Opinion ID: 2975628
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: jurisdiction

Text: Before turning to the merits of the case, we must first address Plaintiffs’ contention that this Court lacks jurisdiction to consider Medders’s interlocutory appeal. Sample v. Bailey, 409 F.3d 689, 694 (6th Cir. 2005). This Court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 to hear an appeal only of a district court’s “final decision.” A district court’s denial of qualified immunity is an appealable final decision within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 1291, notwithstanding the absence of a final judgment, but only to the extent that its decision turns on an issue of law. Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 530 (1985). The Mitchell Court explained this now well-settled principle: In some cases, [the denial of summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity] may represent the trial court’s conclusion that even if the facts are as asserted by the defendant, the defendant’s actions violated clearly established law and are therefore not within the scope of the qualified immunity. In such a case, there will be nothing in the subsequent course of the proceedings in the district court that can alter the court’s conclusion that the defendant is not immune. Alternatively, the trial judge may rule only that if the facts are as asserted by the plaintiff, the defendant is not immune. At trial, the plaintiff may not succeed proving his version of the facts, and the defendant may thus escape liability. Even so, the court’s denial of summary judgment finally and conclusively determines the defendant’s claim of right not to stand trial on plaintiff’s allegations, and because “[t]here are simply no further steps that can be taken in the District Court to avoid the trial the defendant maintains is barred,” it is apparent that . . . [the] “requirement of a fully consummated decision is satisfied” in such a case. Id. at 527 (quoting Abney v. United States, 431 U.S. 651, 659 (1977)). Pursuant to Mitchell, therefore, “federal appellate courts have jurisdiction to hear interlocutory appeals considering ‘the No. 06-4195 See v. City of Elyria, et al. Page 5 legal question of qualified immunity, i.e., whether a given set of facts violates clearly established law.’” Farm Labor Org. Comm. v. Ohio State Highway Patrol, 308 F.3d 523, 531 (6th Cir. 2002) (quoting Mattox v. City of Forest Park, 183 F.3d 515, 519 (6th Cir. 1999)); see also Berryman v. Rieger, 150 F.3d 561, 563 (6th Cir. 1998) (“A defendant who is denied qualified immunity may file an interlocutory appeal with this Court only if that appeal involves the abstract or pure legal issue of whether the facts alleged by the plaintiff constitute a violation of clearly established law.”) Conversely, “a district court’s determination that there exists a triable issue of fact cannot be appealed on an interlocutory basis, even when the finding arises in the context of an assertion of qualified immunity.” Gregory v. City of Louisville, 444 F.3d 725, 742-43 (6th Cir. 2006) (citing Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304, 313 (1995) (“[A] defendant, entitled to invoke a qualified immunity defense, may not appeal a district court’s summary judgment order insofar as that order determines whether or not the pretrial record sets forth a ‘genuine’ issue of fact for trial.”). “To do so would interject appellate review into a district court’s determination that the evidence is sufficient for trial, a nonfinal adjudication for purposes of 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . . . .” Id. Under Johnson, therefore, a determination that a given set of facts violates clearly established law is reviewable, while a determination that an issue of fact is “genuine” is unreviewable. Johnson, 515 U.S. at 311, 323. That the district court here denied Medders’s Motion for Summary Judgment on the grounds that genuine issues of material fact exist does not necessarily foreclose this Court’s jurisdiction over Medders’s appeal. Rather, “regardless of the district court’s reasons for denying qualified immunity, [this Court] may exercise jurisdiction over the [defendant’s] appeal to the extent it raises questions of law.” Williams v. Mehra, 186 F.3d 685, 689-90 (6th Cir. 1999) (en banc) (quoting Dickerson v. McClellan, 101 F.3d 1151, 1157 (6th Cir. 1996)); see also Gregory, 444 F.3d at 742-43 (“To the extent that an appellant on an interlocutory appeal argues issues of fact and law on appeal, this Court will only entertain pure issues of law.”). Appellate jurisdiction exists in this case. Although there remain controverted questions of fact (with respect to (a) the truth or falsity of See’s statements, and (b) Medders’ belief in the truth or falsity of such statements), ultimately these facts are not relevant to the fundamental qualified immunity question. The parties do not dispute the basic facts surrounding See’s statements to the FBI and the subsequent disciplinary proceedings. Medders’s main challenge goes to the purely legal issue of how to apply the doctrine of qualified immunity with respect to a First Amendment retaliation claim (i.e., whether the district court should have inquired as to the truthfulness of See’s statements to the FBI). In other words, “[t]he only ‘facts’ in dispute are the ultimate issues to be decided by applying law to the basic facts.” Williams, 186 F. 3d at 690. Namely, did Medders violate See’s established constitutional rights? Were these rights not clearly established such that a reasonable officer in Medders’s position would have acted in a similar manner? “These ‘facts,’ however, are mixed issues of law and fact, which we treat as issues of law, not issues of fact.” Id. (citing Whitney v. Brown, 882 F.2d 1068, 1071 (6th Cir. 1989)). Appellate review is, therefore, appropriate.2