William Cox v. Duke Energy, 876 F.3d 625

Pilot Robin Fleming flew a glider that circled near the H.B. Robinson Nuclear Plant; Duke Energy security reported the aircraft as suspicious to local law enforcement and federal authorities.
Darlington County deputies ordered Fleming to land at the local airport; he complied, was arrested for misdemeanor breach of the peace, held overnight, and released on bond.
At trial, Fleming’s lawyer advised him to sign a handwritten release dismissing the criminal charge and waiving civil claims against the Sheriff’s Office to obtain dismissal; Fleming signed it and the charge was dismissed.
Fleming later sued Duke Energy, its plant VP, the Darlington County Sheriff, the Sheriff’s Office, and deputies under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state tort law (false arrest/imprisonment, negligence, conspiracy).
The district court granted summary judgment for all defendants: (1) Fleming validly waived claims against the Sheriff’s Office/officials; (2) Duke Energy and its VP were not state actors under § 1983; and (3) Fleming’s state tort claims against Duke Energy were preempted by federal regulation of nuclear safety.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed on those three grounds.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Validity of release-dismissal waiver (Rumery test)	Waiver involuntary: short time, duress, attorney misconduct, coercive prosecution	Waiver was voluntary, counseled, suggested by plaintiff’s counsel, no prosecutorial overreaching	Waiver enforceable; Fleming made a voluntary, informed choice and no prosecutorial misconduct shown
§ 1983 liability for Duke Energy (state-action)	Duke Energy acted in quasi-governmental role: reported and assisted law enforcement, provided information that led to arrest	Duke Energy was a private actor assisting police; decisions to land, arrest, charge were made solely by Sheriff’s Office	No state action; Duke Energy and VP not liable under § 1983
Accuracy/misinformation theory (causation)	Duke’s alleged misstatements about altitude/no-fly status caused the arrest and deprivation of rights	Erroneous private reports do not convert a private actor into a state actor; arrest was by Sheriff’s Office alone	Misstatements (if any) do not make Duke a state actor; § 1983 claim fails
Field preemption of state tort claims against Duke Energy	State tort claims viable for negligent reporting and but-for cause of false arrest/imprisonment	Federal law (Atomic Energy Act/NRC/FAA directives) wholly occupies nuclear safety field; allowing tort suits would intrude on federal safety judgments	State claims preempted: reporting and security-assessment decisions fall within federally occupied nuclear-safety field

Rumery v. Town of Newton, 480 U.S. 386 (voluntary release-dismissal agreements enforceable unless involuntary or product of prosecutorial misconduct)
Pacific Gas & Elec. Co. v. State Energy Res. Conservation & Dev. Comm’n, 461 U.S. 190 (federal government occupies field of nuclear safety regulation)
Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee, 464 U.S. 238 (limits on field preemption for state tort claims tied to radiological injuries)
English v. Gen. Elec. Co., 496 U.S. 72 (field preemption analysis and when state-law claims affect radiological safety decisions)
DeBauche v. Trani, 191 F.3d 499 (private-party conduct actionable under § 1983 only when conduct is fairly attributable to the State)
Wahi v. Charleston Area Med. Ctr., 562 F.3d 599 (state-action requirement under § 1983 explained)
Am. Mfrs. Mut. Ins. Co. v. Sullivan, 526 U.S. 40 (private conduct not covered by § 1983 absent state action)
Blum v. Yaretsky, 457 U.S. 991 (mere approval or acquiescence by state insufficient to create state action)
Lugar v. Edmondson Oil Co., 457 U.S. 922 (standard for attributing private conduct to state)
Rodriguez v. Smithfield Packing Co., 338 F.3d 348 (Fourth Circuit application of Rumery factors)
United Auto Workers Local No. 5285 v. Gaston Festivals, Inc., 43 F.3d 902 (when private parties exercise sovereign power)
United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654 (summary judgment review standard)