Opinion ID: 789163
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Consent to Search the Storage Unit

Text: 27 At summary judgment, the parties disputed whether Davis had authorized the police to search her storage unit. In support of their position, defendants produced a consent form purporting to have been signed by Davis on August 10, 2000, authorizing Harms and King to search the unit. Prior to the close of discovery, Davis submitted an affidavit alleging that Defendant Harms did not ask me for consent to search the storage unit I rented at Ustore-ULock. The signature on the affidavit produced by Davis appears similar to the signature on the consent form. After discovery had closed, Davis produced a supplemental affidavit alleging that she had not signed the consent form and had never authorized the police, either orally or in writing, to search her storage unit. The district court refused to consider the late-filed affidavit and held that the remaining evidence established that Davis had consented to the search as a matter of law. 28 Plaintiffs challenge the district court's refusal to consider the late affidavit, asserting that it reveals a genuine issue of fact as to whether Davis consented to the search. They contend that, even absent the late affidavit, there is a jury question regarding Davis's consent. They argue, moreover, that any consent given by Davis was tainted by her illegal arrest. 29 We review the district court's refusal to consider an affidavit in opposition to a motion for summary judgment for abuse of discretion. Kalis v. Colgate-Palmolive Co., 231 F.3d 1049, 1055 (7th Cir.2000). Under this standard, `[d]ecisions that are reasonable, i.e., not arbitrary, will not be questioned.' Id. (quoting Adusumilli v. City of Chicago, 164 F.3d 353, 359 (7th Cir.1998)). By the time discovery had closed, plaintiffs had already filed two memoranda in opposition to defendants' motions for summary judgment. Davis's late-filed affidavit does not contain newly discovered evidence; it purports to be based on facts known to plaintiff from the outset of this litigation, and its assertions easily could have been included in her timely affidavit. Because it was filed after the close of discovery, moreover, defendants had no opportunity to depose Davis on its contents. The district court's refusal to consider this evidence was not unreasonable. To the contrary, a party's failure to comply with summary judgment evidentiary requirements is traditionally remedied ... by excluding the non-conforming submission ... and then determining whether [the remaining facts] entitle the moving party to judgment as a matter of law. Ziliak v. AstraZeneca LP, 324 F.3d 518, 520 (7th Cir.2003). 30 We agree with the district court that the remaining evidence establishes as a matter of law that Davis consented to the search. The signed consent form is highly probative evidence that Davis authorized defendants to search her storage unit. Faced with this evidence, Davis presented a tentatively-worded affidavit that fails to refute the conclusion that she consented to the search. The affidavit, even if true, establishes only that Harms did not ask for Davis's consent. But the record makes clear that any one of a handful of officers could have requested that Davis sign the form. Davis's filing of the second affidavit — with its bolder assertions — borders on a tacit concession that the first affidavit was insufficient to create an issue of fact. The timely-filed evidence that is properly a part of this record leads to only one conclusion — that Davis signed the form, authorizing the officers to search the storage unit. Finally, because the officers lawfully arrested Davis, her argument that her consent was tainted by the arrest is without merit. The defendants committed no Fourth Amendment violation by searching her storage locker. 4