Benfield v. Magee, No. 18-30932 (5th Cir. 2019)
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Plaintiffs Warren and Benfield, paramedics, filed suit against their boss, the EMS Administrator, alleging that he fired them for exercising their First Amendment free-speech and free-association rights. The district court held that defendant was entitled to qualified immunity for Benfield's free-association claim but not for Warren's or Benfield's free-speech claims.
The Fifth Circuit held that Warren failed to show that defendant violated one of his constitutional rights. In this case, because Warren failed to allege the requisite causal connection between his June 2015 letter and his firing, he has not alleged an element of his First Amendment retaliatory-discharge claim. The court also held that, because defendant made no substantive argument for dismissing Benfield’s free-speech claim, the district court did not err in refusing to address the issue sua sponte. Finally, the court denied Warren's request to replead his claims. Accordingly, the court reversed the district court's denial of qualified immunity for Warren's free-speech claim and rendered judgment for defendant on that claim; affirmed the district court's judgment not to dismiss Benfield's free-speech claim; and remanded for further proceedings.
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