Date: 06-14-2001

Case Style: Teague v. Overton

Case Number: 00-7070

Judge: Robert H. Henry

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Plaintiff's Attorney: Unknown

Defendant's Attorney: Unknown

Description: On April 6, 1999, a series of three fires occurred at the Poor Boys Restaurant in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Only the third fire required the assistance of the fire department. After the third fire was extinguished, Overton, an Oklahoma state fire marshal investigator, conducted an investigation. In a probable cause affidavit, Overton stated that he believed that the fires were intentionally set. He sought a warrant for the arrest of the restaurant owner and three employees, including Teague, on the theory that their identical accounts of events were "at odds with the physical evidence found at the scene." Overton obtained the warrant and arrested Teague. She was incarcerated for sixty-five hours before being released. The case against Teague was dismissed. She then filed this action, alleging illegal arrest and false imprisonment in violation of her rights under the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Overton moved for summary judgment based on a qualified immunity defense. In support of the motion, he expanded on his theory against Teague, claiming that Teague's claimed position "would have placed her in the origin of the third fire." He also provided an affidavit from another fire investigator repeating the conclusion that Teague's statement was incompatible with the evidence and adding that three other witnesses "gave exactly the same inconsistent statement." In response, Teague provided an affidavit from an assistant district attorney who stated that Overton made the probable cause determination and that the State's case against Teague consisted of only her "'location inside the building at the time the fires were set and Agent Overton's statement that all three fires were intentionally set.'" She also provided an affidavit from an individual stating that Overton had admitted that he knew Teague "did not have anything to do with the fire" but that he believed "she knows something about it and is not talking." In ruling on Overton's summary judgment motion, the district court found "conflicting testimony which relates to the reasonableness of the defendant's actions in securing the arrest warrant and ultimately causing the imprisonment of plaintiff." Id. at 118.(1) The court therefore denied the motion for summary judgment and this interlocutory appeal followed. On appeal, Overton again asserts that he is entitled to qualified immunity on both the false arrest and false imprisonment claims.

Outcome: For the reasons stated above, the district court's ruling on summary judgment is AFFIRMED to the extent it is based on lack of probable cause contained in the affidavit executed by Overton. Because the record reveals genuine issues of material fact concerning the objective reasonableness of Overton's actions, we DISMISS the remainder of the appeal.

Plaintiff's Experts: Unknown

Defendant's Experts: Unknown

Comments: None