Cantu v. Moody, No. 18-40434 (5th Cir. 2019)
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Plaintiff filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, 42 U.S.C. 1985, and state law, alleging claims stemming from an FBI sting operation. A government informant had assisted law enforcement officers in a drug exchange with plaintiff. Plaintiff was later acquitted of possession of heroin with intent to distribute and conspiracy.
The Fifth Circuit held that plaintiff's section 1985 claims against the federal officers failed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), because section 1985(3) does not apply to federal officers; even assuming section 1985(3) covered plaintiff's proffered class of convicted felons, his claims could not survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion because he failed to link his conspiracy allegations to his status; plaintiff's section 1983 claims against Officer Barrera failed under the same standard where plaintiff failed to allege that Barrera formed any kind of agreement with anyone or that Barrera learned what transpired on the phone call between the informant and plaintiff; and the purported Bivens claim against Moody and LaBuz were not cognizable. Finally, the court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying plaintiff's motion for leave to file a fourth amended complaint.
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