In February 2019, MBLB Members Mark E. Hanna and Trevor M. Cutaiar secured a summary dismissal of a plaintiff’s § 1983 claims against two Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s deputies. The plaintiff alleged excessive force in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights and retaliation in violation of First Amendment rights in connection with events surrounding his arrest and detention. Senior U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle granted the deputies a summary dismissal after Hanna and Cutaiar successfully argued that the deputies were entitled to qualified immunity. See Verdin v. Cook, CV 18-548, 2019 WL 917730, at *1 (E.D. La. Feb. 25, 2019), reconsideration denied, CV 18-548, 2019 WL 2717024 (E.D. La. June 28, 2019).

The plaintiff appealed the decision to the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Cutaiar wrote the appellate brief and Hanna argued the case before the Fifth Circuit on March 4, 2020. On March 9, 2020, the Fifth Circuit, in a per curiam decision, affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment.