4th Circuit Upholds Dismissal in Wrongful Death Case

 In an unpublished opinion, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a wrongful death case coming from the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina at Charleston. According to the statement of facts, a man walked into a grocery store and threatened the store employees with a knife, took a ham and left the facility. Lawyer office in US. The police stopped the man outside of the store and he refused to drop the knife. The police used pepper spray and batons in an attempt to stop him, and eventually shot him because he would not drop his weapon.

Personal representatives of the decedent brought a claim against local law enforcement for wrongful death, survival and loss of consortium. Specifically, the plaintiff argued that the police officr's use of deadly force constituted a Fourth Amendment violation. However, the district court granted the defendant's motion for judgment as a matter of law and the plaintiff's case was dismissed.

On appeal, the Fourth Circuit considered whether the officer's decision to use deadly force was reasonable in light of these circumstances. When a court addresses a motion for judgment as a matter of law, it must view all the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, in this case, the plaintiff. However, the appellate court affirmed the judgment, meaning that it upheld the decision of the District Court to enter judgment in favor of the appellee, the police. The Court held that in reviewing the facts most favorably to the Plaintiff, the officer acted reasonably and had a reasonable fear of harm, justifying the use of deadly force.

When a court grants a motion for judgment as a matter of law, the case is not given to the jury, the judge is basically stating that the plaintiff has failed to prove its case. Wrongful Death cases against law enforcement can be difficult to litigate because the defendant is a state agency and you must show that the officer did something wrong or was negligent. Therefore, when hiring a Myrtle Beach, Charleston, or Horry County wrongful death attorney, you want to look for an attorney with experience in litigating wrongful death actions.