Civil Rights Suit Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983

72 Florida cases classified under this topic · sorted by citation count · browse and sort

• Llaguno v. Mingey
  763 F.2d 1560· 7th Cir.· 1985-06-05 ·cited 120×
  The court affirmed the jury's verdict, holding that the police officers had probable cause and sufficient exigent circumstances to enter the Llaguno home without a warrant. The concurring opinion argued that the district court did not commit trial errors sufficient to warrant a n
• Prebble v. Brodrick
  535 F.2d 605· 10th Cir.· 1976-05-10 ·cited 58×
  The court held that the plaintiff's claims against the University were barred by sovereign immunity, the Trustees were properly granted a directed verdict, and the jury instructions and verdict form were not prejudicial, thus affirming the trial court's judgment.
• Grafton v. Brooklyn LAW Sch.
  478 F.2d 1137· 2d Cir.· 1973-05-24 ·cited 46×
  The court held that the actions of Brooklyn Law School in dismissing students were not "under color of any State Law," and thus the suit lacked federal jurisdiction.
• Quincy A. Williams v. Correctional Officer Radford
  64 F.4th 1185· 11th Cir.· 2023-04-04 ·cited 38×
  The Eleventh Circuit held that the district court erred in granting summary judgment on two of the plaintiff's retaliation claims against Captain Scarpati, but affirmed summary judgment on the third retaliation claim.
• Ipcia M. Kercado-Melendez v. Awilda Aponte-Roque
  829 F.2d 255· 1st Cir.· 1987-09-22 ·cited 37×
  The court held that the plaintiff was in the midst of administrative proceedings when she filed her federal suit, and thus should have exhausted state remedies before proceeding in federal court.
• Smith v. Sheriff Mike Sullivan
  553 F.2d 373· 5th Cir.· 1977-05-19 ·cited 34×
  The court held that while a district court has broad equitable powers to remedy constitutional violations in jail conditions, it cannot interfere with the budgetary authority of the Commissioner's Court regarding personnel pay scales. The court affirmed most of the district court
• Goodisman v. Lytle
  724 F.2d 818· 9th Cir.· 1984-01-24 ·cited 30×
  The Eleventh Amendment does not bar claims for prospective relief against state officials in their individual capacities, and procedural regulations do not create a constitutionally protected property interest in tenure unless they impose significant substantive limitations on di
• Hattie M. Blunt v. Marion Cnty. Sch. Bd.
  515 F.2d 951· 5th Cir.· 1975-07-14 ·cited 30×
  The court held that substantial evidence supported the school board's finding of incompetency, and the teacher's dismissal did not violate her constitutional rights to substantive due process, equal protection, or procedural due process.
• Scruggs v. Moellering
  870 F.2d 376· 7th Cir.· 1989-03-01 ·cited 28×
  A federal civil rights suit ancillary to a post-conviction proceeding, seeking an injunction to obtain an accurate transcript, requires exhaustion of state remedies and is an improper collateral attack on a conviction.
• Fludd v. J.B. Dykes
  863 F.2d 822· 11th Cir.· 1989-01-17 ·cited 28×
  The Batson v. Kentucky rule, which prohibits racially motivated peremptory challenges, applies in civil cases as well as criminal cases. The trial court's refusal to consider Batson in a civil suit constitutes reversible error.
• Bailey v. Andrews
  811 F.2d 366· 7th Cir.· 1987-02-03 ·cited 28×
  The jury's finding of liability for constitutional violations is affirmed, but the case is remanded for a new trial on damages due to excessiveness.
• Ellis D. Burrell v. Newsome
  883 F.2d 416· 5th Cir.· 1989-09-19 ·cited 26×
  The court held that the plaintiff's appeal was timely filed and that some of his claims were not barred by the statute of limitations due to Texas' prisoner tolling provisions.
• Jones v. W.J. Estelle, Jr.
  692 F.2d 380· 5th Cir.· 1982-11-29 ·cited 24×
  The court held that a petitioner must be given specific notice of a potential summary judgment and an opportunity to respond with factual support, but that the magistrate's show cause order satisfied these requirements in this case.
• MAY v. Enomoto
  633 F.2d 164· 9th Cir.· 1980-11-19 ·cited 24×
  The court held that the statute of limitations was tolled and that the plaintiff failed to present evidence of deliberate indifference to serious medical needs, thus affirming the directed verdict.
• Jackson v. Warden Burl Cain
  864 F.2d 1235· 5th Cir.· 1989-02-09 ·cited 22×
  The court held that the district court did not err in granting summary judgment for the defendants on the procedural and substantive claims, as Jackson failed to demonstrate genuine issues of material fact or violations of his constitutional rights.
• O'Quinn v. Manuel
  773 F.2d 605· 5th Cir.· 1985-08-05 ·cited 22×
  The court held that the district court erred in dismissing the complaint for failure to state a claim, as the plaintiff's allegations, if true, could establish a violation of his constitutional rights. However, the dismissal for failure to state a claim is affirmed, but the case
• Montana v. Comm'rs Court
  659 F.2d 19· 5th Cir.· 1981-09-15 ·cited 22×
  The district court's sua sponte dismissal of all of the inmate's claims was improper, as several claims stated potentially valid constitutional issues that required further proceedings.
• Nagle v. LEE
  807 F.2d 435· 5th Cir.· 1987-01-08 ·cited 20×
  The court held that the dismissal of the first suit for failure to prosecute was an adjudication on the merits under Rule 41(b), barring the second suit against Sheriff Lee, but not against officers Laura and Montecino who were not parties to the first suit.
• Serna v. A. C. (Chon) Manzano
  616 F.2d 1165· 10th Cir.· 1980-02-25 ·cited 20×
  The court held that the trial court must state its reasons for denying costs to a prevailing party. The court affirmed the denial of the deputies' claims.
• Bailey v. Faulkner
  765 F.2d 102· 7th Cir.· 1985-06-19 ·cited 18×
  The court held that the plaintiff's civil rights suit was barred by the statute of limitations, and affirmed the dismissal on alternative grounds of the defendant's lack of personal liability.
• Emerson Emory v. Tex. State Bd. OF Med. Exam'rs
  748 F.2d 1023· 5th Cir.· 1984-12-17 ·cited 18×
  The Eleventh Amendment bars relief against the state board and officials for damages payable from state coffers, and the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying leave to amend the complaint.
• Varela v. Jones
  746 F.2d 1413· 10th Cir.· 1984-10-24 ·cited 18×
  The court held that the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in refusing to recuse himself, did not err in excluding evidence of a supervisor's alleged misconduct, and did not err in its jury instructions regarding good faith defenses and the use of force.
• Sequoia Books, Inc. v. McDONALD
  725 F.2d 1091· 7th Cir.· 1984-01-06 ·cited 18×
  The court held that the warrant's description of materials was sufficiently particular to satisfy the Fourth Amendment, and abstention was not required.
• Darron K. Campbell v. White
  721 F.2d 644· 8th Cir.· 1983-12-01 ·cited 18×
  A notice of appeal received more than 30 days after judgment is untimely and cannot be considered a motion for an extension of time to appeal under Rule 4(a)(5) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure.
• Chesny v. Marek
  720 F.2d 474· 7th Cir.· 1983-11-03 ·cited 18×
  A Rule 68 offer that includes attorney's fees is valid, and rejection of such an offer does not preclude a plaintiff from recovering attorney's fees for work done after the offer was made, as doing so would abridge the substantive right to fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988.
• Baer v. The City OF Wauwatosa
  716 F.2d 1117· 7th Cir.· 1983-08-22 ·cited 18×
  The court held that the plaintiff did not possess a constitutionally cognizable property interest in operating an unlicensed business or a license issued in error.
• Morgan v. Montanye
  516 F.2d 1367· 2d Cir.· 1975-05-06 ·cited 18×
  The court held that even if prison officials opened attorney mail out of an inmate's presence, the inmate failed to demonstrate actual damage or constitutional infringement, thus the suit was properly dismissed.
• Pieczynski v. Duffy
  875 F.2d 1331· 7th Cir.· 1989-05-30 ·cited 16×
  A campaign of petty harassments directed against a public employee in retaliation for their political beliefs violates the First Amendment unless the harassment is so trivial that a person of ordinary firmness would not be deterred.
• Chuck Siers v. Mr. J. Morrash (Hosp. Administrator)
  700 F.2d 113· 3d Cir.· 1983-02-16 ·cited 16×
  A magistrate's order denying a motion for appointment of counsel in a civil rights suit is not a final order of the district court and is therefore not directly appealable to the court of appeals.
• Hosea Simmons and Andrea Williams v. William Ryan Drew & the Hous. Auth. of the City of Milwaukee
  716 F.2d 1160· 7th Cir.· 1983-09-12 ·cited 14×
  A public housing agency must provide a hearing before expelling a participant from a rent assistance program if it cannot make retroactive payments for benefits lost during the expulsion period.
• Oss Smith, Jr. v. Martinez
  706 F.2d 572· 5th Cir.· 1983-06-06 ·cited 14×
  The court held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in requiring a prisoner to pay partial filing and service fees totaling $3.00 from his prison account.
• McCLAIN v. Brown
  587 F.2d 389· 8th Cir.· 1978-11-17 ·cited 14×
  Magistrates are immune from civil liability for judicial acts performed within their jurisdiction, even if erroneous.
• Burns v. Loranger
  907 F.2d 233· 1st Cir.· 1990-06-29 ·cited 13×
  The court held that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity because their conduct in strip-searching the plaintiff was objectively reasonable under the circumstances, and thus did not violate clearly established Fourth Amendment rights.
• Tarkowski v. Cnty. OF Lake
  775 F.2d 173· 7th Cir.· 1985-10-10 ·cited 13×
  The court held that the district court erred in denying attorney's fees to the prevailing defendants, as the plaintiff's suit was factually baseless and frivolous. The court affirmed the dismissal of the plaintiff's suit.
• Greater Newburyport Clamshell Alliance v. Pub. Serv. Co. OF NEW Hampshire
  838 F.2d 13· 1st Cir.· 1988-01-29 ·cited 12×
  The court held that a client does not automatically waive attorney-client privilege by filing a civil suit, and that discovery of privileged communications requires a balancing of interests, limited to information vital to the defense.
• White v. Elrod
  816 F.2d 1172· 7th Cir.· 1987-04-08 ·cited 12×
  The court held that the state court judgment on the merits of the plaintiffs' constitutional claims barred their federal suit under res judicata, except for two plaintiffs who had prevailed before the Merit Board.
• Harris v. Young
  718 F.2d 620· 4th Cir.· 1983-08-16 ·cited 12×
• Sotomura v. Cnty. OF Haw.
  679 F.2d 152· 9th Cir.· 1982-06-07 ·cited 12×
  A party who prevails by obtaining dismissal of an appeal as untimely is considered a prevailing party entitled to attorneys' fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988.
• McKinley Dale Thomas v. Kippermann
  846 F.2d 1009· 5th Cir.· 1988-06-09 ·cited 11×
• Marlowe v. Coakley
  404 F.2d 70· 9th Cir.· 1968-11-22 ·cited 11×
  Prosecuting attorneys are immune from civil liability for acts committed in the performance of duties that are an integral part of the judicial process.
• Friends OF Child., Inc. v. Matava
  766 F.2d 35· 1st Cir.· 1985-07-02 ·cited 10×
  A federal court may abstain from hearing a case involving state family law, and claims of arbitrary state action do not automatically trigger constitutional violations.
• Hayden J. Watts v. Lou V. Brewer
  588 F.2d 646· 8th Cir.· 1978-12-18 ·cited 10×
  The court held that the inmate writ writer, Watts, suffered no personal deprivation of federally protected rights entitling him to monetary damages, and thus summary judgment against him was appropriate.
• Hamilton v. Endell
  981 F.2d 1062· 9th Cir.· 1992-12-15 ·cited 8×
  The court held that prison officials who force an inmate to fly against his treating physician's explicit orders, relying on a questionable second opinion, may be deliberately indifferent to the inmate's serious medical needs, thus forfeiting qualified immunity.
• Galloway v. State OF La. & Dep't of Corr.
  817 F.2d 1154· 5th Cir.· 1987-05-29 ·cited 8×
  The court held that a remedial court order alone does not create rights secured by law for § 1983 liability, and that the plaintiff failed to present evidence of a protected class for a § 1985(3) claim.
• Foster v. Zeeko
  540 F.2d 1310· 7th Cir.· 1976-08-18 ·cited 8×
• Johnson v. State OF Tex.
  878 F.2d 904· 5th Cir.· 1989-08-04 ·cited 6×
  An order holding a § 1983 civil rights suit in abeyance pending exhaustion of state habeas corpus remedies is appealable under the collateral order doctrine.
• Cordell Moody v. J.O. Baker
  857 F.2d 256· 5th Cir.· 1988-09-19 ·cited 6×
  The court held that a prisoner's pro se complaint, despite stating a claim cognizable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 when read in isolation, was properly dismissed as frivolous due to a history of similar filings and that sanctions were appropriate.
• Carter v. Broadlawns Med. Ctr.
  857 F.2d 448· 8th Cir.· 1988-09-13 ·cited 6×
  The court held that a county hospital may constitutionally hire a chaplain to provide pastoral care as part of a wholistic treatment approach, and that restrictions imposed by the lower court based solely on patient immobility should be lifted.
• Brierley v. F.J. Schoenfeld, Jr.
  781 F.2d 838· 10th Cir.· 1986-01-15 ·cited 6×
  The court held that while the officer's stop of the truck may have lacked reasonable suspicion, he was entitled to qualified immunity because the law was not clearly established at the time, and the officer acted in good faith.
• Powell v. Levit
  640 F.2d 239· 9th Cir.· 1981-02-19 ·cited 6×
  The court held that the admission of evidence of the plaintiff's prior juvenile adjudication and a sixteen-year-old criminal conviction was prejudicial error.