Julia Huff Walker v. City of Huntsville

Summary

The court affirmed summary judgment for all defendants on Walker's state-law claims. It held that collateral estoppel barred relitigation of probable-cause and excessive-force issues actually decided in the federal action, that the individual officers and chief were protected by State-agent immunity, and that the City was immune for claims based on those employees and for intentional torts. Although the City was not immune from claims based on detention officers or the jail nurse, Walker failed to support those negligence arguments with adequate legal authority. Justice Murdock concurred in the result but disagreed with the main opinion's rationale regarding the issue discussed in Part III.A.