Howlett v. Hack, No. 14-1351 (7th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseOfficer Beasley was dispatched and spoke to Hack, who stated that he had been asleep when his neighbor, Howlett, grabbed and threatened him, and thrust a hand down the front of Hack’s pants. Hack guessed that Howlett had entered by prying open a bathroom window. Hack described Howlett as wearing a white t‐shirt. Beasley called Howlett. Beasley recalls that Howlett stated, without prompting, that he did not enter Hack’s bathroom or “g[e]t into his neighbor’s pants.” Howlett says that he never made these statements. When Howlett arrived, wearing a tan collared shirt, not a white t‐shirt, Hack identified Howlett as the person who had assaulted him. Beasley arrested Howlett. Howlett was charged with burglary, criminal confinement, residential entry, intimidation, and battery. He was acquitted. Howlett filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983. The court granted defendants summary judgment on the false‐arrest allegations, finding them time-barred, and rejected a malicious prosecution claim. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. Beasley had probable cause to arrest Howlett. Beasley and the city are immune from Howlett’s state‐law malicious‐prosecution claim. Howlett’s malicious‐prosecution claim against Beasley and the city cannot survive summary judgment because Howlett did not allege a separate constitutional injury and did not submit evidence that Beasley acted out of malice or lacked probable cause.
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