Kightlinger & Gray, LLP’s civil rights attorneys have years of practice and practical experience defending civil rights claims and state law torts brought against governmental entities and their employees. From defending police officers accused of excessive force or other constitutional violations, to correctional facilities alleged to denied an inmate their constitutional rights, to a municipality alleged to have committed an unlawful taking, denied an employee due process or committed a violation of the state or federal Fair Housing Act, our civil rights attorneys are experienced in the defense of Section 1983 litigation against counties, towns and cities and their employees. Our civil rights team is efficient and effective when handling civil rights cases. We are cognizant of the exposure to prevailing party’s attorney’s fees. We recognize the ability to recover attorney’s fees can create an incentive for early settlement evaluation to minimize defense cost and exposure. Cognizant of this risk, our civil rights attorneys offer early evaluation of cases and discuss the potential to resolve matters early. If the matter is not one that can be resolved early, our team will evaluate the necessity of a Rule 68 offer of judgment with dispositive motion practice and then trial.
Also, the civil rights team at Kightlinger & Gray is also experienced in defending state law claims against governmental entities and their employees. We frequently litigate issues pertaining to the Indiana Tort Claims Act which limits claims against political subdivisions and their employees and therefore understand how critical early evaluation of those immunity issues is. We also frequently litigate state law tort claims against Kentucky governmental entities and the application of immunity under Commonwealth law. Regardless of the nature of the state law claim against you, Kightlinger & Gray’s team will be able to handle it.
Our team also routinely handles matters before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Indiana Civil Rights Commission, Kentucky Commission on Human Rights and the United States Department of Justice for our governmental clients. We handle matters throughout Indiana and Kentucky. We also represent school districts and their employees in matters related to civil rights defense, state tort law defense and employee issues, among other issues. At Kightlinger & Gray, we are confident our civil rights team can handle any issue raised against your governmental entity.
Types of Cases we handle in this practice area include:
- Fourth Amendment – Illegal Search and Seizure
- Fifth Amendment – Takings Claims
- Eighth Amendment – the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment
- Fourteenth Amendment – Procedural and Substantive Due Process
- Housing Discrimination
