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BACK-TO-BACK WINS FOR STORMS AT 8TH CIRCUIT

Jeff Storms recently won two civil rights opinions from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which he argued earlier in the year.  Both cases were for civil rights violations, involving serious injuries to the clients by law enforcement.  The opinions were rendered on back-to-back days.

In Michael v. Trevena, the plaintiff was unlawfully arrested and subjected to excessive force, which resulted in a broken arm from the improper use of a baton by one of the arresting officers.  The District of North Dakota initially dismissed the lawsuit on qualified immunity grounds.  Storms achieved the major accomplish of convincing the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals that the lower court erred, and the 8th Circuit reversed the North Dakota court’s opinion on both the unlawful arrest and excessive force claims.  The opinion can be viewed here: Michael v. Trevena.

In Rokusek v. Jansen, the plaintiff was put in an improper “double-chicken-wing,” and slammed head-first to the ground.  The plaintiff suffered two lost teeth as a result.  There, the District of South Dakota correctly denied the state trooper’s motion for summary judgment, and the 8th Circuit affirmed that denial.  Storms Dworak LLC teamed up with Jeffrey Montpetit of SiebenCarey on this matter.  The opinion can be viewed here: Rokusek v. Jansen.