COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
Jordan v. Town of Waldoboro
United States Court of Appeals
For the First Circuit
No. 18-2062
SCOTT JORDAN, JR.,
Plaintiff, Appellant,
v.
TOWN OF WALDOBORO; WILLIAM LABOMBARDE,
Waldoboro Chief of Police; LAWRENCE W. HESSELTINE, JR.,
Waldoboro Police Officer; JEFFERY FULLER,
Waldoboro Police Officer; ANDREW SANTHESON,
Waldoboro Police Officer,
Defendants, Appellees,
WALDOBORO POLICE DEPARTMENT,
Defendant.
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE
[Hon. John H. Rich III, U.S. Magistrate Judge]
Before
Howard, Chief Judge,
Kayatta and Barron, Circuit Judges.
Karen Wolfram, with whom Fairfield & Associates, P.A. was on
brief, for appellant.
Kasia S. Park, with whom Edward R. Benjamin, Jr. and Drummond
Woodsum were on brief, for appellees.
November 27, 2019
KAYATTA, Circuit Judge. Scott M. Jordan ("Senior"), his
health failing, executed a Power of Attorney (POA) authorizing his
son, Scott M. Jordan, Jr. ("Jordan"), to take control and dispose
of Senior's property in any way Senior might do were he able.
Unhappy with Jordan's subsequent decisions concerning his
property, Senior revoked the POA and complained to the Waldoboro
Police Department. Waldoboro Police Officers obtained a warrant
to search Jordan's home for Senior's property, and after finding
Senior's property there, arrested Jordan for theft. The district
attorney dismissed the criminal prosecution after Senior died.
Jordan brought this civil rights action against the Town
of Waldoboro, the Waldoboro Police Department, and several
Waldoboro Police Officers. He alleged that the affidavit
accompanying the search warrant contained intentional or reckless
omissions and misstatements of fact, that an accurate affidavit
would not have supported probable cause for the search of his home,
and that there was no probable cause for his arrest. A magistrate
judge, sitting as the district court with the consent of the
parties, granted summary judgment for the defendants, dismissing
all of Jordan's claims. Jordan timely appealed to this court.
For the following reasons, we reverse in part and affirm in part.
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I.
In this appeal from the entry of summary judgment, we
take the facts in the light most favorable to Jordan. See Staples
v. Gerry, 923 F.3d 7, 14 (1st Cir. 2019).
Jordan was employed in the corrections division of the
Cumberland County Sheriff's office. As of May 2014, Senior was
living independently at his home in Waldoboro, Maine, while Jordan
and Jordan's daughter lived together in Standish, Maine. Jordan
and Senior made plans for Senior to move in with Jordan and his
daughter. They agreed that, in anticipation of the move, Jordan
would help fix up Senior's home and sell some of Senior's property
so that Senior's home could be rented or sold.
On May 12, 2014, Senior was taken by ambulance to the
hospital, where he was admitted for progressive confusion. After
improving, Senior was discharged on May 23, 2014, but the next day
he was "[u]nresponsive" and "not able to provide any answers to
questions" and returned to the hospital. Senior was in and out of
the hospital through July of 2014.
In accordance with Senior and Junior's plan for Junior
to sell some of Senior's property, on May 15, 2014, during Senior's
initial hospitalization, Senior directed his attorney to draft an
Appointment of Agen