Kingsley v. Lawrence County, Missouri

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION

KIMAN KINGSLEY, et al., ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) Case No. 3:17-cv-05007-SRB ) LAWRENCE COUNTY, MISSOURI, et al., ) ) Defendants. )

ORDER

Before this Court is Plaintiff Kiman Kingsley’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. (Doc. #421). The motion is granted. Plaintiff brings his motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(a), requesting that this Court find Defendant Sheriff Brad DeLay has final policymaking authority for purposes of 42 U.S.C. § 19831 “in the areas of training and supervision of deputies and procedures for the investigation of crimes and the arrest of criminal suspects.” (Doc. #421, p. 1). Defendants concede that Plaintiff is entitled to partial summary judgment on this issue. (Doc. #442, p. 2). This Court agrees. The Court therefore finds that at the time of the challenged conduct Defendant DeLay was the final policymaker for Lawrence County, Missouri, in the areas of “hiring, firing, training, disciplining, and supervision of Lawrence County deputies” and “establishing and enforcing departmental guidelines for law enforcement operations, rules, and procedures.” (Doc. #442, p. 2). Accordingly, it is ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. #421) is granted.

1 See City of St. Louis v. Praprotnik, 485 U.S. 112, 127 (1988); Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati, 475 U.S. 469, 483 (1986). IT IS SO ORDERED.

/s/ Stephen R. Bough STEPHEN R. BOUGH, JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DATE: February 1, 2019