Zimmerman v. Doran, No. 15-1242 (7th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseAnthony Zimmerman, the president and owner of Premier Forest Products Products, Inc. (together, Plaintiffs), was hired to harvest trees on certain property. When the landowner discovered that Zimmerman had been harvesting trees without regard to fence lines and had taken more trees than he was supposed to, the landowner warned Zimmerman to leave the property. When Zimmerman refused to do so, the landowner sought help from the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office arrested Zimmerman for criminal trespass. Plaintiffs sued the sheriff’s office and its sheriff, deputy, chief deputy, and detective (collectively, Defendants), alleging that Defendants violated his constitutional rights in arresting him for criminal trespass. The district court granted summary judgment for Defendants, concluding that Defendants had probable cause to arrest Defendant and, alternatively, that Defendants were entitled to qualified immunity. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, holding that Zimmerman failed to establish that probable cause was lacking under the circumstances presented in this case or that Defendants engaged in arbitrary conduct unjustifiable by any government interest.
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