CA6: $100k verdict against officer procuring bad SW affirmed

$100,000 verdict for a wrongful search warrant arising from a landlord tenant dispute was affirmed. Ellison v. Balinski, 625 F.3d 953 (6th Cir. 2010):

In any case, even assuming the existence of probable cause as to the occurrence of a crime, the affidavit failed entirely to establish a nexus between the material to be seized and the place to be searched. The affidavit did not state how Defendant came to know that MyaBrooke Properties was located at the residence, or, more critically, why documentation of an allegedly fraudulent mortgage might with a fair probability be found there. Given these rather stark defects in the affidavit, a reasonable jury could conclude that Defendant lacked probable cause when she applied for the warrant to search Plaintiff’s residence.

“‘The Court of Federal Claims is a court of limited jurisdiction.’ Brown v. United States, 105 F.3d 621, 623 (Fed. Cir. 1997). Plaintiff’s constitutional, tort and criminal claims fall outside of that limited jurisdiction.” Moreover, the State of California and individual defendants cannot be sued in that court. Reid v. United States, 95 Fed. Cl. 243 (2010).*

Defendant’s motion to suppress his stop on a club parking lot on a military base because it was not a “highway” within state law is granted and the case is dismissed. United States v. Irving, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119627 (E.D. Va. November 10, 2010).*