Appellate court rejects officers' appeal of excesive force claim

When an arrestee alleged that the arresting officers used excessive force in making his arrest, the officers provided a completely dissimilar account of the arrest and sought summary disposition.  The officers argued that since there were some inconsistencies in the arrestee's account of the incident, his entire claim lacked credibility and should be dismissed.  The higher court pointed out that the officers were essentially asking the Court to interpret the facts AGAINST the non-moving party, which is the opposite of the legal standard to be applied when summary disposition is sought.  While there is a very limited exception allowing a court to dismiss a party's claim if it is so entirely devoid of credibilty as to be a "visible fiction," that exception does not apply in a situation such as that presented in the instant case.  The case is Younes v. Pellerito.