William Grise v. Ronald Allen

714 F. App'x 489
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedOctober 26, 2017
Docket17-5221
StatusUnpublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 714 F. App'x 489 (William Grise v. Ronald Allen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
William Grise v. Ronald Allen, 714 F. App'x 489 (6th Cir. 2017).

Opinion

OPINION

McKEAGUE, Circuit Judge.

On a January evening in rural Madison County, Kentucky, Dr. William Grise could no longer bear the barking of a neighbor’s dog. To quiet the dog, Dr. Grise twice fired his shotgun into the ground of his property. The barking stopped—but Dr. Grise’s troubles were only just beginning. Madison County Sheriffs Deputy Ronald Allen soon arrived at the Grise property and eventually arrested Dr. Grise and entered his home. Dr. Grise and his wife, Mary Grise, filed suit, alleging that the arrest and home entry violated their federal constitutional and Kentucky state law rights. 1 On two separate motions for summary judgment, the district court disposed of the Grises’ claims. Finding the Grises’ arguments unresponsive to the district court’s analysis and otherwise unpersuasive, we AFFIRM.

I

In considering defendants’ motions for summary judgment, the district court was required to draw all factual inferences “in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion.” United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S, 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962), Accordingly, though some important factual disputes are highlighted, the picture painted here is largely that provided by the Plaintiff-Appellant Grises.

Factual Background. On January 2, 2011, Ronald T. Allen, a Madison County Sheriffs Deputy, 'responded to a 911 call reporting gun shots near the property of Dr. William Grise. As Deputy Allen approached Dr. Grise’s home in rural Madison County, Dr. Grise—seeing the vehicle but unable to identify it—-warned his wife, Mary Grise, that “this might be trouble,” put a pistol in his jacket pocket, and stepped out onto his front walkway. When Deputy Allen arrived, he asked Dr. Grise to identify himself, and Dr. Grise did so. Dr. Grise explained that he had fired his shotgun into the ground in an attempt to silence a neighbor’s barking dog, denied that he had broken any law, and turned to walk back inside his home.

As Dr. Grise walked back toward his house, Deputy Allen repeatedly questioned Dr. Grise about the dangers of firing a shotgun, and Dr, Grise four times answered that “no law was broken.” Deputy Allen then asked Dr. Grise if he could enter the house, and Dr. Grise refused. Deputy Allen ordered Dr. Grise to “go in the house,” and Deputy Allen followed Dr. Grise onto his porch, As Dr. Grise walked through his front door, Mrs. Grise—who had been standing behind the partly closed door—fell to the ground. The Grises claim that Mrs. Grise, stricken with partial paralysis from a stroke, simply lost her balance as she attempted to move away from the opening door. Deputy Allen disputes this version of events, stating that he “saw [Dr. Grise] push his wife down in the doorway.”

Deputy Allen then demanded that Dr. Grise open the door, grabbed Dr. Grise by the arm while he was still in his house, and pulled him outside where he soon arrested him. At some point after seeing Mrs. Grise lying on the floor, Deputy Allen called for emergency medical services. As EMS personnel attended to Mrs. Grise, Deputy Allen walked through the Grises’ living room, dining room, and kitchen. Deputy Allen discovered two legally possessed guns in the living room and a half-empty bottle of wine in the kitchen; Mrs. Grise did not suffer any injuries from her fall.

Dr. Grise was charged with public intoxication, fourth-degree assault, and carrying a concealed weapon. At his preliminary hearing before the Madison County District Court on March 14, 2011, Garrett T. Fowles, a county attorney, offered to dismiss the charges against Dr. Grise if Dr. Grise would abide by certain conditions for one year. The conditions were three-fold: first, that Dr. Grise would not possess a firearm other than his shotgun; second, that Dr. Grise would not discharge any weapon except in self-defense; and third, that Dr. Grise would commit no further criminal violations. Mr. Fowles at first indicated those three conditions were the entirety of the agreement: “And with those three conditions in mind, if you do those things and abide by those conditions for a period of a year, when we get this case back I’ll get the Commonwealth to recommend that the charges be dismissed.” The presiding judge then reiterated the three conditions, ordered a continuance until March 12, 2012, and instructed Mr. Grise to keep in touch with his attorney in the meantime. But then Mr. Fowles interjected:

MR: FOWLES: Tom, this—oh, I’m sorry, Judge.
COURT: Yes.
MR. FOWLES: I forgot about one other condition. Dr. Grise will stipulate to probable cause for the arrest without question.
COURT: Show stip PC, continue to March 12, 2012, 9:00 a.ra., to be dismissed if no further violations, no possession of firearms with the exception of the shotgun, and not to discharge a weapon on his property unless in self-defense.
DR. GRISE: Yes sir.
COURT: Okay. Thank you. That takes care of the matter.

Some three months later, on June 6, 2011, Dr. and Mrs. Grise filed this lawsuit, naming Deputy Allen and Sheriff Nelson O’Donnell, in their individual and official capacities, and the Madison County Sheriffs Department, as defendants. The Gris-es asserted 11 claims in total: false arrest under § 1983 and Kentucky law; malicious prosecution under § 1983 and Kentucky law; abuse of criminal process under § 1983 and Kentucky law; unlawful search and invasion of privacy under § 1983 and Kentucky law; failure to train and supervise under § 1983; and negligent hiring and retention and outrage under Kentucky law. Defendants filed their first motion for summaiy judgment on February 7, 2012, arguing that Dr. Grise stipulated to probable cause and that such stipulation defeated essential elements of most of his claims. In response, Dr. Grise denied ever having stipulated to probable cause.

The following month, on March 12, 2012, Dr. Grise returned to the Madison District Court on the criminal charges still pending against him. Dr. Grise explained to the court that he never intended to stipulate, and would not stipulate, to probable cause. Hearing this, county attorney Mr. Fowles said that Dr. Grise’s testimony “pretty much queers the deal.” The following colloquy then occurred:

JUDGE HARDIN: That[’s] what I said. It was to be dismissed, that was the recommendation if there was a stipulation. If the[y] are saying there is no stipulation—I do not know what the status—I am sure you are not moving to dismiss it.
MR. FOWLES: I am not; the status is that we will prosecute.
JUDGE HARDIN: So how do you want to set it for a pretrial.
BURL McCOY (Dr. Grise’s attorney): That would be the easiest thing to do, is set it down for a pretrial.
MR. FOWLES: Whatever suits you is fine by me.
JUDGE HARDIN: So we will set it ... April 23 at 2:30 in the afternoon.

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714 F. App'x 489, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/william-grise-v-ronald-allen-ca6-2017.