Reyes v. Sazan
5th Circuit
168 F.3d 158 (5th Cir. 1999)
The Martinezes (plaintiffs), driving Ramiro Reyes's (plaintiff) truck, were pulled over by Louisiana state trooper Carl Sazan (defendant) even though they had not been speeding and a drug dog found no contraband. Sazan made them follow him for a full vehicle search that caused over $2,000 in damage, again finding nothing and filing no charges. The plaintiffs sued Sazan and his supervisors in federal court, alleging a conspiracy to target Hispanics through selective traffic enforcement. The defendants pleaded qualified immunity; the district court found the conspiracy allegations pled with sufficient particularity and denied summary judgment to the supervisors, and the defendants appealed.
Whether, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 7(a), a federal district court may require a plaintiff to plead a reply to an answer containing an affirmative defense.