Rooney Ex Rel. Rooney v. Watson

101 F.3d 1378, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 33529, 1996 WL 706663
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedDecember 26, 1996
Docket95-2255
StatusPublished
Cited by120 cases

This text of 101 F.3d 1378 (Rooney Ex Rel. Rooney v. Watson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rooney Ex Rel. Rooney v. Watson, 101 F.3d 1378, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 33529, 1996 WL 706663 (11th Cir. 1996).

Opinions

HATCHETT, Chief Judge:

Following Cannon v. Taylor, 782 F.2d 947 (11th Cir.1986), the court affirms the district court’s granting of summary judgment to a county and a deputy sheriff after finding that no constitutional deprivations resulted from an automobile accident.

BACKGROUND

On January 23, 1989, John Rooney III was driving his parents’ truck, and his younger brother, Keith Rooney, was a passenger. George Watson, a deputy sheriff in Volusia County, Florida, while on duty, was driving his patrol vehicle southbound on Highway 11 traveling at approximately 82 miles per hour. The Rooneys were traveling northbound on Highway 11 and at Reynolds Road attempted to make a left turn. Watson’s patrol vehicle struck the Rooneys’ vehicle. At the time of impact, Watson’s vehicle was traveling approximately 73 miles per hour. Watson was neither engaged in a police pursuit nor responding to an emergency call, and he did not have his lights or sirens operating. As a result of the accident, Keith Rooney sustained severe head injuries and John Rooney sustained bodily injuries and lost teeth. Watson was not seriously injured.

On January 14, 1993, John Rooney, Jr., Marsha Rooney, John Rooney III, and Keith Rooney filed suit against Deputy Watson and Volusia County claiming constitutional violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state law negligence claims. Following the completion of discovery, the appellees moved for summary judgment. The district court granted the appellees’ motions for summary judgment on the federal civil rights counts on January 23, 1995, and in the same order declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims. In granting the appellees’ motions for summary judgment, the district court relied on Cannon.

CONTENTIONS

The Rooneys contend that Watson’s conduct amounted to a constitutional deprivation. They argue that their ease is distinguishable from Cannon because Volusia County had a de facto custom and policy that encouraged indiscriminate speeding and grossly negligent driving. They assert that Keith Rooney was deprived of a normal life, John Rooney III was deprived of a normal life, and John, Jr. and Marsha Rooney were deprived of their property, the truck, due to Volusia County’s longstanding policy of allowing recklessness in the operation of patrol vehicles.

The Rooneys claim that the distinction between their case and “police-chase” cases that refused to find a constitutional violation is that this was not a “police-chase” case. In this case, Deputy Watson was not engaged in any pursuit of any kind. They contend that Volusia County’s refusal to prevent reckless driving among patrol vehicles could have led a reasonable jury to find that it amounted to a deliberate indifference to the rights of third parties. They also argue that the district [1380]*1380court confused the role of custom and policy in this allegation with the separate claim against Volusia County for failure to properly train and supervise, and as a result, the district court reached the wrong result. The Rooneys assert that the trial court failed to make the distinction between their claim for deprivation of life, liberty and property through a policy or custom, and their claim for deprivation of their constitutional rights through a failure to train or supervise. They contend that the Supreme Court recognized a “failure to train” as a cognizable civil rights claim in City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378, 109 S.Ct. 1197, 103 L.Ed.2d 412 (1989).

Watson and Volusia County contend that the district court properly granted summary judgment to them because the Rooneys failed to prove a constitutional deprivation actionable under section 1983. They argue that in order for the Rooneys to state a claim they must prove that a statute, ordinance, custom or policy of the government caused the government officer or employee to violate another’s constitutional rights. Moreover, they argue that Deputy Watson was not a policy maker for Volusia County; that the Rooneys’ claim of deprivation of substantive or procedural due process is not triggered by mere negligence; that Deputy Watson’s actions cannot rise to an unreasonable seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment; and that under this court’s decision in Cannon, a negligent or even grossly negligent operation of a motor vehicle by a policeman acting in the line of duty does not give rise to a cause of action for violation of a federal right under section 1983.

ISSUE

The sole issue we address in this appeal is whether the district court erred in granting summary judgment to the appellees in finding that no constitutional deprivation occurred.

DISCUSSION

Our review of a district court’s decision to grant summary judgment is de novo. Hale v. Tallapoosa Co., 50 F.3d 1579 (11th Cir.1995). We independently review the record to determine whether summary judgment was appropriate viewing the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories and admissions on file together with affidavits, if any, to determine whether a genuine issue of material fact exists and whether the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Celotex v v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In making our determination, we view the record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and with all reasonable inferences resolved in the nonmovant’s favor. Hale, 50 F.3d at 1581.

I. Deputy Watson

The Rooneys brought this action under section 1983 claiming that both Deputy Watson and Volusia County violated their constitutional rights to life, liberty, property, procedural due process and travel under the United States Constitution. In order for the Rooneys to state a cause of action against Watson in his official capacity, we must determine (1) whether Watson’s conduct alleged to have caused their harm occurred while he was acting under color of state law, and (2) whether his alleged conduct deprived the Rooneys of rights, privileges, or immunities guaranteed under the Constitution or laws of the United States. Parratt v. Taylor, 451 U.S. 527, 535, 101 S.Ct. 1908, 1912-13, 68 L.Ed.2d 420 (1981), overruled on other grounds by, Daniels v. Williams, 474 U.S. 327, 106 S.Ct. 662, 88 L.Ed.2d 662 (1986); see also Burch v. Apalachee Community Mental Health Servs., Inc., 840 F.2d 797, 800 (11th Cir.1988), aff'd sub nom., Zinermon v. Burch, 494 U.S. 113, 110 S.Ct. 975, 108 L.Ed.2d 100 (1990).

Our decision in Cannon v. Taylor, 782 F.2d 947 (11th Cir.1986), directs our analysis in this case. In Cannon, a police officer responding to a disturbance call at a local pool hall in Columbus, Georgia, struck another vehicle, killing the driver of that vehicle.

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Bluebook (online)
101 F.3d 1378, 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 33529, 1996 WL 706663, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rooney-ex-rel-rooney-v-watson-ca11-1996.