Greg Moore v. Sean Garnand, 83 F.4th 743 (2023)

Citation: Greg Moore v. Sean Garnand, 83 F.4th 743 (2023)
Parent Document: Greg Moore v. Sean Garnand, 83 F.4th 743 (2023)
Jurisdiction: United States (federal)
Effective Date: 2023-09-29
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/9429207/greg-moore-v-sean-garnand/ ↗

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from a retaliatory investigation is not clearly established.”);
Colson v. Grohman, 174 F.3d 498, 513 (5th Cir. 1999)
(rejecting a First Amendment retaliation claim because Fifth
Circuit “caselaw unequivocally hold[s] that retaliatory
criticisms, investigations, and false accusations that do not
lead to some more tangible adverse action are not actionable
under § 1983”).
    Because Plaintiffs fail to meet their burden of showing
that Defendants’ investigatory conduct violated clearly
established law, Defendants are entitled to qualified
immunity on the First Amendment claim based on Plaintiffs’
lawsuits and requests for disclosures. See Ballentine, 28
F.4th at 61.
                       V. CONCLUSION
    We have jurisdiction over the district court’s denial of
qualified immunity as to Plaintiffs’ First Amendment claims
because Defendants present a purely legal issue: whether,
taking as true Plaintiffs’ version of the facts, it was clearly
established that Defendants’ conduct violated Plaintiffs’
First Amendment rights. Plaintiffs fail to show that
Defendants’ conduct violated clearly established law. Thus,
Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity on the First
Amendment claims, and we reverse the district court’s

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