Brown Fox Litigators Obtain Dismissals with Prejudice in Two Federal Cases Defending Texas Police Officers
October 8, 2020 by Brown Fox
On September 23, 2020, Partner Darrell Noga and Associate Chris Klement of the firm’s Governmental Section successfully obtained a dismissal with prejudice of all claims against the City of Waxahachie and two of the City’s police officers. The officers had been called to assist in dealing with a violent and disturbed student and succeeded in securing the student while protecting him, teachers, and other students from further injury. The officers and the City were sued in federal court in the Dallas Division for Fourth Amendment constitutional violations brought under Section 1983. Noga and Klement asserted the officers’ qualified immunity and lack of City liability. U.S. District Court Judge Ada Brown granted the Motions to Dismiss filed by our litigators and dismissed all claims against the City and its officers with prejudice.
On October 30, 2020, Noga and Klement obtained another dismissal with prejudice of all claims brought against two Fort Worth police officers. The two officers had been part of the police units responding to assist in an arrest of an individual who, unbeknownst to the officers, had ingested what would prove to be a fatal amount of illegal drugs. The officers were sued in federal court in the Fort Worth Division for Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment constitutional violations brought under Section 1983. The Brown Fox trial team successfully argued the officers’ entitlement to qualified immunity and established the officers were not deliberately indifferent to the arrestee’s medical needs or condition. Judge Mark Pittman granted our Motions to Dismiss and dismissed all claims against the two officers with prejudice.
