J.B. ex rel. Brown v. Amerson

890 F. Supp. 2d 1299, 2012 WL 3962818, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123541
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Alabama
DecidedAugust 30, 2012
DocketNo. CV 1:11-1182-RBP
StatusPublished

This text of 890 F. Supp. 2d 1299 (J.B. ex rel. Brown v. Amerson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
J.B. ex rel. Brown v. Amerson, 890 F. Supp. 2d 1299, 2012 WL 3962818, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123541 (N.D. Ala. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ROBERT B. PROPST, Senior District Judge.

This cause comes to be heard on the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by the defendants on May 25, 2012, and orally argued by the parties at a recorded hearing on July 26, 2012.1

While Shakespeare suggested in The Merchant of Venice that a good deed “ ‘shines’ in a naughty world,” others have said that “no good deed goes unpunished.” 2 Sheriff Amerson’s good deed was to volunteer to conduct a community service program (not one of his prescribed duties) attempting to steer juveniles away from disorderly conduct and more serious conflicts with law enforcement, and to aid public schools in this pursuit. The plaintiff was voluntarily enrolled by his mother in a program Amerson created called “Success Academy” or “Suspended Student Program.” The program was distinguished, in writing, from so-called “scared straight” programs.

After some initial legal jousting, the remaining issue in this case has become whether the plaintiff suffered from more than de minimis force by defendant Amer-son in violation of the Fourth Amendment. In other words, did Amerson apply excessive force to the plaintiff? What happened with regard to the only remaining issue in this case is substantially established by a video of the interaction between Amerson and the plaintiff,3 the depositions of plaintiff and his mother, and documents main[1302]*1302tained by the Coosa Valley Youth Services and Juvenile Detention of the State of Alabama.

Standard of Review

Under Rule 56(c)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment is proper “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.” “Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, 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.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The moving party bears the initial burden of proving the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Id. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. The burden then shifts to the nonmoving party, who is required to “go beyond the pleadings” to establish that there is a “genuine issue for trial.” Id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).

A dispute about a material fact is genuine “if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The court must construe the evidence and all reasonable inferences arising from it in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970); see also Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (all justifiable inferences must be drawn in the non-moving party’s favor). “On summary judgment, ‘[i]f there is conflict between the plaintiffs and the defendant’s allegations or in the evidence, the plaintiffs evidence is to be believed and all reasonable inferences must be drawn in his favor.’ ” Shotz v. City of Plantation, Fla., 344 F.3d 1161, 1164 (11th Cir.2003) (quoting Molina v. Merritt & Furman Ins. Agency, 207 F.3d 1351, 1356 (11th Cir.2000)). However, “mere conclusions and unsupported factual allegations are legally insufficient to defeat a summary judgment motion.” Ellis v. England, 432 F.3d 1321, 1326 (11th Cir.2005) (per curiam) (citing Bald Mountain Park, Ltd. v. Oliver, 863 F.2d 1560, 1563 (11th Cir.1989)). Moreover, “[a] mere ‘scintilla’ of evidence supporting the opposing party’s position will not suffice; there must be enough of a showing that the jury could reasonably find for that party.” Walker v. Darby, 911 F.2d 1573, 1577 (11th Cir.1990) (citing Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505).

Qualified Immunity

Amerson argues that there is no evidence of a Constitutional violation because, among other reasons, the alleged force was de minimis and not excessive. He argues that, in any event, he is entitled to a dismissal of claim(s) based on qualified immunity.

“Qualified immunity operates ‘to ensure that before they are subjected to suit, officers are on notice their conduct is unlawful.’ ” Hope v. Pelzer, 536 U.S. 730, 739, 122 S.Ct. 2508, 153 L.Ed.2d 666 (2002) (citing Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 206, 121 S.Ct. 2151, 150 L.Ed.2d 272 (2001)). Therefore, “[government officials performing discretionary functions are entitled to qualified immunity ‘insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.’ ” Lancaster v. Monroe County, 116 F.3d 1419, 1424 (11th Cir.1997) (citing Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982)). Indeed, officers are entitled to qualified immunity un[1303]*1303less the “supposedly wrongful act was already established to such a high degree that every objectively reasonable official standing in the defendant’s place would be on notice that what the defendant official was doing would be clearly unlawful given the circumstances.” Bozeman v. Orum, 422 F.3d 1265, 1273 (11th Cir.2005) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). In other words, qualified immunity “gives government officials breathing room to make reasonable but mistaken judgments.” Messerschmidt v. Millender, — U.S. -, 132 S.Ct. 1235, 1244-45, 182 L.Ed.2d 47 (2012). Therefore, “ ‘[b]eeause qualified immunity shields government actors in all but exceptional cases, courts should think long and hard before stripping defendants of immunity.’ ” GJR Investments, Inc. v. County of Escambia, 132 F.3d 1359, 1366 (11th Cir.1998)(quoting Lassiter v. Alabama A & M Univ. Bd. of Trs., 28 F.3d 1146, 1149 (11th Cir.1994)).

To receive qualified immunity from suit, “the government official must first prove that, he was acting within the scope of his discretionary authority when the allegedly wrongful acts occurred.” Mathews v. Crosby, 480 F.3d 1265, 1269 (11th Cir.2007). The burden then shifts to the plaintiff to demonstrate that qualified immunity is not appropriate by showing that (1) “the government official’s conduct violated a Constitutional right” and (2) the Constitutional right was “clearly established” by preexisting federal law at the time of the action. Id. (citing

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

Related

Jones v. City of Dothan, Alabama
121 F.3d 1456 (Eleventh Circuit, 1997)
Gold v. City of Miami
121 F.3d 1442 (Eleventh Circuit, 1997)
GJR Investments, Inc. v. County of Escambia
132 F.3d 1359 (Eleventh Circuit, 1998)
Ruiz De Molina v. Merritt & Furman Insurance Agency
207 F.3d 1351 (Eleventh Circuit, 2000)
Priester v. City of Riviera Beach
208 F.3d 919 (Eleventh Circuit, 2000)
Kim D. Lee v. Luis Ferraro
284 F.3d 1188 (Eleventh Circuit, 2002)
Shotz v. City of Plantation, FL
344 F.3d 1161 (Eleventh Circuit, 2003)
Albert Darruthy v. City of Miami
351 F.3d 1080 (Eleventh Circuit, 2003)
Willie H. Bozeman v. Silas Orum, III
422 F.3d 1265 (Eleventh Circuit, 2005)
David W. Ellis, Jr. v. Gordon R. England
432 F.3d 1321 (Eleventh Circuit, 2005)
Willie Mathews v. James McDonough
480 F.3d 1265 (Eleventh Circuit, 2007)
Hadley v. Gutierrez
526 F.3d 1324 (Eleventh Circuit, 2008)
McCullough Ex Rel. McCullough v. Antolini
559 F.3d 1201 (Eleventh Circuit, 2009)
Garczynski v. Bradshaw
573 F.3d 1158 (Eleventh Circuit, 2009)
Oliver v. Fiorino
586 F.3d 898 (Eleventh Circuit, 2009)
Terry v. Ohio
392 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1968)
Adickes v. S. H. Kress & Co.
398 U.S. 144 (Supreme Court, 1970)
United States v. Robinson
414 U.S. 218 (Supreme Court, 1973)
Scott v. United States
436 U.S. 128 (Supreme Court, 1978)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
890 F. Supp. 2d 1299, 2012 WL 3962818, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123541, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jb-ex-rel-brown-v-amerson-alnd-2012.