Opinion ID: 3062104
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Retaliatory Arrest

Text: Storey next challenges the district court’s grant of summary judgment on his retaliatory arrest claim. He argues a jury could find he was arrested in retaliation for asserting his constitutional rights, based on the verbal exchange captured by Taylor’s belt tape. The court below found Storey’s arrest was lawful. It also found that when an arrest is lawful, “then there is no but-for causation for a related tort requiring a retaliatory motive.” Aplt. Errata Sheet at 6. Thus, the court applied qualified immunity and granted summary judgment. This result was consistent with a recent Supreme Court opinion holding that, in the absence of but-for causation, the arresting officer is entitled to qualified immunity from a retaliatory-arrest claim. Reichle v. Howards, 132 S. Ct. 2088, 2096 (2012). But, as discussed above, Storey’s arrest was unlawful because Taylor lacked probable cause. Thus, the question becomes whether, in light of the evidence, a reasonable jury could conclude that Taylor’s retaliatory motive was a but-for cause of Storey’s arrest. Since the district court did not answer this question, we remand this issue for further consideration. -18-