Shannon Mullen v. Town of Sunset Beach

── Shannon Mullen v. Town of Sunset Beach ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Date: May 07, 2026 Category: General USCA4 Appeal: 25-1526 Doc: 49 Filed: 05/07/2026 Pg: 1 of 16 PUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 25-1526 SHANNON MULLEN, Plaintiff – Appellant, v. TOWN OF SUNSET BEACH, NORTH CAROLINA, Defendant – Appellee, and ISAAC KRAMMES, in his individual capacity, Defendant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Wilmington. Louise W. Flanagan, District Judge. (7:23-cv-00117-FL-KS) Argued: January 28, 2026 Decided: May 7, 2026 Before NIEMEYER and WYNN, Circuit Judges, and KEENAN, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirmed by published opinion. Judge Keenan wrote the opinion, in which Judge Niemeyer and Judge Wynn concur. USCA4 Appeal: 25-1526 Doc: 49 Filed: 05/07/2026 Pg: 2 of 16 ARGUED: Raymond Curtis Tarlton, TARLTON LAW PLLC, Durham, North Carolina, for Appellant. Norwood Pitt Blanchard, III, CROSSLEY MCINTOSH COLLIER HANLEY & EDES PLLC, Wilmington, North Carolina, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Catherine E. Edwards, EDWARDS BEIGHTOL, LLC, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellant. G. Grady Richardson, Jr., Susan Groves Renton, LAW OFFICES OF G. GRADY RICHARDSON, JR., P.C., Wilmington, North Carolina, for Appellee. 2 USCA4 Appeal: 25-1526 Doc: 49 Filed: 05/07/2026 Pg: 3 of 16 BARBARA MILANO KEENAN, Senior Circuit Judge: Shannon Mullen filed this action against the Town of Sunset Beach, North Carolina (Sunset Beach), asserting claims of municipal liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of her Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights based on allegations of sexual assault committed by a Sunset Beach police officer. The district court awarded summary judgment to Sunset Beach concluding that, as a matter of law, Mullen’s injuries did not result from the Sunset Beach police department’s failure to adopt policies prohibiting the officer’s conduct or from the department’s failure to train and supervise its officers. The district court also awarded summary judgment to Sunset Beach on Mullen’s claims for negligent hiring, supervision, and retention under North Carolina law. Based on our review, we agree with the district court’s judgment. After construing the evidence in Mullen’s favor, we hold that the district court correctly concluded that Mullen failed to show that Sunset Beach was deliberately indifferent to her constitutional rights and, so, failed to establish a claim for municipal liability under Section 1983. On the record before us, no jury could reasonably conclude that Sunset Beach knew that there was a substantial risk that one of its officers would commit a sexual assault. Therefore, any omission in the department’s policies or its training and supervision could not have caused Mullen’s asserted injuries. Additionally, we agree with the district court that Mullen’s state law claims fail for lack of supporting evidence. Accordingly, we affirm the court’s award of summary judgment to Sunset Beach. 3 USCA4 Appeal: 25-1526 Doc: 49 Filed: 05/07/2026 Pg: 4 of 16 I. Kenneth Klamar (Chief Klamar) began serving as Chief of Police for the Sunset Beach police department (the department) in 2017. In 2019, Isaac Krammes applied for a