Opinion ID: 2669076
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: gaillard’s state-law claims

Text: The district court denied summary judgment to Officer Commins on Gaillard’s state law claim for wrongful death based on willful or malicious acts. As a peace officer, Commins is generally immune from state-law tort liability under Alabama Code § 6-5-338. An exception applies for acts committed “willfully, maliciously, fraudulently, in bad faith, beyond his or her authority, or 6 The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Officer Commins with respect to Gaillard’s federal equal-protection claim under the Fourteenth Amendment. This ruling is not before us in this appeal. 15 Case: 13-11442 Date Filed: 04/07/2014 Page: 16 of 17 under a mistaken interpretation of the law.” See Ex parte Cranman, 792 So. 2d 392, 405 (Ala. 2000). At this stage, questions of fact remain whether Officer Commins’s conduct meets one of the criteria sufficient to trigger this exception under Alabama law. See Morton, 707 F.3d at 1285-86; Ex parte City of Montgomery, 99 So. 3d 282, 293-98 (Ala. 2012); Grider v. City of Auburn, Ala., 618 F.3d 1240, 1254-56, 126768 (11th Cir. 2010); Brown v. City of Huntsville, Ala., 608 F.3d 724, 740-42 (11th Cir. 2010); Ex parte Nall, 879 So. 2d 541, 546 (Ala. 2003); Ex parte Tuscaloosa Cnty., 796 So. 2d 1100, 1107 (Ala. 2000); Couch v. City of Sheffield, 708 So. 2d 144, 153–54 (Ala. 1998); Sheth v. Williams, 145 F.3d 1231, 1239-40 (11th Cir. 1998); Wright v. Wynn, 682 So. 2d 1, 2 (Ala. 1996). We therefore affirm the district court’s denial of summary judgment as to Gaillard’s state law claim for wrongful death premised on willful or malicious acts. 7