211116P.pdf   04/06/2022  Michael Faulk  v.  Gerald Leyshock
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  21-1116
   U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis   
   [PUBLISHED] [Loken, Author, with Shepherd and Stras, Circuit Judges] 
   Civil Case - civil rights - qualified immunity. Journalist Michael Fault 
   brought a civil rights action against City of St. Louis and multiple 
   police department members related to their activities in quelling the 
   protests and unrest following the acquittal an officer in the killing of 
   Anthony Lamar Smith. As relevant to this appeal, Faulk brought First and 
   Fourteenth Amendment claims against Officer James Woods and conspiracy 
   claims against all defendants. The district court denied motions for 
   qualified immunity to Woods and denied defendants' motion to dismiss the 
   conspiracy claims. The district court erred in denying the motion to 
   dismiss claims against Woods, as the amended complaint contained no facts 
   showing Woods's personal involvement in the alleged First and Fourteenth 
   Amendment claims, other than that he was working that day and took custody 
   of Faulk's bicycle. Even after discovery in a related case, the amended 
   complaint lacks a factual basis to infer personal involvement. As to the 
   conspiracy claims, the amended complaint did not contain specific and 
   plausible allegations linking Woods to overt acts alleged as part of the 
   conspiracy of all the defendants and the allegation that he agreed to 
   participate in those acts do not state a plausible claim; thus he entitled 
   to qualified immunity. As for the conspiracy claims against the other 
   defendants, who asserted the intracorporate conspiracy doctrine provided a 
   defense, the district court erred in denying their motion to dismiss. The 
   defendants are entitled to qualified immunity because the intracorporate 
   conspiracy doctrine is not clearly established.