Cunningham v. Ruffin III, No. 1:2015cv01650 - Document 34 (E.D. Va. 2016)
Court Description: MEMORANDUM OPINION. Signed by District Judge Liam O'Grady on 10/26/2017. (awac)
Download PDF
<![CDATA[
Cunningham v. Ruffin III Doc. 34 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA Alexandria Division Maria Cunningham, Plaintiff, Civil Action No. 1:15-cv-1650 V. Officer H.M. Ruffin, III, Defendant. Memorandum Opinion This matter comes before the Court on a Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Defendant Officer H.M. Ruffin, III. Dkt. No. 24. Plaintiff, Maria Cunningham alleges that she was subject to false arrest and excessive force in violation of rights conferred by the Fourth Amendment, and gross negligence under state law, when detained by the Defendant during a November 16,2013 interaction with police. Defendant contends in the instant Motion that he did not violate Plaintiff's Fourth Amendment rights and in any case is entitled to qualified immunity with respect to constitutional claims and sovereign immunity with respect to state law claims. For the reasons discussed below, the Court GRANTS Defendant's Motion. I. Background On the evening of November 16,2013, Plaintiff was traveling in a car driven by her boyfiiend, Dennis Ashton. Plaintiff and Ashton got into an argument and Plaintiff got out of the car and told Ashton that she would walk home—^approximately three miles away. Plaintiff was taking medication at the time for anxiety and had recently had her dosage increased. After Plaintiff left the vehicle, Ashton went to the nearby Hemdon, VA police station to ask the police 1 Dockets.Justia.com
]]>
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You
should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
