Opinion ID: 4315143
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Mississippi State Law Claims

Text: Plaintiffs also appeal the district court’s decision to dismiss their state law claims against Officer Cook. The Mississippi Tort Claims Act states: A governmental entity and its employees acting within the course and scope of their employment or duties shall not be liable for any claim . . . Arising out of any act or omission of an employee of a governmental entity engaged in the performance [of] . . . police or fire protection unless the employee acted in reckless disregard of the safety and well-being of any person not engaged in criminal activity at the time of injury[.] 62 60 In their reply brief and at oral argument, Plaintiffs argued that Officer Cook is not entitled to qualified immunity because he created the situation which led to Shumpert’s injuries. Johnson v. Dallas Indep. Sch. Dist., 38 F.3d 198, 200 (5th Cir. 1994) (“When state actors knowingly place a person in danger” the state is “accountable for the foreseeable injuries that result from their conduct[.]”). Plaintiffs assert that “state actors may be held liable if they created the plaintiff[’s] peril” or “increased the risk of harm.” Piotrowski v. City of Houston, 51 F.3d 512, 515 (5th Cir. 1995)). In response, Officer Cook argues that Plaintiffs are barred from raising a state-created danger theory at this stage in the proceedings, because they did not raise this issue in the district court or their opening brief. Plaintiffs have waived this issue, as they did not sufficiently raise it in their opening brief. United States v. Scroggins, 599 F.3d 433, 446 (5th Cir. 2010) (“A party that asserts an argument on appeal, but fails to adequately brief it, is deemed to have waived it.”) (quoting Knatt v. Hosp. Serv. Dist. No. 1, 327 F. App’x 472, 483 (5th Cir. 2009) (unpublished)). Even if Plaintiffs had preserved this issue, the theory of state-created danger is not clearly established law. See Chavis v. Borden, 621 F. App’x 283, 286 (5th Cir. 2015) (unpublished) (“Unlike our sister Circuits, we have repeatedly declined to decide whether [a state-created danger] cause of action is viable in the Fifth Circuit.”); see also Saenz v. City of McAllen, 396 F. App’x 173, 177 (5th Cir. 2010) (unpublished) (quoting Walker v. Livingston, 381 F. App’x 477, 479–80 (5th Cir. 2010) (unpublished)) (“[T]his court has held that the state created danger theory is ‘not clearly established law within this circuit such that a § 1983 claim based on this theory could be sustained[.]’”). 61 See Hope, 536 U.S. at 739. 62 Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-9. 16 Case: 17-60774 Document: 00514655230 Page: 17 Date Filed: 09/25/2018 No. 17-60774 It is undisputed that at the time of the encounter, Officer Cook was acting in the course and scope of his police duties and that Shumpert was engaged in criminal activity. 63 The plain language of the Mississippi Tort Claims Act absolves officers from liability in these circumstances, so we affirm the district court’s dismissal of Plaintiffs’ state law claims against Officer Cook.