Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, No. 18-12676 (11th Cir. 2021)
Annotate this Case
Justia Opinion Summary
Want to stay in the know about new opinions from the Eleventh Circuit US Court of Appeals?
Sign up for free summaries delivered directly to your inbox. Learn More ›
You already receive new opinion summaries from Eleventh Circuit US Court of Appeals. Did you know we offer summary newsletters for even more practice areas and jurisdictions? Explore them here.
This panel originally held that binding circuit precedent required that it conclude that nominal damages claims alone could not save appellants' otherwise moot constitutional challenges. On March 8, 2021, the Supreme Court reversed the panel's opinion.
On remand from the Supreme Court, which held that an award of nominal damages by itself can redress a past injury, the panel reversed the district court's dismissal of appellants' First Amended Complaint and remanded for further proceedings.
This opinion or order relates to an opinion or order originally issued on July 1, 2019.
Download PDF
USCA11 Case: 18-12676 Date Filed: 04/16/2021 Page: 1 of 3 [PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 18-12676 ________________________ D.C. Docket No. 1:16-cv-04658-ELR CHIKE UZUEGBUNAM, JOSEPH BRADFORD, Plaintiffs - Appellants, versus STANLEY C. PRECZEWSKI, President of Georgia Gwinnett College, in his official and individual capacities, LOIS C. RICHARDSON, Acting Senior Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs and Provost at Georgia Gwinnett College, in her official and individual capacities, JIM B. FATZINGER, Senior Associate Provost for Student Affairs for Georgia Gwinnett College, in his official and individual capacities, TOMAS JIMINEZ, Dean of Students at Georgia Gwinnett College, in his official and individual capacities, AILEEN C. DOWELL, Director of the Office of Student Integrity at Georgia Gwinnett College, in her official and individual capacities, GENE RUFFIN, Dean of Library Services at Georgia Gwinnett College, USCA11 Case: 18-12676 Date Filed: 04/16/2021 Page: 2 of 3 in his official and individual capacities, CATHERINE JANNICK DOWNEY, Head of Access Services and Information Commons, in her official and individual capacities, TERRANCE SCHNEIDER, Associate Vice President of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness/Chief of Police at Georgia Gwinnett College, in his official and individual capacities, COREY HUGHES, Campus Police Lieutenant at Georgia Gwinnett College, in his official and individual capacities, REBECCA A. LAWLER, Community Outreach and Crime Prevention Sergeant at Georgia Gwinnett College, in her official and individual capacities, SHENNA PERRY, Campus Safety/Security Officer at Georgia Gwinnett College, in her official and individual capacities, Defendants - Appellees. ________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ________________________ (April 16, 2021) Before BLACK and MARCUS, Circuit Judges, and RESTANI, * Judge. ON REMAND FROM THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES PER CURIAM: * Honorable Jane A. Restani, Judge for the United States Court of International Trade, sitting by designation. 2 USCA11 Case: 18-12676 Date Filed: 04/16/2021 Page: 3 of 3 When this case came to us initially, binding circuit precedent required that we conclude that Appellants’ nominal damages claims alone could not save their otherwise moot constitutional challenges. Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, 781 F. App’x 824, 830-32 (11th Cir. 2019) (citing Flanigan’s Enters., Inc. of Ga. v. City of Sandy Springs, 868 F.3d 1248, 1263-71 (11th Cir. 2017) (en banc)). On March 8, 2021, the United States Supreme Court reversed this panel’s opinion, holding that “an award of nominal damages by itself can redress a past injury.” Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, 141 S. Ct. 792, 796 (2021). For the reasons stated in the Supreme Court’s decision, we reverse the district court’s dismissal of Appellants’ First Amended Complaint and remand for further proceedings consistent with the Supreme Court’s decision. 1 REVERSED AND REMANDED. 1 The parties’ joint motion to extend all deadlines until thirty days after this Court issues its mandate is DENIED AS MOOT. 3
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
