Opinion ID: 788063
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Availability of Qualified Immunity Defense

Text: 10 We consider first the availability of the defense of qualified immunity on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion. Qualified immunity is an affirmative defense, see Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 815, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982), and an affirmative defense is normally asserted in an answer, see Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b). Although we have noted that  [u]sually, the defense of qualified immunity cannot support the grant of a [Rule] 12(b)(6) motion for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, Green v. Maraio, 722 F.2d 1013, 1018 (2d Cir.1983) (emphasis added), we have permitted the defense to be successfully asserted in a Rule 12(b)(6) motion on at least two occasions. In Green, a court reporter was alleged to have altered the transcript of a criminal trial. We upheld the reporter's qualified immunity defense, ruling that because the reporter had acted at the trial judge's instruction, the reporter was entitled to qualified immunity. See id. at 1018-19. We permitted the defense to be asserted on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion because the complaint itself establishe[d] the circumstances required as a predicate to a finding of qualified immunity. Id. at 1019. The procedural ruling was partly influenced by the basis for the immunity ruling: dismissal pursuant to [Rule] 12(b)(6) was proper ... `[s]ince judges are immune from suit for their decisions, [and therefore] it would be manifestly unfair to hold liable the ministerial officers who carry out the judicial will.' Id. (substantially quoting McCray v. Maryland, 456 F.2d 1, 5 n. 11 (4th Cir.1972)) (alterations in original). 11 In Pani v. Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, 152 F.3d 67 (2d Cir.1998), a fiscal intermediary was alleged to have made false statements to the Department of Health and Human Services concerning a doctor's claim for Medicare reimbursement. We upheld the intermediary's defense of official immunity, reasoning that fiscal intermediaries ... are acting as adjuncts to the government and are carrying out a traditional government function. Id. at 74. We permitted the defense to be asserted on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion because the facts supporting the defense appeared on the face of the complaint. See id. at 74-75. 12 In the pending case, the qualified immunity defense being asserted is the traditional one asserted by executive branch personnel making discretionary decisions, see, e.g., Procunier v. Navarette, 434 U.S. 555, 561-62, 98 S.Ct. 855, 55 L.Ed.2d 24 (1978) (prison officials), rather than the specialized defense of a court reporter shielded, in effect, by the immunity of the judge whose direction she followed, as in Green, or that of a fiscal intermediary shielded by official immunity for performing a governmental function, as in Pani. Nevertheless, we see no reason why even a traditional qualified immunity defense may not be asserted on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion as long as the defense is based on facts appearing on the face of the complaint. In Pani, we broadly stated the rule to be that [a]n affirmative defense may be raised by a pre-answer motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), without resort to summary judgment procedure, if the defense appears on the face of the complaint. See Pani, 152 F.3d at 74. We cited cases permitting a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to raise the affirmative defense of res judicata, see Day v. Moscow, 955 F.2d 807, 811 (2d Cir.1992), and a statute of limitations defense, see Ghartey v. St. John's Queens Hospital, 869 F.2d 160, 162 (2d Cir.1989). See Pani, 152 F.3d at 74; see also Anderson v. Recore, 317 F.3d 194, 197-202 (2d Cir.2003) (entertaining but rejecting qualified immunity defense asserted on Rule 12(b)(6) motion without discussion of procedural issue). The Supreme Court has noted that an order rejecting the defense of qualified immunity at either the dismissal stage or the summary judgment stage is a `final' judgment subject to immediate appeal, Behrens v. Pelletier, 516 U.S. 299, 307, 116 S.Ct. 834, 133 L.Ed.2d 773 (1996) (emphases in original), at least obliquely suggesting that the defense may be presented on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion. But see Jacobs v. City of Chicago, 215 F.3d 758, 775 (7th Cir.2000) (Easterbrook, J., concurring in part) (Rule 12(b)(6) is a mismatch for immunity and almost always a bad ground of dismissal.). 13 Of course, a defendant presenting an immunity defense on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion instead of a motion for summary judgment must accept the more stringent standard applicable to this procedural route. Not only must the facts supporting the defense appear on the face of the complaint, see Pani, 152 F.3d at 74, but, as with all Rule 12(b)(6) motions, the motion may be granted only where it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim that would entitle him to relief. Citibank, N.A. v. K-H Corp., 968 F.2d 1489, 1494 (2d Cir.1992). Thus, the plaintiff is entitled to all reasonable inferences from the facts alleged, not only those that support his claim, but also those that defeat the immunity defense. On the other hand, with a motion for summary judgment adequately supported by affidavits, the party opposing the motion cannot rely on allegations in the complaint, but must counter the movant's affidavits with specific facts showing the existence of genuine issues warranting a trial. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). A party endeavoring to defeat a lawsuit by a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim faces a higher burden than a party proceeding on a motion for summary judgment. See Moore's Federal Practice § 56.30[3][b]; see also id. § 56.30[3][d]. We therefore turn to the merits of the immunity defense.