DISCLAIMER: Any unofficial case summaries below are prepared by the clerk's office
as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court.
172884P.pdf 01/04/2019 Thompson Awnings v. Joshua Fullerton
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 17-2884
U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska - Lincoln
[PUBLISHED] [Smith, Author, with Beam and Colloton, Circuit Judges]
Civil case - Civil rights. The district court did not err in denying
plaintiff's motion to disqualify all of the attorneys of the City of
Lincoln's law department where the attorney who first represented the city
and its employees in this Section 1983 had worked in the county public
defender's office during a portion of the time that office represented
plaintiff on criminal charges arising out of the incident at issue here;
there was nothing to support plaintiff's conjecture that the attorney, who
was not actively involved in the criminal matter, had confidential
information about the criminal case; further, the attorney, who withdrew
as the City's attorney when the possible conflict became known, was
screened from any further contact with the case and the attorney provided
an affidavit claiming no knowledge of the case from her previous
employment; evidentiary rulings with respect to excluding statements
plaintiff made about his medical examination after his release from jail
and admission of affidavits from the police officers affirmed; under
Nebraska law, plaintiff's admitted conduct qualified as obstruction of a
peace officer and resisting arrest, and the defendant officer had probable
cause to arrest plaintiff; there was no genuine disputes of material fact
between plaintiff's version of events and the arresting officers, and
their use of force was objectively reasonable; with respect to plaintiff's
claim for denial of medical care, defendant Banks's failure to inform jail
officials that hospital staff wanted a followup medical visit did not rise
to the level of conduct which would shock the contemporary conscience and
violate plaintiff's Due Process rights, and the district court did not err
in dismissing him from the action. Judge Colloton, concurring in part and
concurring in the judgment.