Opinion ID: 2367244
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: mr. howe's civil suit

Text: ¶ 12 On June 25, 2004, Mr. Howe filed a notice of claim with Salt Lake City. In the eight-page notice, Mr. Howe presented a number of claims arising under the federal and state constitutions, as well as state law. A complaint was filed on April 7, 2005. In all, Mr. Howe lodged ten causes of action against five named partiesSalt Lake City; the Police Chief; the Assistant Police Chief; Sgt. Bryant; and Ms. Werner. Mr. Howe's ten claims consisted of: (1) false arrest/false imprisonment; (2) malicious prosecution; (3) violation of the Utah Citizen Participation in Government Act; (4) tortious interference with existing and prospective business relations; [1] (5) intentional infliction of emotional distress; (6) conspiracy to violate constitutional rights; (7) defamation; (8) negligence; (9) deprivation of federal constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; [2] and (10) violations under the Utah Constitution. ¶ 13 The parties filed cross motions for summary judgment in the district court. Mr. Howe moved for partial summary judgment on the claims of false arrest and malicious prosecution [3] , arguing that the justice court's finding that Salt Lake City presented no evidence of Mr. Howe's intent to violate the false-alarm statute conclusively established that the city lacked probable cause to arrest and charge Mr. Howe. Alternatively, Mr. Howe argued that the surrounding circumstances proved Sgt. Bryant lacked probable cause. The district court denied the motion, holding Mr. Howe had failed to prove that the facts known to Sgt. Bryant could not cause a prudent officer to believe an offense had occurred. ¶ 14 The district court then turned its attention to the motion for summary judgment filed by Salt Lake City. First, Salt Lake City argued for summary judgment on Mr. Howe's state claims based on procedural grounds under the UGIA. The district court granted the motion and dismissed all but one of Mr. Howe's state claims under the UGIA's procedural mandates. [4] Second, Salt Lake City attacked Mr. Howe's claims arising under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Again, the district court dismissed all of these claims on the basis of qualified immunity, pleading defects, and the law of respondeat superior and supervisor liability in civil rights cases. ¶ 15 Mr. Howe has appealed the district court's decisions on these motions. This court has jurisdiction pursuant to Utah Code section 78A-3-102(3)(j) (2008).