Garner v. City Of Ozark

587 F. Appx 515 (11th Cir. 2014)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Stokes (who is autistic) left his residence, wandered down the street, and entered the yard of a private residence. Stokes (who is autistic) left his residence, wandered down the street, and entered the yard of a private residence. The owner of the residence called the police. Officer Dodson (D) responded. Dodson (D) arrived on the scene and is alleged to have acted without provocation or cause, to have repeatedly instructed his police canine to attack Stokes. P (mother of Stokes) filed suit alleging excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment (Count I); unreasonable seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment (Count II); unlawful arrest in violation of the Fourth Amendment (Count III); violation of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) (Count IV); negligent hiring (Count V); negligence (Count VII); assault (Count VIII); and battery (IX). Ds moved to dismiss all claims except those of excessive force, assault, and battery against Dodson (D) in his individual capacity. The district court granted the motion to dismiss all the counts it considered with the exception of the ADA claim. Alabama law holds that City (D) is immune from the intentional torts of the police. Ds moved for summary judgment on all claims. P filed an affidavit stating that she would need to present several expert witnesses in order to respond to the motion. The district court granted P discovery under Rule 56(d) and denied Ds' summary judgment motion. Ds appealed.