Topic
Every decision we've filed under Summary Judgment.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a jury verdict finding that an Atlanta police officer violated the Fourth Amendment by using a taser on a fleeing suspect from a steep embankment. The court also upheld the district court's dismissal of municipal liability and its reduction of punitive damages against the officer.
The First Circuit vacated a district court ruling that granted summary judgment to a Puerto Rican mayor who refused to reappoint a former Internal Auditor. The appellate court held that the refusal to reappoint constituted an adverse employment action protected by the First Amendment and that the position was not a trust role exempting the mayor from political discrimination claims.
The First Circuit affirmed the district court's denial of a preliminary injunction sought by a church challenging a university's rescission of a property sale award. The appellate court held that the church failed to demonstrate a likelihood of success on its claims that the university acted with unconstitutional religious animus.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a jury verdict finding that an Atlanta police officer violated the Fourth Amendment by using a taser on a fleeing suspect from a steep embankment. The court also upheld the district court's dismissal of municipal liability and its reduction of punitive damages against the officer.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a district court's summary judgment in a prisoner's civil rights action. The court held that the plaintiff failed to exhaust administrative remedies and did not demonstrate that such remedies were effectively unavailable.
The Fourth Circuit dismissed in part and affirmed in part an appeal challenging a magistrate judge's denial of qualified immunity to a police officer. The court held it lacked jurisdiction to review arguments turning on factual disputes but affirmed the denial of immunity on purely legal grounds.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a district court order granting summary judgment in a civil rights action. The appellate panel found no reversible error in the lower court's decision.
The Sixth Circuit reversed a summary judgment ruling on a breach of contract claim involving an insurance policy's fencing requirement. The court held that the requirement was unenforceable because building a fence around the entire property was physically impossible.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a summary judgment ruling in favor of a former chief executive officer accused of breaching fiduciary duties. The court held that the officer owed duties to the parent company rather than creditors and that his business decisions were protected by the business judgment rule.
The Fifth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for a Texas Medical Board investigator and a state trooper on most claims but reversed the ruling on one search claim against the trooper. The court found a genuine dispute of material fact regarding whether the trooper used an administrative search as a pretext for a criminal investigation.