McClendon v. Story County Sheriff's Office

• Decision Date: 04 April 2005
• Docket Number: No. 04-1954.,04-1954.
• Citation: 403 F.3d 510
• Parties: Cyndi McCLENDON, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. STORY COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE; Paul H. Fitzgerald; Story County Animal Control Department; Defendants, Sue McCaskey; Brenda Rogers; Defendants-Appellants, Atkinson, Deputy; Upchurch; Denny Watson, Deputy; McKinney, Deputy; Thomas, Deputy, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

403 F.3d 510

Cyndi McCLENDON, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. STORY COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE; Paul H. Fitzgerald; Story County Animal Control Department; Defendants, Sue McCaskey; Brenda Rogers; Defendants-Appellants, Atkinson, Deputy; Upchurch; Denny Watson, Deputy; McKinney, Deputy; Thomas, Deputy, Defendants.

No. 04-1954.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: November 18, 2004.

Filed: April 4, 2005.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Patrick J. McNulty, argued, Des Moines, IA, for appellant.

Victoria L. Herring, argued, Des Moines, IA, for appellee.

Before MURPHY, LAY, and MELLOY, Circuit Judges.

LAY, Circuit Judge.

This case originated as a claim alleged against several public officials pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff Cyndi McClendon claimed that the Defendants violated her Fourth Amendment rights by seizing items not identified in the relevant search warrant. The issue is whether the district court erred in partially denying the Defendants' motion for summary judgment because it concluded that a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether Animal Control Officers Sue McCaskey and Brenda Rogers were entitled to qualified immunity. Allegations against all other public officials named as Defendants were dismissed by the district court. We reverse the decision of the district court and hold that McCaskey and Rogers were entitled to qualified immunity. We affirm the dismissal of all other Defendants.

I. Background

In May, June, and July of 2001, numerous complaints and reports of animal neglect were made to various animal welfare agencies, including Iowa's Story County Animal Control Department. These complaints alleged that the horses owned by McClendon were neglected, starving, very ill, and roaming at large on county property.

McCaskey and Rogers obtained permission to inspect the McClendon property on June 6, 2001. They found loose horses; thirty-seven horses in over-crowded pens; highly dangerous barnyard conditions including collapsing shelters, excessive manure, broken fences, and dangerous debris (e.g., protruding metal posts, barbed wire); a lack of water despite hot conditions; and signs of serious illness. See McCaskey Aff. dated June 10, 2003 ("McCaskey Aff. No. 1") at passim in Jt.App. at 27; Rogers Aff. at 2; Order on Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment ("Order") at 2-3. The Officers' "first impressions were that the entire herd was malnourished," including some pregnant mares and foals. See McCaskey Aff. Attached to Search Warrant Application ("McCaskey Aff. No. 2") in Jt.App. at 64; Rogers Aff. at 3. McClendon was the sole person caring for the herd, yet she lacked the equipment or supplies necessary to care for the herd. McClendon claimed she fed the horses alfalfa cubes because she could not find hay, but there was no horse feed of any sort on the property at that time, and Animal Control had already been informed that McClendon was denied hay for failure to pay her bills.

Over the next five weeks, McCaskey and Rogers made additional visits to the property and found the conditions unchanged. Finally, on July 12, 2001, the Officers brought Nicole Snider, a Livestock Inspector for the Iowa Department of Agriculture, and Dr. Kim D. Houlding, D.V.M., to inspect the herd pursuant to McClendon's consent. See Photographs of Property and Horses in Jt.App. at 19-26, 33-42; photographs of water in Jt.App. at 54-56.

Based on the July 12 inspection, McCaskey applied for a search warrant. McCaskey submitted her affidavit and a letter by Dr. Houlding in support of the warrant. McCaskey's affidavit recounted the facts stated above, and added the following statement regarding her observations on the July 12th visit:

At least 6-8 horses are in eminent danger, and 10-12 more need supportive care to save them from strangles.... All of the horses there are at risk, but the older, larger horses who seem to consume most of the hay, seem to be fairing [sic] much better than the smaller horses, lactating mares, colts and otherwise sickly ones. Removing 2/3 of the herd for supportive care seems to be needed to prevent certain death in many of them.

McCaskey Aff. No. 2 at 65.

Referring to the entire herd of horses, Dr. Houlding's letter in support of the warrant stated that "[t]hese animals are showing definite signs of neglect and some appear to be abusively neglected." Houlding Letter dated July 12, 2001 ("Houlding Letter") in Jt.App. at 53. She described a "rampant outbreak" of strangles (a deadly and highly contagious respiratory disease in horses), and noted the herd received no treatment for the disease. Id. Houlding identified eight of the horses as "in imminent need of intervention" due to severe starvation. Id. She also described a general lack of food; several horses having injuries warranting medical attention, including one with a serious hock (i.e., lower hind leg) injury; insufficient water; and dangerous barnyard conditions. Houlding opined that the entire herd was generally neglected due to "inadequate care, inadequate feed, improper disease control, ignorance of feeding and nutrition practices...." Id. at 68. Houlding recommended "all the animals should be removed until proper arrangements can be made for their care or sale." Id.

Snider echoed McCaskey and Dr. Houlding. She opined that "all of the horses were being deprived of care consistent with customary animal husbandry practices, and deprived of necessary sustenance." Snider Aff. at 2.

By July 14, 2001, a search warrant was issued based on Dr. Houlding's letter and McCaskey's affidavit. See Application for Search Warrant, Search Warrant, and Attachments in Jt.App. at 58-68. The warrant stated that:

Proof has been made before me [the magistrate], as provided by law, on this day that ... a number of horses that are sick and in immediate need of critical care. [sic] These horses are either exhibiting signs of a disease known as the "strangles", [sic] a strep infection contagious among horses [,] or are weak and malnourished.

Id. at 60. Accordingly, the warrant authorized any state peace officer

[T]o make immediate search of ... the grounds of the acreage including any of the outbuildings and garage ... to locate and seize any horses found on the property in the above described condition. To search the grounds, outbuildings and house ... to determine if there are other horses, fowl or exotic birds in distress or dying.

Id. at 60-61.

On July 15, 2001, the Defendants, Dr. Houlding, Nicole Snider, and Deputy Sheriffs arrived at McClendon's property to execute the search warrant. Two unfortunate surprises awaited them. First, two horses had died. Their bloating carcasses were not separated from the herd. One carcass was tossed in a manure pile, its legs protruding stiffly out of the mound. The other carcass was not covered and its head was conspicuously afflicted with multiple oozing abscesses (the mark of strangles). See Photographs of Carcasses in Jt.App. at 69-72. Second, McClendon admitted she removed some of the most infirm horses from the herd, not in an attempt to obtain medical care for them or provide better nourishment, but solely to thwart them from being seized. See Order at 7. She refused to reveal their location.

On the scene, Nicole Snider "observed that the condition of the horses had not improved" since her last visit to the property one month ago. Snider Aff. at 3. She opined that "all of the horses ... were carriers of strangles," and that rescue of all the horses "was necessary to prevent further neglect." Id. Dr. Houlding concurred. She "recommended to Story County Animal Control that 23 horses [the entirety of the remaining herd] be rescued from the premises," Houlding Aff. at 3, because all "[t]wenty-three horses were identified as being deprived of care consistent with customary animal husbandry practices, and deprived of necessary sustenance." See id.; Order at 7. The Officers proceeded to seize "[t]wenty-three horses ... pursuant to the advice of ... Dr. Kim D. Houlding, D.V.M." Rogers Aff. at 4; McCaskey Aff. No. 1 at 5.¹

Thereafter, McClendon filed this lawsuit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. She conceded the search warrant was valid, but argued that Defendants exceeded the scope of the warrant because all twenty-three horses were not sick with strangles, weak, or malnourished. Defendants asserted, inter alia, they were entitled to qualified immunity from suit.

Both parties brought motions for summary judgment before the district court. The court denied Plaintiff's motion in its entirety and granted Defendants' motion as to everyone except McCaskey and Rogers, the only Animal Control Officers. Performing a two-step qualified immunity analysis pursuant to Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 121 S.Ct. 2151, 150 L.Ed.2d 272 (2001), the court first held a fact-finder could conclude that Defendants patently exceeded the scope of the warrant because evidence suggested that the Defendants' motive for seizing all the horses was to punish McClendon for removing some of the horses prior to seizure. See Order at 20-21. Second, the court found a genuine issue as to whether McCaskey's and Rogers' conduct violated a clearly established constitutional right because they knew or should have known that all twenty-three horses did not fit the description in the search warrant. See id. at 31-32.

II. Qualified Immunity

This court reviews a denial of qualified immunity de novo. See Tuggle v. Mangan, 348 F.3d 714, 719 (8th Cir.2003). Qualified immunity is a question of law not a question of fact. The threshold issue in a qualified immunity analysis is whether the facts viewed in a light most favorable to plaintiff² show that the state actor's conduct violated a federal constitutional or statutory right. See id. at 720 (citing Saucier, 533 U.S. at 201, 121 S.Ct. 2151). In the context of a Fourth Amendment case alleging an unreasonable seizure, the initial analysis simply entails (1) an examination of the...