Fourth Circuit Section 1983 Cases

Walters v. McMahen

795 F. Supp. 2d 350 (D. Md. 2011) · Jul 14, 2011

Dismissed civil RICO class action alleging that corporate employees conspired to hire illegal immigrants to depress wages, holding that the intracorporate conspiracy doctrine bars conspiracy claims among employees of the same corporation acting within the scope of their employment.

Carter v. Morris

164 F.3d 215 (4th Cir. 1999) · Jan 14, 1999

Officers who burst into a home without warning, pointed guns at occupants' heads, and used excessive physical force during the execution of a search warrant violated the Fourth Amendment, and were not entitled to qualified immunity because the right to be free from excessive force during the execution of a warrant was clearly established.

Roberts v. City of Forest Acres

902 F. Supp. 662 (D.S.C. 1995) · Aug 21, 1995

The court denied summary judgment for the city and officer on excessive force and municipal liability claims where evidence showed an officer used force significantly disproportionate to the threat posed during a traffic stop, and the city had inadequate training and supervision of its officers regarding use of force.

Shaw v. Stroud

13 F.3d 791 (4th Cir. 1994) · Jan 6, 1994

A police supervisor can be held liable under § 1983 for a subordinate's use of excessive force where the supervisor had actual or constructive knowledge of a pervasive pattern of misconduct, was deliberately indifferent to the risk, and there was an affirmative causal link between the supervisor's inaction and the constitutional injury.