable jury could find for the nonmoving party.- Id.

II. Facts

The facts when viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, Plaintiff, are as follows: John and Katherine Hegarty were residents of the Jackman, Maine area since 1973. (Hegarty Aff. ¶ 3.) Katherine Hegarty was a Registered Maine Guide, (He-garty Aff. ¶4), and was known for her marksmanship (Giroux Aff. ¶ 11). The couple owned a cabin in the Jackman area that was located on a dirt road about three miles from the nearest paved road, Route 201. (Giroux Dep. at 53-54.) About a mile and a half toward Route 201 from the Hegarty cabin there was a cable strung between two pillars, barring passage onto the road. (He-garty Aff. ¶ 13.)

On the morning of May 15, 1992, four campers let themselves through the gate and proceeded to an area near the Hegarty cabin. (Pl.’s Ex. C9 at 1.) They set up a campsite roughly 75 yards from the cabin. (Pl.’s Ex. C8 at 1.) The campers left to go fishing and returned to the campsite at about 8:00 p.m. (Pl.’s Ex. C9 at 1.) They noticed Katherine Hegarty’s truck near the cabin and saw her doing yard work. (Pl.’s Ex. C8 at 3.) He-garty did not speak to the campers at that time. (Id.) Sometime around 9:00 p.m., He-garty confronted the campers asking who gave them the key for the gate. (Pl.’s Ex. C9 at 1.) The campers believed Hegarty was either intoxicated or mentally unstable. (Id.) Hegarty told the campers, among other things, “this is my house and you’re invading my privacy.” (Pl.’s Ex. C8 at 4.)

After another verbal exchange, the campers told Hegarty that they would leave in the morning. (Id.) Hegarty responded, “[o]nly if you make it ’til the morning.” (Pl.’s Ex. CIO at 3.) Hegarty went into the cabin and retrieved a gun, and then, from her porch, fired a number of shots in the air in the vicinity of the campers. 2 Hegarty went back into the cabin a number of times; the campers believed that she was reloading her gun. 3 (Pl.’s Ex. C8 at 5.) One of the campers asked Hegarty if they could leave, and He- *262 garty responded that she would follow them to see how they got through the gate. (Pl.’s Ex. C8 at 6.) During one of Hegarty’s trips into her cabin, the campers got into their truck and drove away quickly. (Pl.’s Ex. CIO at 4.) As the campers passed Hegarty’s cabin, they saw her come out with a gun but they are unsure whether she fired any shots. (Id.) The campers believed that Hegarty followed them part way down the dirt road. (Id.)

The campers went to a truck stop located four or five miles from the Hearty cabin and contacted the police. (Pl.’s Ex. Cll at 4.) Reserve Deputy Giroux was the first officer to respond. (Giroux Dep. at 22.) From the description provided by the campers, Giroux concluded that Hegarty was the person shooting. (Id. at 21.)

Giroux was joined by Deputy Guay, Sergeant Hines, and State Trooper Wright. (Giroux Dep. at 46.) The officers collectively decided to arrest Hegarty. 4 They planned to try to persuade Hegarty to come out of the house but if that failed and they were successful in separating Hegarty from her firearm, they planned to enter the cabin. (Gir-oux Dep. at 66-59.) Wright warned the others “just because she’s a woman, if things go bad, don’t hesitate.” (Wright Dep. at 124.) The four officers then left the truck stop and met Deputy Crawford at -the intersection of Route 201 and the dirt road leading to the Hegarty cabin. (Giroux Dep. at 55.) The officers briefed Crawford about the situation and their plan of action. (Id.)

The officers then proceeded along the dirt road toward the Hegarty cabin. They parked their vehicles about seven-tenths of a mile from the cabin and walked the rest of the way into the area surrounding the cabin. (Giroux Dep. at 60.) When they arrived at the cabin, the officers heard music playing inside the cabin. (Wright Dep. at 166.) Gir-oux began yelling to Hegarty, identifying himself and telling her that they wanted to speak "with her. (Giroux Dep. at 76, 79-80.) Hegarty did not respond. Id. Hines also identified himself and rapped on the cabin door with his flashlight, also to no avail. (Hines Dep. at 145.)

After a few moments, Crawford shined his flashlight into Hegarty’s bedroom where she appeared to have been lying down. (Crawford Dep. 121-22).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
848 F. Supp. 257, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4424, 1994 WL 125270, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hegarty-v-somerset-county-med-1994.