Kenneth Bailey v. Shawn T. Swindell

── Kenneth Bailey v. Shawn T. Swindell ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Date: June 10, 2026 Category: NEW USCA11 Case: 25-13448 Document: 27-1 Date Filed: 06/10/2026 Page: 1 of 11 NOT FOR PUBLICATION In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 25-13448 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ KENNETH BAILEY, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus SHAWN T. SWINDELL, in his individual capacity, Defendant-Appellant. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 3:15-cv-00390-MCR-HTC ____________________ Before JORDAN, LAGOA, and KIDD, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Appellant Shawn Swindell appeals the district court’s order adopting the magistrate judge’s report and recommendation and USCA11 Case: 25-13448 Document: 27-1 Date Filed: 06/10/2026 Page: 2 of 11 2 Opinion of the Court 25-10546 awarding $759,745 in attorneys’ fees and $33,000 in non-taxable costs to Appellee Kenneth Bailey. On appeal, Swindell contends the district court abused its discretion by awarding prevailing party fees to Bailey for legal work performed on the first of two trials in this case. After careful review, we affirm. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY This appeal stems from a September 11, 2014 encounter be- tween Bailey and Swindell, a deputy sheriff with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office. Swindell had traveled to Bailey’s parents’ residence, where Bailey was living at the time, to investigate a re- port of a verbal altercation earlier that day between Bailey and his estranged wife. Although Bailey readily came onto the front porch to speak with Swindell, he refused to walk to Swindell’s car for a private conversation. After further discussion, Bailey turned to reenter the house. But as Bailey stepped through the doorway, Swindell tackled him onto the living room floor and arrested him after a struggle. In July 2015, Bailey filed suit against Swindell and other de- fendants in state court. Of his eleven claims, Bailey alleged two Fourth Amendment claims against Swindell, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, for false arrest and for excessive force.1 The case was re- moved to the Northern District of Florida on September 2, 2015. On April 19, 2017, the district court granted summary judgment to Swindell on the false arrest claim but denied it on the excessive 1 The § 1983 claim for excessive force was pleaded in the alternative. USCA11 Case: 25-13448 Document: 27-1 Date Filed: 06/10/2026 Page: 3 of 11 25-10546 Opinion of the Court 3 force claim. In July 2018, that remaining claim was tried in a four- day trial and resulted in a jury verdict in favor of Swindell.2 Ac- cording to Bailey’s billing records, his attorneys spent 257.4 hours preparing for and litigating this trial. The district court entered a final judgment for Swindell and against Bailey on July 27, 2018. On August 21, 2018, Bailey commenced an appeal, not on the jury verdict on the excessive force claim, but on the district court’s grant of summary judgment on the false arrest clai