Spencer v. Garden

322 F. Supp. 3d 1205
CourtDistrict Court, D. Utah
DecidedJune 28, 2018
DocketCase No. 2:10–cv–00626
StatusPublished

This text of 322 F. Supp. 3d 1205 (Spencer v. Garden) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Utah primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Spencer v. Garden, 322 F. Supp. 3d 1205 (D. Utah 2018).

Opinion

*1211LEGAL STANDARD

Sgt. Miller's summary-judgment motion is governed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. Summary judgment shall be granted to the moving party when the record 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. Civ. P. 56(a) ; see also Jones v. Salt Lake County , 503 F.3d 1147, 1152-53 (10th Cir. 2007) (citing former Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c) ). Sgt. Miller has the initial burden to establish the absence of material fact to support the non-moving party's claims. Jensen v. Kimble , 1 F.3d 1073, 1076 (10th Cir.1993) (citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) ). In so doing, he may cite to particular parts of materials in the record supporting the fact, or may show that the cited materials "do not establish the absence ... of a genuine dispute, or that an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1)(A)-(B). If the non-movant fails to meet his burden as to one element of a claim, summary judgment is appropriate on the claim. Celotex Corp. , 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548

Sgt. Miller has raised the defense of qualified immunity to Maguire's claims. Qualified immunity shields government officials who perform discretionary functions from § 1983 damages suits so long as "their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known." Pearson v. Callahan , 555 U.S. 223, 231, 129 S.Ct. 808, 172 L.Ed.2d 565 (2009) (quoting Harlow v. Fitzgerald , 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982) ).

Qualified immunity "is 'an immunity from suit rather than a mere defense to liability ... it is effectively lost if a case is erroneously permitted to go to trial' [and was created] to ensure that 'insubstantial claims' against government officials [will] be resolved prior to discovery." Pearson , 555 U.S. at 231, 129 S.Ct. 808 (quoting Mitchell v. Forsyth , 472 U.S. 511, 526, 105 S.Ct. 2806, 86 L.Ed.2d 411 (1985) ); Anderson v. Creighton , 483 U.S. 635, 640 n.2, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987) (further citations and quotations omitted) ). The doctrine protects "all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law." Ashcroft v. al-Kidd , 563 U.S. 731, 743, 131 S.Ct. 2074, 179 L.Ed.2d 1149 (2011) (citations and quotations omitted).

When a state official asserts qualified immunity, she creates a rebuttable presumption that she is immune from the plaintiff's § 1983 claims. See Medina v. Cram , 252 F.3d 1124, 1129 (10th Cir. 2001). Two elements exist in the qualified immunity analysis-first, whether, under the facts alleged by the plaintiff, the government officials violated a constitutional right, and second, whether the right at issue was "clearly established" at the time of the defendant's alleged misconduct...." Pearson , 555 U.S. at 231, 129 S.Ct. 808 (citing Saucier v. Katz , 533 U.S. 194, 201, 121 S.Ct. 2151, 150 L.Ed.2d 272 (2001) ).

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Bluebook (online)
322 F. Supp. 3d 1205, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/spencer-v-garden-utd-2018.