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Lagroon v. Lawson

There were genuine issues of material fact as to whether the sheriff and two deputies were entitled to official immunity, whether they honestly and reasonably believed there was probable cause to arrest the plaintiffs and whether they acted with malice in arresting the plaintiffs.

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This appeal concerns a grant of summary judgment to three law enforcement officers—Lincoln County Sheriff Gerald S. Lawson and Lincoln County Deputies James K. Foskey and Jack Hancock—in an action brought by Robert Jay Lagroon and Kelli Sue Barnett for false imprisonment, false arrest, and malicious prosecution. Lagroon and Barnett were charged in a special presentment with contributing to the delinquency of minors by being present at a party where minors were consuming alcohol, which was held at the home of another person, Kathy Rhodes. They argue that the defendants were motivated to arrest and prosecute them, without probable cause to do so, out of friendship with Barnett’s estranged husband and Kathy Rhodes’ estranged ex-husband. The state eventually obtained an order nolle prosequi dismissing the charges.

Because we find that malicious prosecution is the exclusive remedy available to Lagroon and Barnett, we affirm the grant of summary judgment to the defendants on the claims for false imprisonment and false arrest. We reverse the grant of summary judgment on the malicious prosecution claims, however, because there are genuine issues of material fact as to whether the defendants were entitled to official immunity, whether they honestly and reasonably believed there was probable cause, and whether they acted with malice.

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