McGuire v. City of Royal OakMcGuire v. City of Royal Oak
After carefully considering the record on appeal, the briefs of the parties, and the applicable law, we agree with the district court‘s denial of Shaw‘s motion for leave to amend and its grant of summary judgment in favor of the City of Columbus. Because the reasoning that supports the judgment for the City has been clearly articulated by the district court in a thorough and comprehensive opinion, the issuance of a detailed appellate opinion would be unduly duplicative. The judgment rendered by the Honorable George C. Smith, District Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, is accordingly affirmed on the basis of the reasoning detailed in his Opinion and Order filed on September 7, 2006, 2006 WL 2583306.
Officers Warner and Gale of the Royal Oak Police Department appeal the district court‘s denial of their motion for summary judgment based upon qualified immunity. Because the facts construed favorably to plaintiffs state a constitutional violation, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.
I.
On August 9, 2003, Timothy McGuire and James Ryan traveled by bus from their native Canada to Clarkston, Michigan, in order to attend a country music concert at the DTE Energy Music Theater. Following the concert, McGuire and Ryan boarded the bus to travel home. While they were on the bus waiting to depart, another attendee, Daniel Threlfall, was assaulted by two members of plaintiffs’ group. While this occurred, McGuire left the bus, allegedly to break up the fight, and Ryan slept. McGuire denies seeing exactly who assaulted Threlfall.
Off-duty Royal Oak police officers Warner and Gale had also attended the concert; they were leaving with their families when Threlfall was assaulted. They claim to have seen the assault occur and the perpetrators board the bus. Believing Threlfall‘s assailants to be on the bus, Warner and Gale approached it, identified themselves as police officers, and instructed the driver not to leave. They then waited with the bus for the Oakland County Sheriff to arrive.
When the Oakland County deputies arrived, Warner and Gale again identified themselves as police officers and proceeded to assist in the investigation. McGuire was ordered off the bus while the deputies conducted a search. During this time, Officers Warner and Gale allegedly told McGuire that if he did not identify the men
In response, McGuire and Ryan filed suit against officers Warner and Gale, the City of Royal Oak, and police chief Ted Quisenberry, alleging violations of their Due Process and Fourth Amendment rights under
After declining to rule on the motions of Chief Quisenberry and the City of Royal Oak, the district court denied Warner and Gale‘s motion for summary judgment as to plaintiffs’ claims for malicious prosecution, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and gross negligence. Defendants Warner and Gale now appeal that ruling.
II.
This Court reviews a district court‘s denial of summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds de novo, “because the determination of whether qualified immunity is applicable to an official‘s actions is a question of law.” See v. City of Elyria, 502 F.3d 484, 490-91 (6th Cir.2008) (citations omitted). Summary judgment is appropriate when “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
III.
A. Qualified Immunity
Officers Warner and Gale argue they are immune from suit for Fourth Amendment malicious prosecution on two grounds.1 First, they argue they did not act “under color of state law.” Second, Warner and Gale argue that their actions were supported by probable cause. Both arguments founder on the facts of this case.
There is abundant evidence in the record that Warner and Gale acted under color of state law. A police officer acts under color of state law “when he purports to exercise official authority.” Parks v. City of Columbus, 395 F.3d 643, 652 (6th Cir.2005). This standard can be met by “flashing a badge, identifying oneself as a police officer, placing an individual under arrest, or intervening in a dispute between third parties pursuant to a duty imposed by police department regulations.” Memphis, Tennessee Area Local, American Postal Workers Union v. City of Memphis, 361 F.3d 898, 903 (6th Cir.2004).
Here, Warner and Gale repeatedly identified themselves as police officers, and they leveraged this authority to disperse the crowd around Threlfall and to detain the bus they believed to contain his assailants. These actions are inconsistent with their contention that they acted as any citizen would, and consistent with the duty imposed upon them by the Royal Oak Police Department standards of conduct. Under the facts construed most favorably to McGuire and Ryan, Warner and Gale acted “under color of state law.”
The district court also determined that there was a genuine issue of material fact as to whether there was probable cause to prosecute McGuire and Ryan. And, on the facts construed favorably to McGuire and Ryan, there was no probable cause here.2
This Circuit has held that alleging prosecution based upon an officer‘s having “fabricated evidence and manufactured probable cause” is sufficient to state a claim of malicious prosecution under the Fourth Amendment. See Spurlock v. Satterfield, 167 F.3d 995, 1005-06 (6th Cir.1999); Adams v. Metiva, 31 F.3d 375, 388-89 (6th Cir.1994) (sustaining a malicious prosecution action where police had allegedly supplied false information). And plaintiffs have supplied such evidence here. McGuire and Ryan testified that Warner and Gale provided false testimony to the Oakland County sheriff‘s department, and this testimony was corroborated by the chaplain of the Royal Oak Police Department, Timothy Renaud. McGuire and Ryan also presented evidence that Warner subsequently implicated them in a written statement to the Oakland County sheriff and at their preliminary hearing. The testimony of Warner and Gale was the basis for the charges brought against McGuire and Ryan and for the year-long prosecution that followed. Thus, taken in the light most favorable to McGuire and Ryan, there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Warner and Gale had probable cause to prosecute.
B. Governmental Immunity
Warner and Gale raise Michigan‘s governmental immunity statute as a defense to McGuire and Ryan‘s state tort claims. Under
As an initial matter, we note that Michigan law does not extend governmental immunity to intentional torts. See Sudul v. City of Hamtramck, 221 Mich.App. 455, 458, 562 N.W.2d 478, 479 (Mich.1997) (“We especially also hold that an individual employee‘s intentional torts are not shielded by our governmental immunity statute.“). This alone would be sufficient to sustain McGuire and Warner‘s claims for malicious prosecution and intentional infliction of emotional distress. However, even if governmental immunity did apply, there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Warner and Gale acted with gross negligence and we thus affirm the ruling of the district court.
There is ample evidence that Warner and Gale acted with gross negligence in
IV.
We AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.
BOYCE F. MARTIN, JR.
CIRCUIT JUDGE