Robertson v. Town of Farmerville

830 F. Supp. 2d 183, 2011 WL 5598296, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133090
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Louisiana
DecidedNovember 17, 2011
DocketCivil Action No. 11-0049
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 830 F. Supp. 2d 183 (Robertson v. Town of Farmerville) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Robertson v. Town of Farmerville, 830 F. Supp. 2d 183, 2011 WL 5598296, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133090 (W.D. La. 2011).

Opinion

RULING

ROBERT G. JAMES, District Judge.

Pending before the Court is Defendants Dewayne Jackson (“Jackson”) and Town of Farmerville’s (“Farmerville”) Motion for [186]*186Summary Judgment. [Doc. No. 14]. Plaintiffs Aimer Robertson (“Robertson”) and Angel White (“White”) filed an Opposition to Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. No. 25], and Defendants filed a Reply to Opposition to Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. No. 27],

For the following reasons, Defendants’ motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.

I. BACKGROUND

The allegations in this case stem from a traffic stop conducted by Jackson, a former police officer with the Town of Farmerville, involving Robertson and White. On January 1, 2010, at approximately 6:45 p.m., Robertson and White were traveling northbound on Main Street in Farmerville. Robertson claims that Jackson “rapidly approached” him in his police car from the rear and continued to “drive extremely close” until he activated his emergency lights and Robertson pulled over. [Doc. No. 2, p. 1], The parties dispute whether Robertson crossed the center line once Jackson began following him. Additionally, the parties dispute whether Robertson braked suddenly to make Jackson collide with him or merely slowed down for the upcoming traffic light.

After pulling over, Robertson and Jackson both exited their vehicles. According to Robertson, Jackson had previously stopped him on three separate occasions; therefore, Robertson requested that Jackson call another officer to conduct the stop. Robertson claims that Jackson placed him in handcuffs, conducted a pat down search, shoved him until he fell to the ground, and eventually placed him in the back of his police car. Jackson admits Robertson fell to the ground before being placed in his police car, but claims Robertson tripped.

While Jackson was arresting Robertson, White also exited the vehicle and began yelling at Jackson. White claims she said Robertson “didn’t do anything wrong” [Doc. No. 14-8, p. 3] and requested that Jackson “not hurt him.” [Doc. No. 14-4, p. 3], Officer Bobby Holly (“Holly”) arrived on the scene around this time, handcuffed White, and placed her in his police car.

After White and Robertson were both in the police cars, Jackson and Holly informed them that they were under arrest and read them their Miranda rights. Then, Jackson and Holly conducted a search of Robertson’s vehicle. According to Jackson, the officers located a .22 caliber pistol stuffed in the driver’s seat, another pistol on the dash, an unlabeled bottle of pills in the glove compartment, and a similar bottle of pills in the console. White claims that she requested Jackson remove $1,600 from the vehicle so she and Robertson could post bond. Jackson returned to the vehicle and searched for the money, but claims that he did not find it. Both officers state that no money was ever recovered from the vehicle. Plaintiffs allege that Jackson stole the cash during his search.

Subsequent to their arrest, Plaintiffs were jailed without bail for two days. After discovering that Robertson had prescriptions for the pills and was lawfully in possession of the firearms, the Union Parish District Attorney’s Office declined to charge Plaintiffs with a felony offense. [Doc. No. 2, p. 3]. Robertson was charged with Reckless Operation of a Vehicle, Disturbing the Peace, and Threatening a Public Official. White was charged with Resisting an Officer and Disturbing the Peace. The District Attorney, however, dismissed all charges following five court appearances by Plaintiffs over nine months.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, “[t]he court shall grant summary judg[187]*187ment 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.CivP. 56(a). The moving party bears the initial burden of informing the court of the basis for its motion by identifying portions of the record which highlight the absence of genuine issues of material fact. Topalian v. Ehrman, 954 F.2d 1125, 1132 (5th Cir.1992). A fact is “material” if proof of its existence or nonexistence would affect the outcome of the lawsuit under applicable law in the case. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A dispute about a material fact is “genuine” if the evidence is such that a reasonable fact finder could render a verdict for the nonmoving party. Id.

If the moving party can meet the initial burden, the burden then shifts to the non-moving party to establish the existence of a genuine issue of material fact for trial. Norman v. Apache Corp., 19 F.3d 1017, 1023 (5th Cir.1994). The nonmoving party must show more than “some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). In evaluating the evidence tendered by the parties, the Court must accept the evidence of the nonmovant as credible and draw all justifiable inferences in its favor. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

III. LAW & ANALYSIS

Plaintiffs allege the following claims against Jackson pursuant to Louisiana state law: wrongful arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, defamation, battery, and theft. Plaintiffs allege the following claims against Jackson under 42 U.S.C. § 1983: deprivation of constitutional rights, use of excessive force, abuse of power, commission of crime acting under color of law, performing an illegal and warrantless search of private property, and unlawful arrest and seizure of person. Plaintiffs also allege claims against the Town of Farmerville under § 1983 for an unlawful search policy, failure to train, and negligent hiring.

Defendants argue the Court should grant summary judgment on each of these claims because Jackson had probable cause to arrest Plaintiffs. Regarding the excessive force claim, Defendants argue that Robertson did not suffer sufficient injury. Defendants also argue any claims against Jackson should be dismissed because he has qualified immunity. Regarding the theft claim Defendants argue intentional theft does not violate a constitutional right under § 1983. Finally, Defendants argue all claims against Farmerville should be dismissed because Plaintiffs have not offered evidence sufficient to demonstrate an unconstitutional policy or custom.

A. Probable Cause

Defendants argue that “the existence of probable cause to arrest precludes all of these claims.” [Doc. No. 14, p. 6], Since there was probable cause to believe Robertson violated Louisiana’s Reckless Operation of Vehicle and Careless Operation statutes, Defendants argue the arrests were clearly permissible. Defendants also claim that an arrest “even on a minor traffic violation justifies the search of the vehicle, including the passenger compartment and closed containers----” [Doc. No. 14, p. 8], Therefore, there could be no unlawful search or seizure.

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830 F. Supp. 2d 183, 2011 WL 5598296, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133090, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robertson-v-town-of-farmerville-lawd-2011.