Taylor v. Rogich
781 F.3d 647
2d Cir.2015Background
- Plaintiff Antoine Taylor sued Nassau County, Nassau County Police Department, and officers including Keith Rogich alleging excessive force for Rogich’s shooting of Taylor.
- After stipulations and summary-judgment dismissals, only Officer Rogich remained; the district court denied his summary-judgment claim of qualified immunity because disputed facts existed.
- The case was bifurcated; after a five-day liability phase the jury found Rogich used excessive force causing injury.
- Rogich moved for judgment as a matter of law under Rule 50, renewing his qualified-immunity claim by arguing the jury was required to credit his version of events and thus immunity applied; the district court denied the motion.
- Rogich filed an interlocutory appeal challenging the denial of qualified immunity; the appeal was taken before the damages phase and the district court’s denial rested in part on the jury’s factual rejection of Rogich’s version.
- The Second Circuit dismissed the interlocutory appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction because the appeal challenged the sufficiency of the evidence sustaining the jury verdict, implicating Johnson v. Jones.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether this Court has appellate jurisdiction over Rogich’s interlocutory appeal from the district court’s denial of qualified immunity following a liability verdict and denial of a Rule 50 motion | Taylor: denial was proper because jury rejected Rogich’s factual account; verdict stands | Rogich: denial of qualified immunity depended on sufficiency of evidence; when his version is credited he is entitled to immunity and JMOL | Dismissed for lack of appellate jurisdiction because the appeal effectively challenges evidence sufficiency, which is not appealable under Johnson v. Jones |
Key Cases Cited
- Britt v. Garcia, 457 F.3d 264 (2d Cir. 2006) (discusses interlocutory appeals of qualified immunity when legal issue can be decided on undisputed facts)
- Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304 (1995) (Supreme Court: interlocutory appeals are barred where denial of qualified immunity rests on evidence-sufficiency questions)
- Mercado v. Dart, 604 F.3d 360 (7th Cir. 2010) (examines policy concerns about mid-trial interlocutory appeals on immunity grounds)