DOVER, Del. — A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit against Delaware court officials and constables filed by a legally blind man who was wrongfully evicted from a Wilmington apartment along with two of his daughters.
Connolly also dismissed claims that constables who evicted Murphy in 2021 pursuant to a writ from Justice of the Peace Court violated his constitutional and civil rights and those of his daughters. As officers of the court acting upon a facially valid court order, the constables are entitled to “quasi-judicial immunity” from liability, he said. Connolly also tossed claims against the JP Court system, noting that, as an arm of the state, it cannot be sued under the Civil Right Act.
“On the contrary, the events alleged to have led to and followed the Murphys’ eviction undermine plaintiffs’ claim that such a policy exists,” he noted. “The allegations in the amended complaint make clear that what happened to the Murphys was an aberration brought about by a private actor’s abuse of the law.”
According to court records, Murphy moved into the apartment in November 2020, a month before a court hearing was held in Stanford’s legal action against the previous tenant. Stanford claimed the previous tenant owed him rent and water bills from April 2020 to mid-December 2020, and he testified that he believed the apartment was still under her control. At the same time, however, Stanford filed a court action against the Murphys alleging that they had failed to pay December’s rent.
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