MARVIN SEALES v. CITY OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ET AL., THOMAS ZBERKOT - Articles

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MARVIN SEALES v. CITY OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ET AL., THOMAS ZBERKOT

Posted by: Karen Belcher on May 13, 2020

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ARGUED: Mary Massaron, PLUNKETT COONEY, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, for Appellant.

Attorneys 2: ARGUED: Stephanie L. Arndt, FIEGER, FIEGER, KENNEY & HARRINGTON, P.C., Southfield, Michigan, for Appellee.

Attorneys 3: ON BRIEF: Mary Massaron, PLUNKETT COONEY, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, for Appellant.

Attorneys 4: ON BRIEF: Stephanie L. Arndt, FIEGER, FIEGER, KENNEY & HARRINGTON, P.C., Southfield, Michigan, for Appellee.

Judge(s): MERRITT, SUHRHEINRICH, and SUTTON, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Flint

SUTTON, Circuit Judge. Police officers meant to arrest Roderick Siner, who goes by the alias Marvin Seals. They arrested Marvin Seales instead. Fifteen days later, the State realized the mistake and released Seales. Seales sued Thomas Zberkot (the police officer who arrested him), the City of Detroit (which held him for the first two days), and Wayne County (which held him in jail for about thirteen days after that). By the time of trial, only Officer Zberkot remained in the case, and the jury awarded Seales $3.5 million for wrongful detention under federal and state law. Because Officer Zberkot handled the case for fewer than three hours and because our prior decision in this case held as a matter of law that there was probable cause to arrest Seales given the similarities between him and Seals, we must reverse.

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