Court recognizes illegal home search; overturns summary disposition of civil rights claim

In Hayward v. Cleveland Clinic Found., the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated a family's Constitutional violation claim arising out of a forced entry and search of their home.  Police had entered the home searching for the parents' son who had allegedly committed a traffic violation.  The Court recognized that the police acted without a warrant and that no exigent circumstances justified them in failing to demonstrate probable cause and securing a warrant. 

The Court recognized that the parents had presented a valid 1983 claim for violation of the parents' right to be free from illegal search.  Particularly at an early stage of the proceedings, the Court must accept the non-moving party's allegations as true and summary disposition based on  contested claims of "hot pursuit" cannot be the basis for a summary judgment.