OPINIONS ARE POSTED DAILY BETWEEN 10:00 and 11:00 a.m.
Current Opinions are for Friday, February 03, 2023 DISCLAIMER: The following unofficial case summaries are prepared by the clerk's office as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court. 212854U.pdf 02/03/2023 Fontell Fuller v. Stanley Hafoka U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 21-2854 U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Chief Judge Smith, and Benton and Stras, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Civil rights. On these facts, the district court did not err in determining defendant jail officer Hafoka was not entitled to summary judgment based on qualified immunity; a pretrial detainee who is agitated yet complying with officers' last directive and who does not pose an immediate threat to himself or others has a clearly established right not to be violently taken to the ground without any warning. 213564P.pdf 02/03/2023 Lisa Brabbit v. Frank Capra U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 21-3564 U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota [PUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Loken, Erickson, and Kobes, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Civil rights. Plaintiff's decedent committed suicide in the Washington County Jail by jumping from the second floor; plaintiff sued, alleging deliberate indifference to mental health needs and risk of suicide; defendants moved for summary judgment based on qualified immunity, and they appeal the district court's denial of their motion. Held: The denial of qualified immunity is reversed. A review of the record shows that the preventative measures taken by the jail staff were not so inadequate as to constitute deliberate indifference; staff took reasonable steps to monitor him and housed decedent in an area designed to minimize the risk of suicide; the nurses' actions in assessing and evaluating the decedent do not demonstrate deliberate indifference; the Monell claim against the County fails as there is no cognizable constitutional violation. Reversed and remanded. 213755P.pdf 02/03/2023 Jamie Leonard v. Steven Harris U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 21-3755 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis [PUBLISHED] [Stras, Author, with Colloton and Wollman, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Civil rights. Jail officers sprayed plaintiff with pepper spray after he refused orders during a search of his cell; he subsequently clawed out his eye while confined in his cell, and he sued the jail officers, staff and jail for violation of his Fourth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights; the district court granted defendants' motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity, and plaintiff appeals. Held: The officer's use of pepper spray was objectively reasonable under the circumstances; the officers and nurse who examined plaintiff after he was sprayed did not consciously disregard a serious medical need; decision to place plaintiff in a cell with a sink where he could wash his eyes, as opposed to taking him for additional treatment, was not a constitutional violation; decision by officer who observed plaintiff clawing his eye to await assistance before entering the cell was not deliberate indifference as plaintiff was in a frenzied state, was not handcuffed, and presented a serious safety risk to the officer; denial of plaintiff's medications in these circumstances did not violate clearly established law, and Nurse Martin was entitled to qualified immunity on the claim; on plaintiff's Monell claim, the county did not have a policy or custom of failing to give detainees medication; the district court did not err in determining that no adverse inference should be drawn from the deletion of a video as there was no evidence that the defendants had any intent to deprive plaintiff of the information's use. 221058P.pdf 02/03/2023 Teresa Thompson v. William Harrie U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 22-1058 U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota - Southern [PUBLISHED] [Erickson, Author, with Benton, Circuit Judge, and Buescher, District Judge] Civil case - Legal Malpractice. The district court did not err in dismissing plaintiff's legal malpractice claim based on its determination that the claim was not assignable and could not be asserted by plaintiff; the district court did not err in dismissing plaintiff's fraud and deceit claims as the complaint failed to plead such claims with the required degree of particularity required under South Dakota law. 221673U.pdf 02/03/2023 Pierre Watson v. Zachary Driskill U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 22-1673 and No: 22-2378 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Gruender, Melloy, and Stras, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Civil rights. The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying plaintiff's motion to set aside the judgment and compel discovery; nor was there any evidence of judicial bias. 222618U.pdf 02/03/2023 Aleksandra Shklyar v. Carboline Company U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 22-2618 U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis [UNPUBLISHED] [Per Curiam - Before Gruender, Melloy, and Stras, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Employment discrimination. Dismissal for failure to state a claim affirmed without comment.