8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Digest: Feb. 14.

Byline: Minnesota Lawyer

Civil Opinions

Civil Practice

Qui Tam Action; False Claims Act; Medicare Reimbursement

Where relators brought a qui tam action against a hospital for alleged violations of the False Claims Act, dismissal is affirmed because the complaint alleged a fraudulent scheme for Medicare reimbursements without representative examples with the required specificity, failed to connect false records or statements to any claim made to the government and did not include details about an alleged agreement to plead the conspiracy with particularity. Judgment is affirmed.

18-1022 U.S. ex rel. Stephanie Strubbe v. Crawford County Mem'l Hosp., appealed from the Northern District of Iowa, Benton, J.

Civil Rights

42 U.S.C. 1983; Excessive Force; Supervisor Liability

Defendant police officer Joshua Hastings shot and killed 15-year-old Bobby Moore. Plaintiff, Moore's mother, filed suit against Hastings and his police chief and municipal employer. The District Court granted summary judgment to the chief and city; the jury subsequently found Hastings committed excessive force. Plaintiff appealed the grant of summary judgment.

Where evidence did not show officer had a pattern of constitutional violations but was merely lazy and careless with paperwork, plaintiff could not prove police chief and municipality had notice of a pattern of excessive force or that a failure to train the officer resulted in decedent's death. Judgment is affirmed.

17-2079 Perkins v. Hastings, appealed from the Eastern District of Arkansas, Wollman, J.

Civil Rights

42 U.S.C. 1983; Statute of Limitations; Futility of Amendment

Plaintiff appealed the dismissal of his 1983 complaint pursuant to the applicable statute of limitations. The District Court also denied plaintiff leave to amend his complaint, concluding that amendment would be futile. Plaintiff was also denied post-judgment relief.

Where the limitations period began running upon plaintiff's detention pursuant to legal process, his 1983 claim was properly dismissed where amendment would have been futile. Judgment is affirmed.

18-1954 Yang v. McNeil, appealed from the District of Minnesota, per curiam.

Civil Rights

Dismissal; Sovereign Immunity

Where appellant challenged the dismissal of his civil-rights action, the judgment is affirmed because the District Court properly found that the claims were barred by sovereign immunity. Judgment is affirmed.

18-2290 Mendez v. Dole, appealed from the District of Minnesota., per curiam.

Civil Rights

Excessive Force; Deliberate Indifference; Qualified Immunity

Where the family of a man who died after a struggle with officers sued officers for excessive force and for exhibiting deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs, the judgment denying summary judgment based on qualified immunity is reversed because the officers' use of force did not violate clearly established law and their actions on the scene did not show deliberate indifference.Judgment is reversed.

17-3821 Hanson v. Best, appealed from the District of Minnesota, Shepherd, J.

Civil Rights

Inmate Action; Attack; Qualified Immunity

Where an inmate sued prison officials for allegedly failing to protect him from an attack by another inmate, the District Court misapplied the applicable legal standard, and the appeal is dismissed because the appellate court was deprived of jurisdiction by the existence of disputed material facts. Appeal is dismissed.

17-3234 Martinez v. Norris, appealed from the Eastern District of Arkansas. per curiam.

Consumer Law

Home Equity Loan; Imposition of Lender Insurance; Evidence of Agreement

Plaintiff filed suit against his mortgagee, alleging it illegally imposed lender insurance for plaintiff's failure to obtain mortgage insurance and further alleging the mortgagee improperly reneged on a rate-reduction agreement between plaintiff and the mortgagee's predecessor. The District Court dismissed the first claim, finding plaintiff had notice of a global settlement releasing such claims.

Where documents by implication of their respective contents reflect an agreement for interest-rate reduction, based on the documents being an integral part of the financial arrangement of the parties, the District Court erred in dismissing a breach claim based on the statute of...