Welton v. Anderson

Welton buys, sells, and rents residential real estate and, from 1994-2001, maintained a collateralized line of credit with the NBI. In 2002, NBI declined to extend that line of credit and gave him 90 days to pay off the account. Initially, Welton was unable to make payments, but by 2006 he reached an agreement with NBI. Under that agreement, Welton sent monthly checks to NBI. Those checks were never cashed. In 2007, realizing the checks remained uncashed, Welton sent a certified check in the amount of the uncashed checks. Keely, NBI’s Vice President, contacted Indianapolis Police Officer Anderson to initiate a criminal investigation. After meeting with Keely, Anderson submitted an affidavit in support of probable cause charging Welton with theft and fraud on a financial institution. Welton was arrested, processed, and released. After a trial in 2011, Welton was found not guilty. In 2013, Welton filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, claiming that several of Anderson’s statements were knowingly false and that Keely provided many of the statements, resulting in a malicious prosecution and denial of his rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal, holding that Welton’s Fourth Amendment malicious prosecution claim was foreclosed by circuit precedent; that there is no constitutional right not to be prosecuted without probable cause and that bare allegations of “fundamental unfairness” were insufficient to implicate the Due Process Clause.View "Welton v. Anderson" on Justia Law