Full title: CURTIS LOVELACE, LOGAN LOVELACE, LINCOLN LOVELACE, and CHRISTINA LOVELACE…
Court: UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD DIVISION
No. 17-cv-1201
Date published: Oct 13, 2020
Fact:
This action stems from an investigation into the death of Cory Lovelace, the first wife of Curtis Lovelace, and the prosecution of Curtis Lovelace for the alleged murder of Cory Lovelace. Plaintiffs Curtis Lovelace, Logan Lovelace, and Christine Lovelace, on behalf of her son Larson Lovelace, filed this action against the City of Quincy and Adams County along with several respective agents, including Detective Adam Gibson, Police Chief Robert Copley, Sergeant John Summers, Lieutenant Dina Dreyer, Detective Anjanette Biswell, unknown Quincy police officers, Coroner James Keller, and former Assistant State’s Attorney Gary Farha. Coroner James Keller and Chief Copley are sued in their official and individual capacities while the other defendants are sued in their individual capacities.
In the Complaint, Plaintiffs allege eleven separate claims, which are:
(1) Count I – due process violation pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 brought by Plaintiff Curtis Lovelace against all Defendants;
(2) Count II – malicious prosecution pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 brought by Plaintiff Curtis Lovelace against all Defendants;
(3) Count III – unlawful detention pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 brought by all Plaintiffs against Quincy Defendants and Unknown Defendant Officers;
(4) Count IV – conspiracy to deprive constitutional rights brought by all Plaintiffs against all individually named Defendants;
(5) Count V – a state law claim for false imprisonment brought by Plaintiffs Logan, Lincoln, and Larson Lovelace against Quincy Defendants and Unknown Defendant Officers;
(6) Count VI – failure to intervene pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 brought by all Plaintiffs against Quincy Defendants and Adam County Defendants;
(7) Count VII – state law claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress brought by all Plaintiffs against all Defendants;
(8) Count VIII – state law claim for malicious prosecution brought by Plaintiff Curtis Lovelace against all Defendants;
(9) Count IX – state law claim for civil conspiracy brought by all Plaintiffs against all Defendants;
(10) Count X – state law claim for respondeat superior brought by all Plaintiffs against all Defendants; and
(11) Count XI – state law claim for indemnification brought by all Plaintiffs against all Defendants.
Issue:
CONCLUSION:
For the reasons stated, the Motion for Summary Judgment (d/e 91) filed by the Quincy Defendants (Gibson, Copley, Summers, Dreyer, and the City of Quincy) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The Court grants summary judgment for the Quincy Defendants for Mr. Lovelace’s and Logan’s IIED claims. However, the remaining claims in Count VII remain pending against the Quincy Defendants. The Court denies summary judgment on Plaintiffs’ remaining claims against the Quincy Defendants.
Defendant Biswell was part of the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by the Quincy Defendants in that Defendants requested “an order dismissing Det. Anjanette Biswell as a defendant in this case.” See d/e 91, p. 3. Plaintiffs have agreed to dismiss her, without prejudice, from the case. See d/e 105, p. 93. Therefore, Defendant Biswell is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. Plaintiffs have not identified the “Unknown Quincy Police Officers,” and the time for joining other parties or amending the pleadings has passed. See d/e 36. Accordingly, “Unknown Quincy Police Officers” are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. The Clerk is DIRECTED to terminate Defendant Anjanette Biswell and Defendant Unknown Quincy Police Officers as parties from this case.
The Motion for Summary Judgment (d/e 89) filed by the Adams County Defendants (Farha, Keller, and Adams County) is DENIED IN PART and GRANTED IN PART for the reasons stated above. The Court grants the Adams County Defendants’ motion for summary judgment on Count VII for intentional infliction of emotional distress. The Court denies summary judgment on Plaintiffs’ remaining claims against the Adams County Defendants.
The case will proceed against Defendants Adam Gibson, Robert Copley, John Summers, Dina Dreyer, James Keller, Gary Farha, the City of Quincy, and Adams County.