Swint v. City of Wadley, Ala., 92-6574

• Decision Date: 18 January 1994
• Docket Number: No. 92-6574,92-6574
• Citation: 11 F.3d 1030
• Parties: Tom SWINT; Tony Spradley; Drecilla James and Jerome Lewis, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. The CITY OF WADLEY, ALABAMA; Freddie Morgan and Gregory Dendinger in their official and individual capacities; Chambers County Commission, Defendants-Appellants, Chambers County Sheriff's Department, Defendant, James C. Morgan, in his official and individual capacity, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

Page 1030

11 F.3d 1030

Tom SWINT; Tony Spradley; Drecilla James and Jerome Lewis Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. The CITY OF WADLEY, ALABAMA; Freddie Morgan and Gregory Dendinger in their official and individual capacities; Chambers County Commission Defendants-Appellants Chambers County Sheriff's Department, Defendant James C. Morgan, in his official and individual capacity, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 92-6574.

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

Jan. 18, 1994.

Ernestine Sapp, Fred D. Gray, Tuskegee, AL, for City of Wadley, AL, et al.

Kendrick E. Webb, Montgomery, AL, for JCM, et al.

Carlos A. Williams, Mobile, AL, for plaintiffs-appellees.

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

ON SUGGESTION FOR REHEARING EN BANC

(Opinion 11/3/93, 11th Cir., 5 F.3d 1435).

Before TJOFLAT, Chief Judge, CARNES,

Circuit Judge, and BRIGHT ^*, Senior Circuit Judge.

PER CURIAM:

Upon consideration of Defendant-Appellant James C. Morgan's suggestion for rehearing en banc, the Court orders that its opinion be modified in the following three respects:

(1) The first sentence of the second paragraph of the opinion (which is the first sentence of the first full paragraph on 5 F.3d at 1439) is deleted, and in its place are inserted the following two sentences:

We affirm the district court's denial of the individual defendants' qualified immunity summary judgment motions insofar as the Fourth Amendment is concerned, and we also affirm the denial of summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds insofar as the equal protection claims against Officer Dendinger and Chief Morgan are concerned. We reverse the denial of summary judgment to Sheriff Morgan on the equal protection claims, and we reverse the denial of summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds to all three individual defendants on the due process claims.

(2) The second paragraph of section II.A.2.b. (under the heading "The Equal Protection Clause Claims") on 5 F.3d at 1447 (which is also the first full paragraph in the second column on 5 F.3d at 1447) is deleted, and inserted in its place are the following two paragraphs:

Defendants do not challenge the district court's holding that at the time of the raids the right to be protected from intentional racial discrimination in law enforcement was clearly established. Instead, they argue that summary judgment should have been granted because there was no genuine issue of material fact that they engaged in such discrimination. Based on our review of the record, we agree with the district court that a genuine issue of material fact does exist about whether Officer Dendinger and Chief Morgan engaged in intentional racial discrimination in authorizing or participating in the raids. Mattie Staples' testimony about Officer Dendinger's alleged statement to her suffices to create a genuine issue of material fact on that issue as to Officer Dendinger and his police chief, Freddie Morgan. The district court properly denied the summary judgment motions as to the equal protection claims insofar as those two defendants are concerned.

Sheriff Morgan, however, is a different matter. Neither he, nor any of his deputies, made any statement that he or his department intended to close the Club down because of the race of the owners and patrons. The fact that this club is the only one Sheriff Morgan...