Plaintiff brought suit under 42 U.S.C. §1983, alleging that he had been the victim of excessive force when Defendants arrested him. Defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that the force employed was not excessive, as a matter of law. Although Plaintiff suffered a bruised eye and contusions to his face, the court granted the motion. The court reasoned that the "minor facial injuries after use of allegedly excessive force make plaintiff's claim tenuous," and that there was no "objective medical evidence" supporting Plaintiff's claim that Defendants' conduct was excessive.
Schmidt v Cook, Civ No 96-CV-74938, ED Mich, 10/20/97, Zatkoff, J. (dkt #33 - 10 pages)
This article was written by Mark A. Goldsmith, a partner in our Litigation Department, and previously appeared in the February 1998 edition of the Michigan Bar Journal.