Laura Saavedra Forero v. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Police Department, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina adopted the magistrate judge’s recommendation concerning defendants’ motion to dismiss Laura Saavedra Forero’s Second Amended Complaint. The court dismissed most claims but allowed specified Fourth Amendment, battery, negligent infliction of emotional distress, Americans with Disabilities Act, and Rehabilitation Act claims to proceed.

Holdings

1. The court declined to dismiss the claim on that jurisdictional theory because defendants cited no caselaw establishing that the amendment precluded individual-capacity negligence claims in federal court. The motion to dismiss that claim was denied without prejudice to defendants raising the issue at a later stage.
2. Defendants were not entitled to dismissal based on qualified immunity because, under the Fourth Circuit's split burden of proof, plaintiff sufficiently alleged violations of her rights and defendants failed to show that those rights were not clearly established.
3. The motion to dismiss was granted in part and denied in part. All claims were dismissed except the specified Section 1983 claims against individual defendants, North Carolina battery and negligent infliction of emotional distress claims against individual defendants, and ADA and Rehabilitation Act accommodation claims against UNC-CH.

Questions Presented

1. Whether an amendment to the North Carolina Tort Claims Act deprived the federal district court of jurisdiction over plaintiff's individual-capacity negligent infliction of emotional distress claim.
2. Whether defendants were entitled to qualified immunity at the motion-to-dismiss stage on claims concerning an allegedly overbroad search warrant and excessive force.
3. Whether the motion to dismiss should be granted as to the claims identified in the Second Amended Complaint.

Disposition

other