IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 99-21054
Summary Calendar
MARK ANTHONY THIBODEAUX,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS, ET AL.,
Defendants,
ROLF D. NELSON, Deputy;
JOE BRENT HALM, Deputy,
Defendants-Appellants.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. H-98-CV-2817
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July 6, 2000
Before HIGGINBOTHAM, DeMOSS, and STEWART, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Mark Anthony Thibodeaux file suit against appellants Deputy
Rolf D. Nelson and Deputy Joe Brent Halm under 42 U.S.C. § 1983
for use of excessive force when affecting an allegedly wrongful
arrest of him. Appellants filed a motion for summary judgment on
the basis of qualified immunity. The district court refused to
grant that motion, and this appeal followed.
District court orders denying summary judgment on the basis
of qualified immunity are immediately appealable under the
collateral order doctrine, notwithstanding their interlocutory
character, when based on a conclusion of law. See Mitchell v.
No. 99-21054
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Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 530 (1985). Such orders are not
immediately appealable, however, if they are based on sufficiency
of the evidence. See Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304, 313 (1995).
Because there is a significant fact-related dispute with regard
to the circumstances surrounding Thibodeaux’s detention and
arrest, this court does not have jurisdiction to review the
denial of the appellants’ motion for summary judgment based on
qualified immunity. Accordingly, the appeal is DISMISSED FOR
LACK OF JURISDICTION.