McClellan v. Smith, 439 F. 3d 137 - Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit 2006

Plaintiff-appellant Frank McClellan ( McClellan ) appeals from a summary judgment and an order denying reconsideration entered in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York (Hood, J.) in favor of defendant-appellee Steven Smith ( Smith ), a police officer employed by the City of Rensselaer but not on duty at the time of the events giving rise to this action. The action was brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to redress alleged Fourth Amendment violations related to the arrest and prosecution of McClellan following an altercation involving Smith and McClellan. The violations were pleaded in claims against Smith for false arrest, malicious prosecution, unlawful search and seizure, and unlawful imprisonment. In decisions following cross-motions for summary judgment and a motion by McClellan for reconsideration, the District Court determined that all the Fourth Amendment claims related to the underlying assault charges were barred by the grand jury indictment of plaintiff and that the Fourth Amendment claims derived from the resisting arrest and disorderly conduct charges, as well as the false arrest claim related to the assault charges, were barred in any event by the doctrine of qualified immunity. For the reasons that follow, we vacate the judgment and order of the District Court and remand for further proceedings consistent herewith