Roger Moore, Appellant, v. Kenneth Carpenter, in his individual and official capacity; City of Poplar Bluff; Joe Ward, Appellees.
No. 04-3144
United States Court of Appeals FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT
Submitted: April 15, 2005 Filed: April 21, 2005
[PUBLISHED]
Before LOKEN, Chief Judge, FAGG and BYE, Circuit Judges.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Roger Moore verbally contracted with Harry Jackson to buy a boat, motor, and trailer for $2000. Moore paid $500 down, agreed to pay the balance in monthly installments of $137 for twelve months, and took possession of the property. Jackson later sued Moore in small claims court alleging Moore had failed to pay. Jackson sought the property‘s return or full payment. Moore produced receipts showing his payments, and the court ruled in Moore‘s favor. Jackson then went to the Poplar Bluff Police Department seeking aid in repossessing the property from Moore. Officer Sutton told Jackson he could not help repossess the boat because the court
City of Pine Bluff officers Kenneth Carpenter and Joe Ward responded to a radio call concerning a disturbance of the peace at the Moore residence. When they arrived, Moore‘s wife was screaming and stating Jackson had assaulted her. She told the officers Jackson had cut the chain securing the boat and trailer on her premises, and was going to take them away. Jackson told the officers Moore was behind on his payments and he was repossessing the property. Jackson had already backed his van into the Moore‘s driveway and was preparing to hitch the boat and trailer to the van. Moore arrived and went inside to retrieve the small claims court order. He contends the boat was not hitched to the van when he arrived. Moore returned and showed officers Carpenter and Ward the state court order showing Moore owed Jackson no money, but the fill-in-the-blank judgment did not refer to a boat, trailer, or motor. To end the disturbance, the officers concluded Jackson should leave the premises. Before ordering Jackson to leave, the officers ran the license plate on the boat and learned Jackson held the boat‘s title. After charging Jackson with assault, property damage, and trespass, officers Carpenter and Ward told Jackson to leave the premises. Moore contends officer Ward told Jackson to hook up the boat, and the officers contend the boat was already hooked to Jackson‘s van when they arrived. Jackson took the boat when he left.
Moore later filed a state court action in Missouri against the Poplar Bluff Police Department and officers Carpenter and Ward. Moore alleged the officers had taken his boat without his permission. The state court ruled in favor of the defendants, finding Jackson‘s name was on the boat‘s title and was the boat‘s owner under Missouri law, a bank held a lien in Jackson‘s name but the bank was not the owner,
Moore appeals arguing the officers were not entitled to summary judgment based on qualified immunity. When a defendant raises the qualified immunity defense on summary judgment, the court must first decide whether, “[t]aken in the light most favorable to the party asserting the injury, . . . the facts alleged show the officer‘s conduct violated a constitutional right.” Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 201 (2001). If so, the court then considers whether that right was so clearly established that “it would be clear to a reasonable officer that his conduct was unlawful in the situation he confronted.” Id. at 202; see Dixon v. Lowery, 302 F.3d 857, 861 (8th Cir. 2002).
The governing constitutional principles are well-established. Although Moore‘s claim to continued possession of the boat was in dispute, his possessory interest was protected against state action under the Fourteenth Amendment. Id. at 864; see
Examining the totality of the circumstances, we conclude the officers were not so involved in aiding the repossession that the deprivation of the boat is state action. The officers were not asked to accompany Jackson to ensure the repossession went smoothly and they did not arrive with him. See Meyers, 2005 WL 553148, at *6; Marcus, 394 F.3d at 819; cf. Dixon, 302 F.3d at 865. Instead, they were summoned to a scene not of their making only to resolve a breach of the peace that was in progress. See Meyers, 2005 WL 553148, at *6. Before the officers arrived, Jackson had gained access to the boat and was already in the process of repossessing it. The officers did not tell the Moores the repossession was legal or that they would be arrested if they interfered. Marcus, 394 F.3d at 819. Under the undisputed facts, we cannot say the officers helped Jackson enough that the repossession would not have occurred but for their assistance. See id.
Even if the officers went too far in sanctioning the repossession, there is no genuine issue of material fact about whether reasonable officers, standing in the shoes of officers Carpenter and Ward, could have believed their conduct was lawful in light of clearly established law and the information available to them. Missouri law limiting self-help repossession to situations in which a breach of the peace is avoided,
Moore also contends the district court improperly granted summary judgment on the issue of issue preclusion. According to Moore, his claim amounted to a civil rights action over which the small claims court lacked jurisdiction, and thus, the judgment is void. We need not resolve this contention given our disposition on the qualified immunity issue. Last, Moore does not challenge the grant of summary judgment to the City of Poplar Bluff, so we need not address it.
We thus affirm the grant of summary judgment to the officers and City.