Galvez v. Bruce, No. 08-10531.

• Citation: 552 F.3d 1238
• Decision Date: 18 December 2008
• Docket Number: No. 08-10531.
• Parties: Adolfo GALVEZ, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Henry BRUCE, a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Officer in his individual capacity, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

552 F.3d 1238

Adolfo GALVEZ, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Henry BRUCE, a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Officer in his individual capacity, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 08-10531.

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

December 18, 2008.

Christine M. Jalbert, Saint Petersburg, FL, for appellant.

Christopher Erik Brown, Tampa, FL, for appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Before ANDERSON, BARKETT and COX, Circuit Judges.

COX, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff Adolfo Galvez appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment to Defendant Henry Bruce, a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Deputy. Galvez sued Bruce pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that Bruce used excessive force while putting Galvez under arrest, in violation of Galvez's Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The district court found that Bruce is entitled to qualified immunity. Because we find that, under Galvez's version of the facts, Bruce is not entitled to qualified immunity, we vacate the summary judgment and remand to the district court.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

We recite the facts in the light most favorable to Plaintiff. See Vinyard v. Wilson, 311 F.3d 1340, 1343 n. 1 (11th Cir. 2002) (citing Graham v. State Farm Mut. Ins. Co., 193 F.3d 1274, 1282 (11th Cir. 1999)). As in Vinyard, the Defendant in this case disputes much of the Plaintiff's version of events, including Galvez's account of his own nonresistance and the level of force used by Bruce.

Galvez is a medical doctor who operated a walk-in clinic in Brandon, Florida. On September 20, 2004, Bruce was dispatched to Galvez's clinic. Galvez and his wife were involved in a dispute with a teenage girl who had pulled her car into the parking lot of the clinic because the car was overheating. When the teenager asked the Galvezes if she could use the clinic's water spigot to fill her car's radiator, they asked that the teenager give Mrs. Galvez her driver's license. The Galvezes wished to copy the license in case the car was not removed from the premises in a timely manner. A dispute between the Galvezes and the teenager arose when the teenager sought return of her license and the Galvezes refused.

When Bruce arrived, he entered the clinic and spoke to the Galvezes, who were still in possession of the teenager's driver's license. Bruce attempted to retrieve the driver's license but had difficulty doing so. According to Galvez, when Bruce's "loud, authoritative" requests for the license were not met with compliance, Bruce grabbed Galvez's right hand in an effort to handcuff him. (R.1-16, Ex. H at 3, 4.) Galvez admits to resisting Bruce, explaining that he was struggling against the officer in an attempt to retrieve the driver's license for Bruce from the top of a printer. (Id. at 4; Appellant's Br. at 42.) During this struggle, Bruce continued to try to handcuff him. (R.1-16, Ex. H at 4.) Bruce then pushed Galvez away from the printer and grabbed the license himself and, when Bruce did so, he also grabbed confidential patient records. (Id.) In an attempt to protect the confidentiality of these patient records, Galvez grabbed the license and records back from Bruce and "unconsciously" put only the license in his pants pocket, under his lab coat.¹ (Id.) Bruce was then successful in handcuffing Galvez. (Id.)

Under Galvez's version of the facts, after he was handcuffed, he cooperated with Bruce and offered no physical resistance. (R.1-16, Ex. J at 365.) Galvez claims that, as Bruce was removing him from the clinic, Galvez was "saying [`]why are you doing this to me, ... where are you going to take me, ... why are you ... getting me humiliated in front of these passing motorists who you never know that some of them are my friends and my patients ... [?']" and he informed Bruce that he knew Bruce's chief. (Id. at 364-65, 366.)

In Galvez's words, Bruce "forcefully dragged me out of the clinic, and with all his power and might began slamming the left side of my chest into the corner edge of the carport.... [Bruce] slammed me into the edge so hard that my body was pinned between [Bruce's] muscular stature and the concrete wall while [Bruce's] thighs pinned my knees to the lower portion of the carport. [Bruce] slammed my chest several times while I cried out in pain and asked for help from passing motorists."² (R.1-16, Ex. H at 4.) Galvez claims that, in response to being slammed against the wall by Bruce, he screamed for Bruce to stop hurting him and shouted to passing motorists to call attention to what he considered police brutality. (R.1-16, Ex. J at 365-67.) While Bruce and Galvez were outside the clinic, Bruce emptied Galvez's pockets and retrieved the driver's license. (R.1-16, Ex. H at 5.)

Bruce charged Galvez with petit theft of the driver's license and resisting arrest without violence, both misdemeanors. The charges were ultimately dropped.

Galvez claims that, as a result of the excessive force by Bruce, Galvez suffered significant psychological and physical injuries, including two fractured ribs and a leaking aneurysm.

II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Galvez sued Bruce, in a one-count complaint, alleging that Bruce is liable, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, for violation of Galvez's Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to be free from excessive force by state officers. (R.1-7.) Significant discovery was taken. Bruce filed a motion for summary judgment that Galvez opposed. The district court granted summary judgment for Bruce on the ground that he is entitled to qualified immunity. (R.1-25 at 18.) Galvez appeals that summary judgment.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

This court reviews a district court's grant of summary judgment de novo, applying the same legal standards used by the district court. See, e.g., Hilburn v. Murata Elecs. N. Am., Inc., 181 F.3d 1220, 1225 (11th Cir.1999). "Summary judgment is appropriate where `there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.'" Wooden v. Bd. of Regents of the Univ. Sys. of Ga., 247 F.3d 1262, 1271 (11th Cir.2001) (quoting Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c)).

"[W]e `must view the movant's evidence and all factual inferences arising from it in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.'" Jackson v. BellSouth Telecomm., 372 F.3d 1250, 1280 (11th Cir.2004) (quoting Allen v. Tyson Foods, Inc., 121 F.3d 642, 646 (11th Cir.1997)). "`All reasonable doubts about the facts should be resolved in favor of the non-movant.'" Id. (quoting Burton v. City of Belle Glade, 178 F.3d 1175, 1187 (11th Cir.1999); Clemons v. Dougherty County, 684 F.2d 1365, 1368-69 (11th Cir.1982) (citations omitted)).

IV. ISSUE ON APPEAL

The sole issue on appeal is whether Deputy Bruce is entitled to qualified immunity for the acts of force that Galvez contends were excessive.

V. DISCUSSION

Qualified immunity shields government officials from liability when they are performing discretionary functions and their actions "`[do] not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.'" Beshers v. Harrison, 495 F.3d 1260, 1265 (11th Cir.2007) (quoting Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 2738, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982)). It "`allow[s] government officials to carry out their discretionary duties without the fear of personal liability or harassing litigation, protecting from suit all but the plainly incompetent or one who is knowingly violating the federal law.'" Id. (quoting Lee v. Ferraro, 284 F.3d 1188, 1194 (11th Cir. 2002)). "Qualified immunity is `an immunity from suit rather than a mere defense to liability....'" Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S 372, 127 S.Ct. 1769, 1773 n. 2, 167 L.Ed.2d 686 (2007) (quoting Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 526, 105 S.Ct. 2806, 2815, 86 L.Ed.2d 411 (1985) (emphasis omitted)).

The district court analyzed Bruce's qualified immunity defense by first resolving whether Bruce was acting within his discretionary powers when arresting Galvez; then by analyzing whether the facts, as presented by Galvez, could establish a constitutional violation; then by asking whether the law, at the time of the arrest, clearly established Galvez's right to be free from the treatment he alleges. In performing this three-step analysis, the district court held that Bruce was acting within his discretionary powers when he arrested Galvez. (R.1-25 at 7.) It also found that there are disputed issues of material fact as to whether excessive force was used by Bruce because the parties presented conflicting evidence as to whether the force used by Bruce was reasonably proportionate to Bruce's need to secure Galvez. (Id. at 13.) Therefore, the district court held that the question of "`whether excessive force was used ... is an issue of fact for the jury to resolve.'" (Id.) (quoting Velazquez v. City of Hialeah, 484 F.3d 1340, 1342 (11th Cir.2007)). Nevertheless, the district court granted summary judgment to Bruce because it held that, even if excessive force had been used and Galvez's constitutional rights had been violated, the law at the time of Galvez's arrest "did not provide `fair and clear notice' that Bruce's conduct was unlawful so that the violation would be `apparent.'" (Id. at 17) (quoting Hope v. Pelzer, 536 U.S. 730, 739, 122 S.Ct. 2508, 2515, 153 L.Ed.2d 666 (2002); Vinyard v. Wilson, 311 F.3d 1340, 1350 (11th Cir.2002)).

The parties do not dispute that Bruce was acting in the scope of his discretionary powers when he arrested Galvez. (Appellant's Br. at 29.) Once it is established that a defendant was acting within his discretionary authority, "the burden shifts to the plaintiff to show that qualified immunity is not appropriate." Lee, 284 F.3d at 1194 (citing Courson v. McMillian, 939 F.2d 1479, 1487 (11th Cir.1991)). In the second step of the qualified immunity analysis, a court must resolve the question of whether a plaintiff has alleged a constitutional violation. The Supreme Court has...