Behrens v. Pelletier

Behrens v. Pelletier, 516 U.S. 299 (1996), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held a defendant's immediate appeal of an unfavorable qualified immunity ruling on a motion to dismiss does not deprive the court of appeals of jurisdiction over a second appeal, also based on qualified immunity, immediately following denial of summary judgment.

Behrens v. Pelletier
Argued November 7, 1995
Decided February 21, 1996
Full case nameBehrens v. Pelletier
Citations516 U.S. 299 (more)
116 S. Ct. 834; 133 L. Ed. 2d 773
Case history
PriorPelletier v. Federal Home Loan Bank, 968 F.2d 865 (9th Cir. 1992)
SubsequentPelletier v. Behrens, 130 F.3d 429 (9th Cir. 1997)
Holding
A defendant's immediate appeal of an unfavorable qualified-immunity ruling on a motion to dismiss does not deprive the court of appeals of jurisdiction over a second appeal, also based on qualified immunity, immediately following denial of summary judgment.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
David Souter · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
MajorityScalia, joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg
DissentBreyer, joined by Stevens

Background

The Federal Home Loan Bank Board fired Robert Pelletier (Plaintiff) as the provisional managing officer of Pioneer Savings and Loans Associations after the agent responsible for monitoring Pioneer's operations, John Behrens (Defendant), recommended such action. The basis of Behrens recommendation was an investigation involving the collapse of another financial institution, and possible misconduct by Pelletier. Pelletier filled suite arguing wrongfully termination, and John Behrens claimed he was acting on behalf of the government and therefore was he was entitled to qualified immunity.[1]

Issue

At issue is if a defendant's initial appeal for qualified immunity is unfavorable, does this ruling deprive the court of appeals jurisdiction of over a subsequent appeal based on the same claim, i.e., qualified immunity.

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-03-27. Retrieved 2008-09-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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