Opinion ID: 763587
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: standards for granting and reviewing summary judgment

Text: 18 We review a grant of summary judgment de novo. Johnson v. United States Postal Serv., 64 F.3d 233, 236 (6th Cir.1995). The party seeking summary judgment has the initial burden of showing that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact, and we will reverse a grant of summary judgment if the nonmoving party has presented evidence of specific facts, which, viewed in the most favorable light, indicates that there is a genuine issue for trial. Id. Although the nonmoving party may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of his pleading, FED.R.CIV.P. 56(e), a verified complaint or additional affidavit, as presented in this case, satisfies the burden of the nonmovant to respond. Summary judgment is appropriate if the pleadings ... and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. FED.R.CIV.P. 56(c). The court is not to weigh evidence in making this decision; summary judgment will not lie ... if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). 19 We pause to note that the recent Supreme Court decision of Crawford-El v. Britton, 523 U.S. 574, 118 S.Ct. 1584, 140 L.Ed.2d 759 (1998), clarifies that even when the plaintiff's affirmative case requires a showing of the subjective element of retaliatory motivation on the part of the defendant, as this case does, the above standards for summary judgment apply. In that case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, sitting en banc, adopted a requirement of clear and convincing evidence of improper motive [as its] latest effort to address a potentially serious problem: because an official's state of mind is 'easy to allege and hard to disprove,' insubstantial claims that turn on improper intent may be less amenable to summary disposition than other types of claims against government officials. Crawford-El, 118 S.Ct. at 1590. The court of appeals had relied on the language and policy concerns underlying the Supreme Court's decision in Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982), which had eliminated the subjective prong of the qualified immunity defense usually invoked by government defendants. In Crawford-El, however, the Supreme Court made clear that when motive is an element of the constitutional wrong alleged in the plaintiff's affirmative case, the subjective inquiry cannot be avoided. Specifically, the Court determined that the plaintiff cannot be required to meet a heightened burden of proof simply because his cause of action includes a motive element: 20 [A]lthough evidence of improper motive is irrelevant on the issue of qualified immunity [under Harlow v. Fitzgerald ], it may be an essential component of the plaintiff's affirmative case. Our holding in Harlow, which related only to the scope of an affirmative defense, provides no support for making any change in the nature of the plaintiff's burden of proving a constitutional violation. 21 Crawford-El, 118 S.Ct. at 1592.