Opinion ID: 6698
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: review of the summary judgment motions

Text: 8 This Court reviews a grant of summary judgment de novo. Abbott v. Equity Group, Inc., 2 F.3d 613, 618 (5th Cir.1993), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 114 S.Ct. 1219, 127 L.Ed.2d 565 (1994). Summary judgment is proper if the moving party establishes that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The party opposing a motion for summary judgment must set forth specific facts showing the existence of a genuine issue for trial. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). On appeal from summary judgment, this Court examines the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Salas v. Carpenter, 980 F.2d 299, 304 (5th Cir.1992).
9 Halbert contends that the district court erred in granting BPS's motion for summary judgment on the false imprisonment claim. Under Texas law, a private citizen does not incur liability simply because he mistakenly informs the police that the suspect has committed a crime whenever the suspect is not thereafter successfully prosecuted. Armstead v. Escobedo, 488 F.2d 509, 511 (5th Cir.1974). Rather, the citizen must actually direct the police to make the arrest. Id. 10 In Armstead v. Escobedo, a bus driver had a dispute with a female passenger over the fare. As she left the bus, she allegedly threatened the bus driver with a knife and threw a brick through the bus window. One week later, the same bus driver picked up a female passenger whom he believed to be his assailant. After questioning the passenger, he flagged down two passing police officers and told them that the female passenger was his assailant. The police officers decided to arrest the woman. She was later released after passing a lie detector test. She then sued the bus driver for false arrest. This Court held that the bus driver could not be held liable for false arrest because he had not directed the police to arrest the woman. 488 F.2d at 511. 11 In this case, Halbert produced no summary judgment evidence that Wade directed his arrest. Wade did inform the police that Halbert was intoxicated and he informed them of Halbert's location once they arrived; however, the police officers did not rely on this information in determining whether to arrest Halbert. They conducted their own sobriety tests and then decided to arrest him. Consequently, as the bus driver's conduct in Armstead did not give rise to liability for false arrest, Wade's conduct does not give rise to liability for false arrest. Thus, the district court correctly dismissed the false arrest claims. 12 Halbert relies heavily upon Leon's Shoe Stores v. Hornsby, 306 S.W.2d 402 (Tex.Civ.Ct.App.1957), for support of his contention that Wade's actions warrant a finding of false arrest. In Leon's Shoe Stores, the credit manager of a shoe store called the police to report that a customer was trying to cash a forged check. The credit manager had known the customer for several years and knew that the check was actually hers. The police arrested the customer. The court held that the store was liable for false imprisonment because the store credit manager knew that the customer had not forged the checks. Id. at 410. 13 This case is distinguishable. In Leon's Shoe Store, the store manager's false statement had directed the police to arrest the customer; in this case, it was the police officer's evaluation of Halbert's field sobriety tests that was responsible for his arrest. Thus, we find Halbert's argument unpersuasive. 14
15 Halbert contends that the district court erred in dismissing his claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Under Texas law, the elements of this tort are: (1) the defendant acted intentionally or recklessly; (2) the conduct was extreme and outrageous; (3) the defendant's actions caused the plaintiff's emotional distress; and (4) the plaintiff's emotional distress was severe. Gillum v. City of Kerrville, 3 F.3d 117, 122 (5th Cir.1993), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 114 S.Ct. 881, 127 L.Ed.2d 76 (1994). In order for conduct to be extreme and outrageous, it must be beyond the bounds of decency, atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community. Diamond Shamrock Refining & Marketing Co. v. Mendez, 844 S.W.2d 198 (Tex.1992). 16 We find that merely calling the police and informing them that someone is intoxicated or using drugs is not sufficiently outrageous conduct to warrant the recovery of damages for the intentional infliction of emotional distress even if those statements are false. In Diamond Shamrock Refining & Marketing Co., the defendant had been sued for intentional infliction of emotional distress for falsely publicizing that the plaintiff had been fired for stealing company property. The Supreme Court of Texas--in an opinion that was divided on every issue except this one--held that there was no evidence that the employer's conduct met this standard of outrageous conduct. Id. at 202. The conduct of Wade, in the instant case, is comparable to the actions of the employer in Diamond Shamrock. Similarly, in this case, Wade's conduct does not support a recovery for intentional infliction of emotional distress.