Rodgers v. Rockdale County

Jeff Rogers applied for a job with the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Department. While performing a pre-employment physical fitness test, Rogers injured his knee. Rogers then sued Rockdale County, Rockdale County Sheriff Jeff Wigington, and Dennis Claborn, a lieutenant in the department who helped Rogers during the test. The defendants moved for summary judgment, and the trial court granted their motion. Rogers appeals, and for reasons that follow, we affirm.

To prevail on a motion for summary judgment, the moving party must demonstrate that there are no genuine issues of material fact and that the facts, viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, warrant judgment as a matter of law.1 Defendants may do this by showing that there is an absence of evidence to support an essential element of the plaintiff’s case.2 Once the defendants have established such lack of evidence, it is incumbent upon the plaintiff to point to specific evidence that gives rise to a triable issue of fact.3