Summary Judgment – Issue of Material Fact | Wisconsin Law Journal

By: Derek Hawkins//February 28, 2022//

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Sachin Gupta v. Chad Melloh, et al.,

Case No.: 19-2723

Officials: KANNE, ROVNER, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Summary Judgment – Issue of Material Fact

In the process of arresting a highly inebriated Sachin Gupta, a police officer tugged on his handcuffed arm causing him to fall forward on his head and chest and fracture a vertebra in his neck. The officer asserts that he used a reasonable amount of force on a suspect who was resisting arrest. Gupta asserts that the use of force was excessive given that he was not resisting the arrest, and also intoxicated, unsteady on his feet, and handcuffed with his hands behind his back. As these conflicting accounts make clear, there are material disputes of fact that make resolution of this case on summary judgment inappropriate. We therefore reverse and remand to the district court for the appropriate fact finder to determine which version of the facts might prevail.

Reversed and remanded

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Derek A Hawkins is Corporate Counsel, at Salesforce.