Hernandez v. Cook County Sheriff’s Office

Dist. Ct. erred in denying defendants-police officials' motion for summary judgment alleging qualified immunity in section 1983 action by plaintiffs-jail employees alleging that defendants subjected them to harsh investigation and sanctions arising out of defendants' investigation into incident involving prison break-out in retaliation for plaintiffs' affiliation with political rival of Sheriff. Dist. Ct. improperly found that defendants had waived qualified immunity issue by making only three-paragraph mention of issue in their opening brief in summary judgment motion where opening brief supplied adequate notice of issue, and where defendants expounded upon issue in reply brief. Moreover, remand was required to allow Dist. Ct. to have opportunity to make determinations of disputed facts and resolve issues concerning materiality.