Qualified Immunity

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Rebirth Christian Academy Daycare, Inc. v. Melanie Brizzi et al

Case No.: 15-2220

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and KANNE and ROVNER, Circuit Judges

Focus: Qualified Immunity

Respondents clearly violated established law by denying appellant the opportunity to be heard before revoking registration.

Rebirth Christian Academy Daycare, an Indiana non‐profit corporation, ran a child care ministry—a “child care operated by a church or religious ministry that is a religious organization exempt from federal income taxation.” IND. CODE § 12‐7‐2‐28.8. A state agency revoked Rebirth’s registration after an inspector concluded that the organization had violated several statutory and regulatory provisions governing registered child care ministries. Rebirth sued state officials for damages and injunctive relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that they had violated the due‐process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment by revoking its registration without providing it with an opportunity to be heard. The district court dismissed Rebirth’s individual‐capacity claims, concluding that qualified immunity protected the defendants from liability for civil damages because they had not violated clearly established law. After the parties developed an evidentiary record on the official‐capacity claims, Rebirth ultimately prevailed on its claims for injunctive relief. It now challenges the district court’s dismissal of its claims for damages against the defendants sued in their individual capacities. We conclude that, based on the allegations in the complaint, the defendants were not entitled to qualified immunity because they violated clearly established law: the complaint adequately alleges that they deprived Rebirth of a property interest without first providing an opportunity for some type of hearing. Accordingly, we reinstate Rebirth’s individual‐capacity claims and remand for further proceedings.

Vacated and Remanded

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.