Baldwin v. Estherville, No. C 15-3168-MWB
| Court | United States District Courts. 8th Circuit. Northern District of Iowa |
| Writing for the Court | MARK W. BENNETT, U.S. DISTRICT COURT JUDGE |
| Citation | 333 F.Supp.3d 817 |
| Decision Date | 14 September 2018 |
| Docket Number | No. C 15-3168-MWB |
| Parties | Gregory BALDWIN, Plaintiff, v. ESTHERVILLE, IOWA, Defendant. |
333 F.Supp.3d 817
Gregory BALDWIN, Plaintiff,
v.
ESTHERVILLE, IOWA, Defendant.
No. C 15-3168-MWB
United States District Court, N.D. Iowa, Central Division.
Signed September 14, 2018
Jack Bjorn Bjornstad, Jack Bjornstad Law Office, Okoboji, IA, for Plaintiff.
Douglas L. Phillips, Rene Charles Lapierre, Klass Law Firm LLP, Sioux City, IA, for Defendant.
OPINION AND ORDER REGARDING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO AMEND ANSWER, THE PARTIES' CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THE PLAINTIFF'S STATE CONSTITUTIONAL CLAIMS, AND CERTIFICATION OF FURTHER QUESTIONS TO THE IOWA SUPREME COURT
MARK W. BENNETT, U.S. DISTRICT COURT JUDGE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION...823
A. Factual Background...823
B. Procedural Background...824
II. THE CITY'S MOTION TO AMEND ITS ANSWER...826
A. Arguments Of The Parties...826
B. Analysis...827
1. Applicable standards...827
2. Application of the standards...828
3. Summary...832
III. THE RENEWED MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT...833
A. The Pending Motion...833
B. Summary Judgment Standards...833
C. The Iowa Constitutional Claims...834
1. Nature of the claim or claims...834
2. The Iowa constitutional violation...835
a. Arguments of the parties...835
b. Discussion...835
i. Requirements of the Iowa Constitution...835
ii. Application of the Iowa standards...838
c. Summary ...840
3. "All due care" qualified immunity...840
a. Arguments of the parties...841
b. Discussion...841
i. Who decides the defense and when?...841
ii. The "all due care" defense...842
iii. "All due care" of the officers...845
c. Summary...848
IV. CERTIFICATION OF ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS...848
A. Standards For Certification...848
B. Questions Of First Impression...849
1. Questions already identified...849
2. Additional questions...850
C. Application Of The Certification Standards ...851
D. Opportunity To Refine Or Add To The Questions To Be Certified...852
V. CONCLUSION...852
This case arises from the plaintiff's arrest by city police officers for riding his ATV on and in a ditch beside a city street, allegedly in violation of a state statute that the officers believed had been, but was not, incorporated into the city's code of ordinances. Although I granted summary judgment for the city and the individual police officers on the plaintiff's claim of violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and his claim of false arrest, I reserved ruling on the plaintiff's claims against the city for violations of the Iowa Constitution. I certified to the Iowa Supreme Court the question of whether a defendant can raise a defense of qualified immunity to an individual's claim for damages for violation of article I, §§ 1 and 8 of the Iowa Constitution. The Iowa Supreme Court has now answered that question in the affirmative and adopted the available qualified immunity defense, in a thoughtful majority opinion over an equally thoughtful defense. The city seeks leave to amend its answer to assert the qualified immunity defense newly-minted by the Iowa Supreme Court. I must decide whether to allow the proposed amendment and whether to rule on all the questions raised in the parties' reanimated cross-motions for summary judgment and supplemental briefing on the Iowa constitutional claims, in light of the Iowa Supreme Court's answer to the certified question, or, once again, to certify some of those questions to the Iowa Supreme Court.
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Factual Background
The factual background to this case is set out in considerable detail in my prior ruling on cross-motions for summary judgment, see Baldwin v. Estherville, Iowa , 218 F.Supp.3d 987, 989-93 (N.D. Iowa 2016), then by the Iowa Supreme Court in Baldwin v. City of Estherville , 915 N.W.2d 259, 261-65 (Iowa 2018). For present purposes, suffice it to say that, on November 10, 2013, Officers Reineke and Hellickson, of the Estherville City Police, were shown a video by a resident in the Estherville area of a person the officers identified as plaintiff Gregory Baldwin riding a 4-wheeler ATV that proceeded along North 4th Street and turned into a ditch, using the north Joe Hoye Park entrance, after which it continued in the ditch until it reached West 14th Avenue North, where it returned to the roadway.
The officers then reviewed IOWA CODE CH. 321I, which, inter alia , permitted operation of ATVs only on streets designated by cities, see IOWA CODE § 321I.10(3), because the officers believed that Chapter 321I had been incorporated by reference into the City's Code of Ordinances when Chapter 321 was incorporated. They also consulted The Handbook of Iowa All–Terrain Vehicle and Off–Highway Motorcycle
Regulations (Handbook ), which the defendants contended is a handbook frequently relied upon by police officers when determining whether off-road vehicles are operating in compliance with applicable laws. Finally, they discussed the matter with the City's police chief and a police captain. They concluded that the activity shown in the video amounted to a violation of City Ordinance E-321I.10. However, that Ordinance was not valid or in effect at the time, because it did not exist.
Officer Reineke prepared a citation and attempted to serve it on Baldwin at his home, but he was not there. Officer Reineke then refiled the citation with the notation "Request Warrant." On November 12, 2013, a state magistrate entered an order directing that a warrant issue. On November 13, 2013, Officer Hellickson served the warrant on Baldwin and took him to jail. Baldwin's wife posted bond, and Baldwin later pleaded not guilty to the charge.
In the days that followed, the City Attorney discovered that the City had not included IOWA CODE CH. 321I when it incorporated IOWA CODE CH. 321 into the City's Code of Ordinances. The City Attorney was granted leave to amend the charge to allege a violation of a different ordinance, City Ordinance 219–2(2). City Ordinance 219–2 generally permits ATVs to be operated on City streets except where prohibited, but subsection (2) prohibits operation of ATVs "in city parks, playgrounds, or upon any publicly-owned property." On Baldwin's Motion For Adjudication Of Law Points And To Dismiss, the Iowa District Court found that the cited act was not a violation of the City's Code of Ordinances...
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Clinton v. Garrett, 4:20-cv-00166-JEG-SBJ
...and lack of probable cause," or a "lack of ‘reasonable ground’ for the conduct in question." Baldwin v. Estherville (Baldwin III), 333 F. Supp. 3d 817, 842–45 (N.D. Iowa 2018).10 Judge Bennett further predicted that the all due care standard requires an official to take affirmative steps to......
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Davis v. Dawson, 4:19-cv-00382–JEG-SBJ
...processing the Iowa Supreme Court's "all due care" standard, the federal district court in Baldwin v. Estherville (Baldwin III), 333 F. Supp. 3d 817, 844-45 (N.D. Iowa 2018), reasoned the factors a court may consider in determining whether the "all due care" qualified immunity defense appli......
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Young v. City of Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1:20-cv-30-JAJ
...259, 281 (Iowa 2018). The all due care immunity defense also applies to municipalities. Baldwin v. City of Estherville (Baldwin III) , 333 F. Supp. 3d 817, 832 (N.D. Iowa 2018). Although Iowa appellate courts have not yet defined the exact contours of all due care immunity, this Court recen......
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Baldwin v. City of Estherville, No. 18-1856
...did not include the "ditch" of a City street. See Baldwin [I ], 218 F. Supp. 3d at 1000–1001. Baldwin v. Estherville (Baldwin III ), 333 F. Supp. 3d 817, 823–24 (N.D. Iowa 2018) ; see Baldwin v. Estherville (Baldwin IV ), 336 F. Supp. 3d 948, 950 (N.D. Iowa 2018) (order certifying questions......
-
Clinton v. Garrett, 4:20-cv-00166-JEG-SBJ
...and lack of probable cause," or a "lack of ‘reasonable ground’ for the conduct in question." Baldwin v. Estherville (Baldwin III), 333 F. Supp. 3d 817, 842–45 (N.D. Iowa 2018).10 Judge Bennett further predicted that the all due care standard requires an official to take affirmative steps to......
-
Davis v. Dawson, 4:19-cv-00382–JEG-SBJ
...processing the Iowa Supreme Court's "all due care" standard, the federal district court in Baldwin v. Estherville (Baldwin III), 333 F. Supp. 3d 817, 844-45 (N.D. Iowa 2018), reasoned the factors a court may consider in determining whether the "all due care" qualified immunity defense appli......
-
Young v. City of Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1:20-cv-30-JAJ
...259, 281 (Iowa 2018). The all due care immunity defense also applies to municipalities. Baldwin v. City of Estherville (Baldwin III) , 333 F. Supp. 3d 817, 832 (N.D. Iowa 2018). Although Iowa appellate courts have not yet defined the exact contours of all due care immunity, this Court recen......
-
Baldwin v. City of Estherville, 18-1856
...did not include the "ditch" of a City street. See Baldwin [I ], 218 F. Supp. 3d at 1000–1001. Baldwin v. Estherville (Baldwin III ), 333 F. Supp. 3d 817, 823–24 (N.D. Iowa 2018) ; see Baldwin v. Estherville (Baldwin IV ), 336 F. Supp. 3d 948, 950 (N.D. Iowa 2018) (order certifying questions......