Danyale Blackmore, a co-owner of the My Place Hotel in Hurricane City, Utah, sued police officers Jared Carlson and Eric DeMille following an early morning incident. A guest had kicked open a locked lobby door to enter the hotel after being locked out. When officers arrived, they spoke with Blackmore over the phone and later in person, asking her to come down to the lobby to assist with the guest. Blackmore refused, expressing hostility toward the guest and the officers. When she attempted to walk back toward the lobby after being told to stop, Officer Carlson blocked her path, pushed her into an alcove, and eventually restrained her against a wall to place her hands behind her back. Blackmore was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and interference with a peace officer, though a state jury later acquitted her. She subsequently filed a civil rights lawsuit alleging unlawful seizure and excessive force. The district court granted summary judgment on the unlawful seizure claim based on three independent grounds and dismissed the excessive force claim based on qualified immunity.
The Tenth Circuit addressed two primary issues. First, regarding the unlawful seizure claim, the district court had ruled in favor of the officers on three independent alternative grounds: (1) no controlling case law gave notice that the arrest was a violation; (2) the plaintiff resisted detention, providing probable cause; and (3) the law was not clearly established that arresting her for resisting was unconstitutional. The appellate court noted that the plaintiff only challenged the first two grounds in her opening brief. Citing the principle that an appellant must challenge all independent alternative grounds to avoid affirmation, the court affirmed the summary judgment based on the unchallenged third ground. The court emphasized that to defeat qualified immunity, a plaintiff must show the law was clearly established at a specific level of generality, not just broadly. The plaintiff's failure to cite specific precedent particularized to the conduct meant she could not meet this burden. Second, regarding the excessive force claim, the court applied the qualified immunity standard, which requires showing that the law was clearly established. The plaintiff cited four prior cases involving more egregious conduct, such as kicking, punching, or using chokeholds on subdued suspects. The court distinguished those facts, noting that while the plaintiff was a misdemeanant and posed little threat, the officers' actions—pushing her into an alcove and restraining her while she was still moving and yelling—did not rise to the level of a clearly established constitutional violation under the Fourth Amendment. The court concluded that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity.
The decision reinforces the procedural requirement that appellants must challenge every independent ground for a lower court's ruling to avoid automatic affirmation. It also clarifies the high bar for establishing clearly established law in excessive force cases, requiring specific precedent that matches the conduct rather than general principles. The case is remanded to the district court with instructions to enter judgment consistent with the affirmation, effectively ending the civil liability for the officers on these claims.
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