Opinion ID: 579479
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Summary Judgment Generally

Text: 17 According to Celotex v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2554, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986), the party moving for summary judgment must demonstrate that the non-moving party lacks evidence to support an essential element of its claim. In order to survive the motion, the non-moving party must demonstrate that there is evidence from which a jury might return a verdict in his favor. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 257, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2514, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). 18 To survive a motion for summary judgment, a plaintiff must at least establish the necessary elements of his or her cause of action and demonstrate the presence of genuine issues of material fact. For the purpose of this appeal from the denial of summary judgment on the grounds of immunity, we assume the facts to be as the plaintiff states them and then determine the purely legal issue of whether those facts show a violation of clearly established rights of which a reasonable official in defendant's circumstances would have known. McDaniel v. Woodard, 886 F.2d 311, 313 (11th Cir.1989). 19 We review the district court's denial of the defendants' motions for summary judgment de novo. Id. For the reasons discussed below, we hold that the trial court misapplied the legal standards governing claims under section 1983 and that the defendants are entitled to summary judgment because 1) plaintiffs have not defeated the claim of qualified immunity of Defendants Moody and Davis, and 2) plaintiffs have not established that Defendant Aldridge acted under color of state law. 20