USCA11 Case: 19-13877 Date Filed: 05/06/2021 Page: 1 of 32 [PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 19-13877 ________________________ D.C. Docket No. 3:17-cv-01911-LCB DOUGLAS FUQUA, Plaintiff – Appellant, versus BRETT TURNER, Federal ATF Agent, ADAM NESMITH, Federal ATF Agent, JIMMY COLLIER, Alabama State Fire Marshall, Defendants – Appellees, FRANK WILLIAMSON, Colbert County Sheriff, Defendant. ________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ________________________ (May 6, 2021) USCA11 Case: 19-13877 Date Filed: 05/06/2021 Page: 2 of 32 Before WILLIAM PRYOR, Chief Judge, GRANT and TJOFLAT, Circuit Judges. TJOFLAT, Circuit Judge: Douglas Fuqua sued Alabama Deputy Fire Marshal Jimmy Collier and several law enforcement officers—Colbert County Sheriff Frank Williamson, Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) Agents Adam Nesmith and Brett Turner, and other unnamed officers—in connection with a fire inspection Collier performed on Fuqua’s nightclub. The District Court dismissed the claims against the law enforcement officers and entered summary judgment for Collier on qualified immunity grounds. Fuqua appeals the judgment dismissing the claims against the ATF Agents and the entry of summary judgment for Collier. We affirm. I. A. The facts construed in the light most favorable to Fuqua are as follows. Fuqua owned an unlicensed nightclub in Colbert County, Alabama known as “The Pig.” The Pig had a large assembly area with a bar and an entertainment system, a game room with a gambling table, a kitchen, and a private bedroom that served as Fuqua’s residence. Sheriff Williamson estimated that he received a complaint about The Pig “at least once a week,” usually about overcrowding, loud 2 USCA11 Case: 19-13877 Date Filed: 05/06/2021 Page: 3 of 32 music and noise, cars blocking the road, illegal alcohol and drug sales, fights, and gun shots. On September 16, 2015, Sheriff Williamson asked Deputy Collier to conduct an inspection of The Pig for reported problems of “overcrowding.” The two visited The Pig that same day and brought along additional officers from the Sheriff’s Department due to “safety concerns” Collier had about The Pig. Fuqua was elsewhere when they arrived, but came to The Pig shortly after when two men 1 inside called him on the phone. Collier told Fuqua he was with the Alabama Fire Marshal’s Office and that he “need[ed] to do a fire inspection.” He also asked Fuqua to accompany him throughout The Pig as he conducted the inspection. Fuqua did not expressly consent nor expressly refuse, but allowed Collier to conduct the inspection while Fuqua accompanied him. According to Collier, Fuqua was “agreeable” and “polite.” Collier inspected the large assembly area where he noted several electrical code and fire code violations, then he proceeded to the kitchen where he noticed a shotgun propped up next to a deep fryer, then the game room where he documented still more violations. Finally, Collier came to a locked door which Fuqua told him led to Fuqua’s bedroom. Collier either asked Fuqua to unlock it or told Fuqua “I …
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