Section 1983

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

• McARDLE v. Tronetti
  961 F.2d 1083· 3d Cir.· 1992-04-17 ·cited 3×
  Defendants are immune from Section 1983 liability for false diagnosis, false testimony, and conspiracy related to involuntary commitment proceedings, but not for the act of filing the commitment petition itself. However, the plaintiff failed to plead essential elements for his ma
• McMahon v. City of Edgewater
  60 F. Supp. 2d 1281· M.D. Fla.· 1999-01-20 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the City Manager's employment agreement, as amended, allowed termination without cause, thus precluding a procedural due process claim. The court also declined supplemental jurisdiction over state law contract claims.
• Nelson Ex Rel. the Estate of Nelson v. Prison Health Servs., Inc.
  991 F. Supp. 1452· M.D. Fla.· 1997-12-30 ·cited 2×
  The Sheriff, not being personally involved in the decision to withhold medical treatment, is entitled to qualified immunity. Private prison guards are not entitled to qualified immunity under Richardson v. McKnight.
• Minder v. Rigatti
  964 F.2d 1369· 3d Cir.· 1992-05-29 ·cited 2×
  A district court's dismissal of a complaint for repeated and deliberate defiance of court orders is an appropriate sanction, and appellate courts must give deference to the district court's exercise of discretion.
• Losinski v. Cnty. OF Trempealeau
  946 F.2d 544· 7th Cir.· 1991-10-24 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the victim's estate could not bring a federal due process claim under § 1983 because the state did not create the danger or hold the victim in custody, and that a state law negligence claim against the deputy presented a material issue of fact regarding breach
• George v. J.D. White
  837 F.2d 1516· 11th Cir.· 1988-02-23 ·cited 2×
  The court held that while property claims were barred by res judicata, the cruel and unusual punishment claim was not, as it involved a different cause of action requiring different evidence under Alabama law.
• Holt v. Dunn
  741 F.2d 169· 8th Cir.· 1984-08-21 ·cited 2×
  The court held that a court reporter is entitled to qualified immunity when acting within their lawful authority and in good faith compliance with court rules regarding transcript preparation.
• Mrs. Patsy Ruth White v. Dallas Indep. Sch. Dist.
  566 F.2d 906· 5th Cir.· 1978-01-26 ·cited 2×
• Dandar v. Church of Scientology Flag Serv. Org., Inc.
  732 F. Supp. 2d 310· M.D. Fla.· 2013-02-15 ·cited 1×
  The court held that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine does not apply because the plaintiff's claims allege independent constitutional violations, not just review of state court decisions. However, the court found that Younger abstention applies because there are ongoing state proceedin
• Lyons v. Trinity Servs. Grp., Inc.
  401 F. Supp. 2d 1290· S.D. Fla.· 2005-08-16 ·cited 1×
  The court held that the plaintiff failed to exhaust administrative remedies as required by the Prison Litigation Reform Act before filing his lawsuit.
• Davidson v. City of Jacksonville
  359 F. Supp. 2d 1291· M.D. Fla.· 2005-02-16 ·cited 1×
  The court held that the plaintiffs failed to establish a constitutional violation under Section 1983, and therefore, qualified immunity applied to the individual defendants, and the City was not liable for municipal claims. The court also declined to exercise supplemental jurisdi
• Pub. Citizen, Inc. v. Pinellas Cnty.
  321 F. Supp. 2d 1275· M.D. Fla.· 2004-05-19 ·cited 1×
  The court held that the prior litigation did not preclude the current claims and that the charities' allegations regarding the ordinance's prior restraint on speech were sufficient to proceed.
• Palisano v. City of Clearwater
  219 F. Supp. 2d 1249· M.D. Fla.· 2002-08-14 ·cited 1×
  The court held that an EEOC "unable to conclude" determination does not bar a claim under the Florida Civil Rights Act, and that a supervisor can be liable under § 1983 for failing to act on sexual harassment complaints, but not for retaliation under the Equal Protection Clause i
• Wright v. City of Tampa
  998 F. Supp. 1398· M.D. Fla.· 1998-03-26 ·cited 1×
  The court held that genuine issues of material fact exist regarding the plaintiff's ADA, Title VII, and § 1983 claims, precluding summary judgment.
• Hughes v. Locure
  11th Cir.· 2026-01-29
  The Eleventh Circuit held that the officer's conduct, while egregious, did not violate a clearly established constitutional right, and therefore qualified immunity should be granted.
• Francis v. Judge Thomas Barber
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-12-02
  The court adopted the Magistrate Judge's recommendation to deny the motion to proceed in forma pauperis and dismiss the complaint without leave to amend.
• Thundathil v. United States
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-10-21
  The court recommended dismissal of the complaint without prejudice because it constituted an impermissible shotgun pleading and failed to state a claim under many cited statutes, and the motion to proceed in forma pauperis was denied without prejudice.
• Mahan v. Officer Richard C. Samples, III
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-10-20
  The court held that while a jury could find Officer Samples's use of deadly force was not objectively reasonable, he is entitled to qualified immunity because the right was not clearly established at the time of the incident.
• Gibson v. Idleberg
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-09-18
  The court held that a second amended complaint filed without leave was properly stricken, and that the plaintiff's allegations of a jail officer using fecal matter on handcuffs stated claims for deliberate indifference and excessive force, thus denying qualified immunity at the m
• Johnston v. Anti-Defamation League
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-07-21
  The court held that the amended complaint is a shotgun pleading and that service on defendants Kohr and AIPAC was improper, leading to a lack of personal jurisdiction over them. However, the court granted plaintiff leave to amend the complaint.
• Holcomb v. Wells
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-07-09
  The court held that a Section 1983 claim against supervisors based on respondeat superior or failure to respond to grievances is not cognizable, and claims against officials must specify individual or official capacity.
• Dorey v. Hartmann
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-02-24
  Earl Lee Dorey sued law enforcement officers under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, claiming they used excessive force against him during an arrest in September 2019, when deputies attempted to apprehend him at a residence in Oxford, Florida. The district court granted the defendants' mot
• McLean v. City of Quincy Fla.
  N.D. Fla.· 2025-01-28
  The court held that the plaintiff failed to establish claims for age/disability discrimination and First Amendment retaliation because the adverse employment actions were based on performance issues, not discriminatory or retaliatory motives, and there was no evidence linking the
• Bienaime v. Dep't of Child. & Families
  S.D. Fla.· 2024-10-29
  The court granted the Department of Children and Families' motion to stay discovery and all deadlines as to that defendant, finding its motion to dismiss appeared clearly meritorious and case dispositive.
• Franklin v. Dep't of Detention Servs.
  M.D. Fla.· 2024-09-20
  A pro se prisoner's complaint must contain plausible factual allegations that state a claim for relief, and vague assertions or labels are insufficient. Entities like Sheriff's Offices are not suable under Florida law.
• Glick v. Corbin
  N.D. Fla.· 2024-08-07
  A prisoner sued two Florida correctional officials under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging violations of his First Amendment rights through attempts to obstruct his grievance filings and retaliation for filing grievances, and the magistrate judge found that the prisoner properly exhaust
• Jones v. Miami-Dade Cnty.
  S.D. Fla.· 2024-08-05
  The court granted summary judgment for the defendants, finding that only the plaintiff's termination was a timely actionable claim and that he failed to establish claims for race discrimination, national origin discrimination, or retaliation.
• Heywood v. Dixon
  N.D. Fla.· 2024-08-02
  The court held that while individual-capacity claims and official-capacity claims against some defendants are dismissed, the official-capacity claim against Secretary Dixon for injunctive relief under RLUIPA and the First Amendment survives.
• Gerow v. Newsom
  M.D. Fla.· 2024-07-25
  The court held that the plaintiff failed to establish personal jurisdiction over the legislative defendants and failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.
• Safety Harbor Powersports, LLC v. City of Safety Harbor
  M.D. Fla.· 2024-07-12
  The court held that the plaintiff failed to sufficiently plead a 'class of one' equal protection claim because it did not identify a similarly situated comparator with adequate specificity, and dismissed the procedural due process claim for failure to plead the unavailability of
• Hill v. Centurion LLC.
  M.D. Fla.· 2024-01-31
  Medical malpractice and negligence are not actionable under Section 1983; an inmate must allege deliberate indifference to a serious medical need.
• Curtis v. Mislevy
  M.D. Fla.· 2023-11-29
  The court held that federal civil rights claims against private actors fail without state action, Rooker-Feldman bars review of state court judgments, ADA claims fail against private entities, and the constitutional challenge is time-barred.
• Santiago v. Fla. Dep't of Corr.
  M.D. Fla.· 2023-10-31
  A woman arrested at a Florida state prison after corrections officers found synthetic marijuana in her car sought to recover damages from the deputy sheriff and corrections officers involved. The court granted summary judgment in favor of the deputy sheriff, finding he had arguab
• Sanguinetti v. Rambosk
  M.D. Fla.· 2023-09-05
  In this civil rights case, plaintiff Sanguinetti claimed that deputies and private security personnel violated his constitutional rights by allegedly using excessive force, making a false arrest, and maliciously prosecuting him without probable cause following a denied entry to a
• Griffin v. McGuire
  S.D. Fla.· 2023-06-22
  The court held that the plaintiff's excessive force claim (Count II) fails and is dismissed due to qualified immunity, but his federal false imprisonment claim (Count III) for denial of a prompt probable cause hearing may proceed.
• Club Madonna Inc v. City of Miami Beach
  S.D. Fla.· 2023-05-18
  The court held that the defendant city may be entitled to attorneys' fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988(b) even though the plaintiff prevailed on one count, provided the other claims were frivolous, and that arguments raised solely in footnotes are not considered.
• Attwood v. Clemons
  N.D. Fla.· 2021-03-17
  A state legislator blocked a private citizen from his official social media accounts in response to criticism of his legislative votes, and the court held that while the official capacity claim failed, the individual capacity First Amendment claim proceeded to trial because a fac
• Jones v. Yaffey
  S.D. Fla.· 2021-02-23
  The court adopted in part and rejected in part the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation, dismissing the plaintiff's amended complaint as a shotgun pleading and several of his claims.
• Haegele v. Judd
  M.D. Fla.· 2020-11-23
  The court held that the expert's testimony should be excluded because his supplemental affidavit was untimely and prejudicial, and his methodology for analyzing shell casings and the victim's actions was unreliable and would not assist the trier of fact.
• Jones v. State
  M.D. Fla.· 2020-09-21
  The court held that the plaintiff failed to state a claim for deliberate indifference to a serious medical need under Section 1983 and that the state law negligence claim was properly dismissed for failure to comply with statutory pre-suit notice requirements.
• Haegele v. Judd
  M.D. Fla.· 2020-04-02
  The court held that claims against deputies were dismissed as shotgun pleading, certain claims against the Sheriff were dismissed for lack of private right of action or capacity, but the Section 1983 claim against the Sheriff for a custom of excessive force could proceed.
• Eskridge v. Warden Jim Hutchins
  Del. Super. Ct.· 2017-03-22
  The Superior Court of Delaware held that Section 1983 claims brought in state court must meet the plausibility standard, requiring specific factual allegations to support the claim. The court also affirmed that state law personal injury claims against state employees are barred b
• Cosby v. Lee Cnty.
  M.D. Fla.· 2014-09-24
  The court held that the plaintiff's amended complaint was a shotgun pleading and that the defendants were entitled to absolute immunity for their quasi-judicial actions in investigating the plaintiff's discrimination claim.
• Brenner v. Scott
  858 F. Supp. 2d 1063· N.D. Fla.· 2014-08-21
• Fresenius Med. Care Holdings, Inc. v. Francois
  613 F. App'x 15· N.D. Fla.· 2011-05-27
• Lippman v. City of Miami
  724 F. Supp. 2d 1240· S.D. Fla.· 2010-07-19
  The court held that summary judgment was inappropriate for certain claims, allowing them to proceed to trial, while granting it for others.
• Smith v. Campbell
  545 F. Supp. 2d 1218· N.D. Fla.· 2008-02-13
  The court held that the officers' conduct during interrogation did not shock the conscience, and probable cause existed for the arrest, thus granting summary judgment for the defendants on federal claims.
• Aisenberg v. Hillsborough Cnty. Sheriff's Off.
  2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13498· M.D. Fla.· 2004-07-16
  Federal prosecutors are entitled to absolute immunity for prosecutorial functions, including preparing and filing charging documents, making representations to the court, and retaining experts, even if the allegations suggest misconduct.
• Byford v. Stephens
  299 F. Supp. 2d 1253· S.D. Fla.· 2003-11-07
  The court held that Officer Stephens was entitled to qualified immunity because he had arguable probable cause to arrest the plaintiff for falsely reporting a crime, and even if he lacked arguable probable cause, the law was not clearly established that his actions were unlawful.
• Strickland v. Allen
  1995 WL 783254· N.D. Fla.· 2003-06-23
  The court held that the United States' motion to withdraw its admission regarding timely notice of an attorney charging lien should be granted because withdrawal would subserve the presentation of the merits and the opposing party failed to show prejudice.