Holloway v. Lamar County

180 F. Supp. 3d 467, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47711, 2016 WL 1417845
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Mississippi
DecidedApril 8, 2016
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 2:15-CV-86-KS-MTP
StatusPublished

This text of 180 F. Supp. 3d 467 (Holloway v. Lamar County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Holloway v. Lamar County, 180 F. Supp. 3d 467, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47711, 2016 WL 1417845 (S.D. Miss. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Keith Starrett, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This matter is before the Court on Defendants Mike Purvis and Jason McNelly’s Motion for Summary Judgment [35]. After reviewing the submissions of the parties, the record, and the applicable law, the Court finds that this motion should be granted in part and denied in part.

I. BACKGROUND

On June 22, 2015, Plaintiff Rusty Holloway (“Plaintiff’) filed this action against Defendants Lamar County, Mike Purvis (“Purvis”), and Jason McNelly (“McNelly”).1 Suit against Defendants is brought in their individual and official capacities. Specifically, Plaintiff brings claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that Defendants violated his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights by illegally seizing him, falsely imprisoning him, unlawfully searching his person and car, and using excessive force. Most of the relevant facts in the case are disputed, but the following is a description of the events that are uncontested.

On June 20, 2014, Plaintiff was involved in a vehicular accident with a Lamar County deputy at the intersection of Highways 589 and 98. After the accident, Plaintiff informed officers on the scene that he had a knife and a gun, and cooperated with them when they took possession of these weapons, though where these weapons were located is in dispute. Officers at the scene included Defendants and Deputy Lynn Ann Phillips (“Phillips”). Some time later, Plaintiffs friend, Donald-. Earl Weathersby (“Weathersby”), arrived on scene, and Plaintiff told him that he wanted to go to the hospital. For reasons in dispute, however, when the ambulance arrived on the scene, Plaintiff refused to take it.” Plaintiffs sisters then arrived. Some time during these events, Defendant Pur-vis learned that there was a Writ to Take Custody for Mental Examination of Retention (“Writ to Take Custody”) [35-16] for Plaintiff signed by the Chancery Court of Jefferson Davis County, and the Sheriff of Lamar County directed Purvis to take Plaintiff into custody.

Because officers on scene were insisting that neither Weathersby nor his sisters could take him to the hospital, Plaintiff decided to walk to Wesley Medical Center. Plaintiff began walking east along Highway 98 towards Hattiesburg, though whether he walked in the middle of the highway, on the side, or in the median is disputed. Defendants and the other officers on the scene followed him, and at some point, ordered him to stop. What happened between that time and the time Plaintiff left the scene in the ambulance is largely in dispute. However, it is undisputed that Plaintiff was tased by Defendants during this period- and taken into custody.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 provides that “[t]he court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. [470]*470P. 56(a). “Where the burden of production at trial ultimately rests on the nonmovant, the movant must merely demonstrate an absence of evidentiary support in the record for the nonmovant’s case.” Cuadra v. Houston Indep. Sch. Dist., 626 F.3d 808, 812 (5th Cir.2010) (citation and internal qúotation marks omitted). The nonmovant must then “come forward with specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Id. “An issue is material if its resolution could affect the outcome of the action.” Sierra Club, Inc. v. Sandy Creek Energy Assocs., L.P., 627 F.3d 134, 138 (5th Cir.2010) (quoting Daniels v. City of Arlington, Tex., 246 F.3d 500, 502 (5th Cir.2001)). “An issue is ‘genuine’ if the evidence is sufficient for a reasonable jury to return a verdict for the nonmoving party,” Cuadra, 626 F.3d at 812 (citation omitted).

The Court is not permitted to make credibility determinations or weigh the evidence. Deville v. Marcantel, 567 F.3d 156, 164 (5th Cir.2009) (citing Turner v. Baylor Richardson Med. Ctr., 476 F.3d 337, 343 (5th Cir.2007)). When deciding whether a genuine fact issue exists, “the court must view the facts and the inferences to be drawn- therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.” Sierra Club, Inc., 627 F.3d at 138. However, “[cjonclu-sional allegations and denials, speculation, improbable inferences, unsubstantiated assertions, and legalistic argumentation do not adequately substitute for specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial.” Oliver v. Scott, 276 F.3d 736, 744 (5th Cir.2002) (citation omitted). Summary judgment is mandatory “against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.” Brown v. Offshore Specialty Fabricators, Inc., 663 F.3d 759, 766 (5th Cir.2011) (quoting Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)).

The Court assumes Defendants bring their motion solely for the claims against them in the individual capacities,- as the immunities they purport to assert are not available to the claims against them in their official capacities. See Hafer v. Melo, 502 U.S. 21, 25, 112 S.Ct. 358, 116 L.Ed.2d 301 (1991) (“[T]he only immunities available to the defendant in an official-capacity action are those that the governmental entity possesses.”).

As Plaintiff has conceded that he has no claim against Defendants for the alleged illegal search, the Court will grant Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment [35] as to this claim and it will be dismissed with prejudice against Defendants both in their official and individual capacities.

B. Quasi-Judicial Immunity

Defendants claim that suit against them for carrying out the commitment order issued by Jefferson Davis County, is barred based on absolute quasi-judicial immunity. Ordinarily, quasi-judicial immunity is afforded to “agency officials who, irrespective of their title, perform functions essentially similar to those of judges or prosecutors, in a setting similar to that of a court.” O’Neal v. Mississippi Bd. of Nursing, 113 F.3d 62, 65 (5th Cir.1997). Defendants cite three cases for their contention that absolute quasi-judicial immunity protects them in this action: Dudley v. Johnson, Civ. A. 95-1755, 1995 WL 710916 (E.D.La. Nov. 30, 1995), Roland v. Phillips, 19 F.3d 552 (11th Cir.1994), and

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

Related

O'Neal v. Mississippi Board of Nursing
113 F.3d 62 (Fifth Circuit, 1997)
Glenn v. City of Tyler
242 F.3d 307 (Fifth Circuit, 2001)
Daniels v. City of Arlington
246 F.3d 500 (Fifth Circuit, 2001)
Oliver v. Scott
276 F.3d 736 (Fifth Circuit, 2002)
Haggerty v. Texas Southern University
391 F.3d 653 (Fifth Circuit, 2004)
Greenlee v. Allread
126 F. App'x 656 (Fifth Circuit, 2005)
Turner v. Baylor Richardson Medical Center
476 F.3d 337 (Fifth Circuit, 2007)
Bush v. Strain
513 F.3d 492 (Fifth Circuit, 2008)
Deville v. Marcantel
567 F.3d 156 (Fifth Circuit, 2009)
Matthews v. Densmore
109 U.S. 216 (Supreme Court, 1883)
Harlow v. Fitzgerald
457 U.S. 800 (Supreme Court, 1982)
Mitchell v. Forsyth
472 U.S. 511 (Supreme Court, 1985)
Graham v. Connor
490 U.S. 386 (Supreme Court, 1989)
California v. Hodari D.
499 U.S. 621 (Supreme Court, 1991)
Hafer v. Melo
502 U.S. 21 (Supreme Court, 1991)
Pearson v. Callahan
555 U.S. 223 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Cuadra v. Houston Independent School District
626 F.3d 808 (Fifth Circuit, 2010)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
180 F. Supp. 3d 467, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47711, 2016 WL 1417845, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/holloway-v-lamar-county-mssd-2016.