Parris v. Town of Alexander City

45 F. Supp. 2d 1295, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5433, 1999 WL 223428
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Alabama
DecidedFebruary 10, 1999
DocketCiv.A. 98-D-85-E
StatusPublished

This text of 45 F. Supp. 2d 1295 (Parris v. Town of Alexander City) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Parris v. Town of Alexander City, 45 F. Supp. 2d 1295, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5433, 1999 WL 223428 (M.D. Ala. 1999).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

DE ME NT, District Judge.

Before the court are Defendants Town of Goodwater (“Goodwater”), Harold Strong (“Strong”), and James Truitt’s (“Truitt”) Motion for Summary Judgment (“Motion”) and Brief in Support of Their Motion (“Brief’), both filed on December 4, 1998. Plaintiff filed a Response to Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (“Response”) on January 6, 1999. Defendants Goodwater, Strong, and Truitt filed a Reply (“Reply”) on January 13, 1999.

Also before the court are Defendants City of Alexander City (“Alexander”), Lynn Royall (“Royall”), Jerry Whetstone (“Whetstone”), and Kendrick Norris’ (“Norris”) Motion for Summary Judgment (“Motion 2”) and Brief in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment (“Brief 2”), both filed on December 7, 1998. Plaintiff filed a Response to Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (“Response 2”) on January 6, 1999. Defendants Alexander, Royall, Whetstone, and Norris filed a Reply (“Reply 2”) on January 13, 1999.

On January 6, 1999, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Strike (“Strike”) various portions of *1297 the evidentiary material attached to Defendants’ Motions for Summary Judgment. Defendants Alexander, Royall, Norris, and Whetstone filed an Opposition to Plaintiffs Motion to Strike, which the court construes as a Response (“Response 8”), on January 13, 1999. Defendants’ Goodwater, Strong, and Truitt filed a Response to Plaintiffs Motion to Strike (“Response 4”) on January 14, 1999. Plaintiff filed a Reply to both Defendant Goodwater, Strong, and Truitt’s Response (“Reply 3”) and to Defendants Alexander, Royall, Norris and Whetstone’s Response (“Reply 4”) on January 20, 1999.

After careful consideration of the arguments of counsel, the relevant law, and the record as a whole, the court finds that Defendants’ Motions for Summary Judgment are due to be granted. The court also finds that Plaintiffs Motion to Strike is due to be denied as moot. 1

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

The court properly exercises subject matter jurisdiction over this action, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1343(a)(4) and 1367. The Parties do not contest personal jurisdiction or venue.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

On a motion for summary judgment, the court is to construe the evidence and factual inferences, arising therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. See Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970). Summary judgment can be entered on a claim only if it is shown “that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). As the Supreme Court has explained the summary judgment standard:

[T]he plain language of 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. In such a situation, there can be no ‘genuine issue as to any material fact,’ since a complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the nonmoving party’s case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial.

Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)).

The trial court’s function at this juncture is not “to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (citations 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. See Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505; see also Barfield v. Brierton, 883 F.2d 923, 933 (11th Cir.1989).

The party seeking summary judgment has the initial burden of informing the court of the basis for the motion and of establishing, based on relevant “portions of ‘the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any,”’ that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (citing Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c)). The mechanics of satisfying the initial burden vary, however, depending upon which party, the movant or the nonmovant, bears the burden of proof *1298 at trial. See Fitzpatrick v. City of Atlanta, 2 F.3d 1112, 1115 (11th Cir.1993) (detailing the nature of the parties’ responsibilities when preparing or defending against a motion for summary judgment).

Once this initial demonstration under Rule 56(c) is made, the burden of production, not persuasion, shifts to the nonmoving party. The nonmoving party must “go beyond the pleadings and by [his or] her own affidavits, or by the ‘depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,’ designate ‘specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial:”’ Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)). In meeting this burden, the nonmoving party “must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Corp. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). That party must demonstrate that there is a “genuine issue for trial.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); see also Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348; Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

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45 F. Supp. 2d 1295, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5433, 1999 WL 223428, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parris-v-town-of-alexander-city-almd-1999.