Jose Elizondo v. City of Garland Police Dep, 671 F.3d 506

Elizondos sue Green and the City under §1983 for excessive force after Ruddy, 17, armed with a knife, was shot and killed by Green during a domestic-disturbance response.
Ruddy refused to drop the knife; Green fired three times as Ruddy moved closer, killing him.
District court granted Green qualified-immunity summary judgment; City later granted summary judgment.
Appeals were filed in two notices of appeal addressing different district-court orders; jurisdiction issues were discussed.
Court applies Graham reasonableness standard, considering totality of circumstances to assess the use of force; no constitutional violation found.
Court affirms the City’s summary-judgment ruling, and declines municipal-liability liability given absence of a constitutional violation.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Green’s use of deadly force was objectively reasonable	Elizondos argue excessive force; disputed if Ruddy posed imminent threat	Green acted to prevent imminent harm when Ruddy advanced with a knife	Not clearly unreasonable; reasonable under totality of circumstances
Whether the October 18, 2010 grant to Green was final/appealable	Appeal should review Green’s immunity order	Order was not final or collateral-order appealable	First appeal lacks jurisdiction; only City order reviewable on appeal
Whether the doctrine of municipal liability attaches absent a constitutional violation	City liable for Green’s conduct	No constitutional violation means no municipal liability	No municipal liability because no underlying constitutional violation
Whether appellate review extended to related district-court orders via Rule 3(c) designations	Second notice of appeal should cover October 18 order	Designation insufficient or non-prejudicial mistake; review limited	Limited review to district court’s City-order; October 18 order not reviewed on appeal

Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989) ( Fourth Amendment reasonableness standard for force)
Tennessee v. Gamer, 471 U.S. 1 (1985) (deadly force when threat of serious harm present)
Ramirez v. Knoulton, 542 F.3d 124 (5th Cir. 2008) (totality of circumstances in force-analysis)
Collier v. Montgomery, 569 F.3d 214 (5th Cir. 2009) (elements of excessive-force claim)
Deshotel, United States Life Ins. Co. v. Deshotel, 142 F.3d 873 (5th Cir. 1998) (Rule 3(c) designation; non-prejudicial error exceptions)
Short v. West, 662 F.3d 320 (5th Cir. 2011) (collateral-order doctrine—immunity stripping review)
Thompson v. Belts, 754 F.2d 1243 (5th Cir. 1985) (collateral-order appealability of immunity rulings)
In re Bradford, 660 F.3d 226 (5th Cir. 2011) (collateral order doctrine)
Dillon v. Miss. Military Dept., 23 F.3d 915 (5th Cir. 1994) (finality rule for multi-party dismissals)