Opinion ID: 170333
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Judicial Estoppel of the False Arrest and Baseless Prosecution Claims

Text: As noted, the district court held that judicial estoppel barred the Bradfords' claims of false arrest and baseless prosecution. Until the Supreme Court first held, in New Hampshire v. Maine, 532 U.S. at 749, 121 S.Ct. 1808, that the doctrine is applicable in federal court, the Tenth Circuit had historically rejected judicial estoppel. The case on which the district court relied  Johnson v. Lindon City Corp., 405 F.3d 1065  constitutes our first application of the doctrine following the Supreme Court's decision. The facts in Johnson are similar to those in the present case: Two plaintiffs entered pleas in abeyance and, in the course of pleading, admitted to certain facts that they later denied in a § 1983 claim. We held that the plaintiffs were judicially estopped from pursuing their § 1983 case against their arresting officers. The doctrine of judicial estoppel is based upon protecting the integrity of the judicial system by prohibiting parties from deliberately changing positions according to the exigencies of the moment. New Hampshire, 532 U.S. at 749-50, 121 S.Ct, 1808. Though there is no precise formula, in order to determine whether to apply judicial estoppel, courts typically inquire as to whether: 1) a party's later position is clearly inconsistent with its earlier position; 2) a party has persuaded a court to accept that party's earlier position, so that judicial acceptance of an inconsistent position in a later proceeding would create the perception that either the first or second court was misled; and 3) the party seeking to assert the inconsistent position would derive an unfair advantage if not estopped. Johnson, 405 F.3d at 1069 (citing New Hampshire, 532 U.S. at 750, 121 S.Ct. 1808). Because of the harsh results attendant with precluding a party from asserting a position that would normally be available to the party, judicial estoppel must be applied with caution. Lowery v. Stovall, 92 F.3d 219, 224 (4th Cir.1996). [3] The first inquiry the court must answer is whether the Bradfords' § 1983 claims are clearly inconsistent with an earlier proceeding  in this case, the hearing at which they pleaded nolo contendere in abeyance. The first reason for the estoppel in Johnson was that the plea hearing admissions were clearly inconsistent with the § 1983 claims. So too in the Bradfords' case. At the plea hearing, during which they pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct, both Mi. and Mrs. Bradford admitted that the police asked them to leave, and they refused. Mr. Bradford said, I thought we should have left when he asked me, but I did call [Michael] out. Aplt.App. at 196-97. Mrs. Bradford stated, They wanted us to get back in our car and leave. Well I'm sorry, that's my son. I'm not going to leave. Aplt.App. at 197. In contrast, in the district court they made no such concessions. In fact, in their § 1983 complaint, the Bradfords claimed that no probable cause existed to arrest them. Aplt's App. at 19 (Complaint, at ¶ 41). Further, and importantly, the Bradfords now explicitly maintain that they parked and left when ordered to. Aplt's Br. at 41. These claims are clearly inconsistent with their admission at the plea hearing that they refused to leave when ordered to. Second, a court must determine whether the party has persuaded a court to accept its earlier position so that judicial acceptance of the inconsistent position would create the perception that either the first or the second court was misled. Johnson, 405 F.3d at 1069. The Utah court accepted the Bradfords' plea after specifically inquiring into whether they had refused the deputies' requests to leave. Therefore, acceptance by this court of the inconsistent position the Bradfords now maintain would create the perception that one court or the other was misled. Finally, we must determine whether the Bradfords would derive an unfair advantage on the deputies if not estopped. Id. We held in Johnson that by entering pleas in abeyance, the plaintiffs received a substantial benefit. Id. at 1070. In exchange for entering pleas in abeyance, the State agreed to substitute disorderly conduct charges for rioting, a third degree felony, and then to dismiss even the disorderly conduct charges as long as the Bradfords successfully completed twelve months' probation and paid a fine. In Johnson, we held that a party who accepts the benefit of a such a plea and then makes inconsistent statements in a subsequent Section 1983 action would derive an unfair advantage if not estopped from pursuing these claims. Id. As the present case satisfies the three New Hampshire inquiries, the district court did not abuse its discretion in finding that the Bradfords, because of their plea and their plea hearing statements, are judicially estopped from pursuing their Section 1983 claims of false arrest and baseless prosecution in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments.