Full opinion text
JOHN K. BUSH, Circuit Judge. Appellants Ricky Jackson, Wiley Bridgeman, and Kwame Ajamu served a long time in prison for a crime they did not commit. For Jackson, it was thirty-nine years; for Bridgeman, thirty-seven years; for Ajamu, twenty-five years. They each spent close to two and a half of those years on death row. These men cannot get back any of the time they lost or erase the things they experienced. The best they can hope for is a remedy of damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Ohio law. This appeal concerns whether their complaints state sufficient facts for certain claims not to be dismissed and whether the men have presented enough evidence for other claims to overcome summary judgment. In 1975, Jackson, Ajamu, and Bridgeman were convicted of murder. Their convictions were based largely on the purportedly eyewitness testimony of Edward Vernon, who then was thirteen years old. In 2014, nearly forty years later, Vernon recanted, disclosing that police officers had coerced him into testifying falsely. Vernon's recantation led to the overturning of appellants' convictions. The exonerated men filed suit in the Northern District of Ohio, alleging § 1983 claims based on alleged violations of their constitutional rights by the officers and the City of Cleveland ("Cleveland"), along with state-law claims for indemnification against Cleveland. This appeal requires us to untangle a knot of legal issues surrounding the district court's grant of appellees' motions for judgment on the pleadings and for summary judgment and its denial of appellants' motions to amend their complaints. We AFFIRM the district court's grant of summary judgment as to the § 1983 claims based on conspiracy, but we REVERSE and REMAND the district court's (1) judgment on the pleadings as to the indemnification claims; (2) denial of appellants' motions to amend their complaints to substitute the administrator of the estates of the deceased officers as a party in their place; (3) summary judgment as to § 1983 claims arising from violations of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), fabrication of evidence, and malicious prosecution; and (4) summary judgment as to claims against Cleveland based on Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). I. BACKGROUND A. Factual Background As befits this stage of the litigation, we recite the relevant facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, who are appellants here. See Ciminillo v. Streicher, 434 F.3d 461, 464 (6th Cir. 2006). In 1973, the Cleveland Division of Police promulgated General Police Order 19-73 ("GPO 19-73"), entitled "PRETRIAL DISCOVERY RIGHTS OF DEFENSE ATTORNEYS AND COURTS IN CRIMINAL CASES." R. 101-7, PageID 1630. GPO 19-73 provided that "defense counsel may be entitled" to several types of evidence, including "[e]vidence favorable to the defendant." Id. But it also included a section entitled "EXCEPTION TO THE FOREGOING," which contained the following provision: "The foregoing does not authorize the discovery or the inspection of... statements made by witnesses or prospective witnesses to state agents." Id. The Manual of Rules used by the Division of Police (the "Manual") did not otherwise instruct officers in handling potentially exculpatory information and did not mention Brady, as the Manual's last update had occurred before Brady was decided. As described later in this opinion, some testimony suggests that Cleveland police officers may have received no formal training in their Brady obligations, and may not have known that Brady imposed any obligations upon them. Deposition testimony also reveals that, regardless of how officers understood their obligations under Brady, violations of those obligations were common. Although it was generally understood that anything in a detective's file that was pertinent to a case "should go to the prosecutor," it was up to individual officers whether they followed this policy, and they did not always do so. R. 103, PageID 3794. The general practice at the time, followed in "every case," was for detectives to provide prosecutors with only "arrest reports, witness forms and written statements taken by the Statement Unit," and "photos," while omitting to turn over other evidence, including potentially exculpatory evidence, unless it was specifically requested by the prosecutor. Id. at PageID 3672-75. Deposition testimony describes this as a "practice," which "happened more than it should," of "detectives not [turning] over all the evidence to prosecutors." R. 104, PageID 3970. Some detectives took a more proactive role by "manipulating the evidence" before giving it to prosecutors. Id. at PageID 3967. This was done, one officer testified, "because winning the case was what it was all about. It wasn't about what was fair, it wasn't about what was honest, it was about winning." Id. at PageID 3967-68. Against this backdrop of evidence of incomplete Brady knowledge and frequent Brady violations, the record tells the following story. On May 19, 1975, Edward Vernon, then twelve years old, was riding the bus home from school when he heard two gunshots. Being twelve, Vernon exited the bus at the earliest opportunity and ran to where he believed the shots originated. Coming upon the scene, Vernon found a gunshot victim, but nothing to indicate who was responsible for the shooting. After police had secured the area, Vernon left and met up with a friend who told Vernon that the perpetrators were Ricky Jackson, Kwame Ajamu (then known as Ronnie Bridgeman), and Wiley Bridgeman (collectively, "Plaintiffs"). Vernon, a civic-minded youth, returned to the crime scene and told an officer that he knew who had committed the shooting, whereupon the officer recorded Vernon's contact information. The next day, Detectives Eugene Terpay and James Farmer went to Vernon's house and requested that he go down to the station to give a statement. As Vernon later recounted, when his mother asked to accompany him to the station, the officers "told her, no, he'll be all right, he'll be all right." R. 99-1, PageID 1183. At the station, Vernon told Terpay and Farmer that Plaintiffs had committed the shooting and gave their descriptions, which he was able to do because he knew them from the neighborhood. The following day, Terpay and Farmer again went to Vernon's house and asked him for Plaintiffs' addresses. Detective John Staimpel, along with his partner Frank Stoiker, was working the case with Terpay and Farmer. On May 25, Staimpel and another detective, whose name Vernon cannot remember, picked Vernon up at his house to bring him to a line-up. Vernon's mother again asked to accompany him, and Vernon recalls the detectives saying, "[N]o, he'll be all right. We'll bring him back after the lineup." Id. at PageID 1189. The detectives brought Vernon to the line-up and, as he recollects, asked him if "I see anybody that I recognize up there," which Vernon interpreted as asking whether he had seen anyone in the line-up commit the shooting. Id. at PageID 1190. Vernon replied that he had not. Ricky Jackson and Wiley Bridgeman, who had been arrested earlier in the day, were in that line-up. From Vernon's point of view, he had been forthright up until this point: he had honestly told the detectives that (he thought) he knew who had committed the crime, but he had never said that he had actually witnessed the crime, and so when he was asked at the line-up whether he saw anyone whom he had seen commit the crime, he said no. The two detectives then brought Vernon into a room, whereupon Staimpel accused Vernon of lying, threatened to send his parents to jail for perjury, banged on a table, and used racial pejoratives to describe Vernon. (Vernon and Plaintiffs are African-Americans.) After Vernon began to cry, Staimpel said, "[W]e'll fix it," and the detectives left the room. Id. at PageID 1191. When the detectives returned, they gave Vernon a piece of paper, explained to him that it said he had failed to identify Jackson and Bridgeman in the line-up because he had been scared of their retaliating, and told Vernon to sign it, which Vernon did. Stoiker signed a police report dated May 25, 1975, which described Stoiker and Staimpel's picking Vernon up and taking him to the line-up, Vernon's failing to identify Jackson and Bridgeman, and Vernon's explaining this failure as due to his being "very afraid" of Plaintiffs. R. 114-19, PageID 5113. The day after the line-up, Terpay and Farmer again spoke with Vernon. The detectives brought Vernon to the station, where he told them that he had not witnessed the crime and that he had never said that he had witnessed the crime. Terpay was wroth, yelling at Vernon and accusing him of having lied when he had gone to the line-up and said "that this is not them." R. 99-1, PageID 1194. Terpay threatened to send Vernon's parents to jail for perjury, and Vernon agreed to testify that he had seen Plaintiffs commit the crime. A police report dated May 28, 1975 indicates that Stoiker and Staimpel "[c]onsulted with [the prosecutor] who issued papers charging [Plaintiffs] with [homicide]." R. 114-28, PageID 5321. Prior to Jackson's trial, Terpay coached Vernon regarding his testimony and afterwards reviewed the trial transcript with Vernon to ensure that his testimony in the trials of Bridgeman and Ajamu was consistent. Plaintiffs were convicted at separate trials. They were sentenced to death, but their sentences were later reduced to life imprisonment. For nearly forty years, Vernon struggled with the knowledge that his testimony had put Plaintiffs in prison. He later testified, "Through out [sic] the years this case has ... be[en] heavy on my emotion, my everything." R. 99-2, PageID 1234. "I wanted to come forward throughout the years, but I was scared, scared to come forward and tell the truth ... with this battle in my mind, battle in my spirit, battle in my heart.... I'm battling with this ... pretty much all my life...." R. 99-1, PageID 1203. The years did not lessen the turmoil in Vernon's mind. One day in 2013, Vernon finally disburdened his conscience. He was lying in a hospital bed, stricken with hypertension and kidney failure, when his pastor visited and told him that Innocence Project attorneys were seeking to exonerate Plaintiffs. Vernon testified: So, after he stated that and I said, okay, well, you know what-I got up out of the bed and I just broke down and I cried on his shoulder and I said, well, I'm ready to tell the truth, I'm ready to come forward and tell the truth that Ricky Jackson did not commit the crime that he went to prison for. Id. at PageID 1203-04. Vernon formally recanted his testimony against each of the three Plaintiffs in November 2014. After the recantation, the prosecutor for Cuyahoga County, where Cleveland is located, admitted that there was "no evidence tying any of the three convicted defendants to the crimes" and that "[t]hey have been victims of a terrible injustice." R. 116, PageID 6302-03. B. Procedural History On May 19, 2015, Jackson filed suit against Terpay, Farmer, Stoiker, Staimpel, and Cleveland (collectively, "Defendants"), as well as others, alleging a multitude of state and federal claims. Bridgeman and Ajamu filed suit against the same defendants on July 2, 2015. On October 1, 2015, Cleveland moved for judgment on the pleadings, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c), as to the state-law claims in both complaints. The district court granted both motions. In November 2015, Jackson, and Bridgeman and Ajamu in their parallel lawsuit, all moved for leave to file amended complaints substituting the administrator of the estates of the deceased Defendants (the "administrator") for those Defendants. (J. Reid Yoder is the administrator of all of the estates.) The district court denied those motions as futile, reasoning that a § 1983 claim brought in Ohio does not survive a defendant's death. On January 27, 2017, Stoiker (the only living individual Defendant) moved for summary judgment in both lawsuits, arguing that he was not involved in any unconstitutional activity and that, even if he was, he is protected by qualified immunity. On the same date, Cleveland also moved for summary judgment as to the Monell claims, arguing that Plaintiffs had failed to provide evidence sufficient for a jury to find Cleveland liable. The district court granted both motions for summary judgment. II. DISCUSSION We review de novo a judgment on the pleadings under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c), applying the same standard we apply to review the grant of a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6). Warrior Sports, Inc. v. Nat'l Collegiate Athletic Ass'n, 623 F.3d 281, 284 (6th Cir. 2010). We therefore "construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and accept all allegations as true" to determine whether the "complaint ... contain[s] sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Doe v. Miami Univ., 882 F.3d 579, 588 (6th Cir. 2018) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(2) provides that leave to amend "should [be] freely give[n] ... when justice so requires." "We review a district court's order denying a Rule 15(a) motion to amend for an abuse of discretion." Rose v. Hartford Underwriters Ins. Co., 203 F.3d 417, 420 (6th Cir. 2000) (citing Gen. Elec. Co. v. Sargent & Lundy, 916 F.2d 1119, 1130 (6th Cir. 1990)). "A district court abuses its discretion when it relies on clearly erroneous findings of fact, uses an erroneous legal standard, or improperly applies the law." United States v. Arny, 831 F.3d 725, 730 (6th Cir. 2016) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). "We review a district court's grant of summary judgment de novo." Adair v. Charter Cty. of Wayne, 452 F.3d 482, 486 (6th Cir. 2006) (quoting Allen v. Mich. Dep't of Corr., 165 F.3d 405, 409 (6th Cir. 1999)). Summary judgment is appropriate when "no genuine dispute as to any material fact" exists and the moving party "is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). "A genuine dispute of material fact exists `if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.'" Peffer v. Stephens, 880 F.3d 256, 262 (6th Cir. 2018) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). At the summary judgment stage, "the evidence is construed and all reasonable inferences are drawn in favor of the nonmoving party." Burgess v. Fischer, 735 F.3d 462, 471 (6th Cir. 2013) (citing Hawkins v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 517 F.3d 321, 332 (6th Cir. 2008)). Numerous decisions by the district court are now on appeal: (1) the district court's dismissal, with prejudice, of Plaintiffs' claims against Cleveland for indemnification under state law; (2) the district court's denial of Plaintiffs' motions to substitute the administrator of the deceased Defendants' estates as a defendant; (3) the district court's grant of summary judgment to Stoiker on the § 1983 claims; and (4) the district court's grant of summary judgment to Cleveland on the Monell claims. We address each issue in turn. A. Indemnification Claims The claims against Cleveland under Ohio Revised Code § 2744.07(B) seek indemnification for damages based on the alleged torts of the individual Defendants, who are former employees of Cleveland. Section 2744.07(B) provides that "a political subdivision shall indemnify and hold harmless an employee" found liable for that employee's acts, so long as the employee was "acting in good faith" and "within the scope of employment." The district court granted Cleveland's motions for judgment on the pleadings, reasoning that § 2744.07(B) provides only a tortfeasor employee, and not a tort victim, with the right to bring a claim of indemnification against the tortfeasor's employer. Plaintiffs argue that the district court erred in dismissing their indemnification claims with prejudice because the claims were not yet ripe and unripe claims, if they are to be dismissed, should only be dismissed without prejudice. Generally, a claim may not be adjudicated on its merits unless it is ripe. See Nat'l Rifle Ass'n of Am. v. Magaw, 132 F.3d 272, 284 (6th Cir. 1997). A claim is unripe when it "is anchored in future events that may not occur as anticipated, or at all." Id. (citing Pac. Gas & Elec. Co. v. State Energy Res. Conservation & Dev. Comm'n, 461 U.S. 190, 200-01, 103 S.Ct. 1713, 75 L.Ed.2d 752 (1983); Dames & Moore v. Regan, 453 U.S. 654, 689, 101 S.Ct. 2972, 69 L.Ed.2d 918 (1981)). This prohibition comes both from the case or controversy requirement of Article III and from prudential considerations. See Brown v. Ferro Corp., 763 F.2d 798, 801 (6th Cir. 1985) (noting that a ripeness analysis includes a discretionary determination beyond the Article III standing considerations). The ripeness doctrine exists "to prevent the courts, through premature adjudication, from entangling themselves in abstract disagreements." Thomas v. Union Carbide Agric. Prods. Co., 473 U.S. 568, 580, 105 S.Ct. 3325, 87 L.Ed.2d 409 (1985) (quoting Abbott Labs. v. Gardner, 387 U.S. 136, 148, 87 S.Ct. 1507, 18 L.Ed.2d 681 (1967)). Application of this doctrine "requires that the court exercise its discretion to determine if judicial resolution would be desirable under all of the circumstances." Brown, 763 F.2d at 801. Of primary importance is "whether the issues tendered are appropriate for judicial resolution," and, if so, the degree of "hardship to the parties if judicial relief is denied" before the claim is allowed to ripen further. Young v. Klutznick, 652 F.2d 617, 625 (6th Cir. 1981) (quoting Toilet Goods Ass'n v. Gardner, 387 U.S. 158, 162, 87 S.Ct. 1520, 18 L.Ed.2d 697 (1967)). Indemnification claims are frequently brought while unripe, depending as they often do on the favorable adjudication of underlying tort claims. Because of this, as a general matter, a claim for indemnification for damages that may be awarded on an underlying tort claim should not be adjudicated on the merits until the underlying claim is adjudicated. See, e.g., Safety Nat'l Cas. Corp. v. Am. Special Risk Ins. Co., 99 F. App'x 41, 43 (6th Cir. 2004) (finding unripe a claim of indemnification for fraudulent conveyance because, among other reasons, the underlying claim for fraudulent conveyance had not yet been adjudicated); see also Armstrong v. Ala. Power Co., 667 F.2d 1385, 1388-89 (11th Cir. 1982) (affirming dismissal of indemnity suits as premature prior to entry of judgment in underlying lawsuit); A/S J. Ludwig Mowinckles Rederi v. Tidewater Constr. Co., 559 F.2d 928, 932 (4th Cir. 1977) (holding indemnification issue not ripe prior to adjudication of underlying claims). Because the ripeness doctrine is discretionary, courts sometimes apply an exception for indemnification claims that have no possibility of success, regardless of the merits of the underlying claims. See, e.g., Cincinnati Ins. Co. v. Grand Pointe, LLC, No. 1:05-CV-161, 2006 WL 1806014, at *9 (E.D. Tenn. June 29, 2006) (collecting cases in support of the proposition that "a court may grant summary judgment on the issue of indemnification if it can determine the allegations in the complaint could under no circumstances lead to a result which would trigger the duty to indemnify" (citations and internal quotation marks omitted)). The Sixth Circuit has not analyzed the propriety of this exception, and we need not do so now because, even if it is permissible for district courts to adjudicate indemnification claims with no possibility of success prior to the adjudication of underlying tort claims, this is not such a case. If Plaintiffs' indemnification claims have no possibility of success, that would be because Ohio law provides that only the tortfeasor employees, and not the parties injured by them, may bring claims under Ohio Revised Code § 2744.07(B). The district court did an admirable job analyzing Ohio court cases before holding that Ohio law does so provide. See Jackson v. City of Cleveland, No. 1:15CV989, 2016 WL 3952117, at *2 (N.D. Ohio July 20, 2016). But the only cases available to the district court were from the Ohio courts of appeal, as the Ohio Supreme Court had yet to opine on the issue. The judgments of Ohio appellate courts not being binding on the Ohio Supreme Court, there remains a possibility that Plaintiffs' indemnification claims could succeed: Plaintiffs would need to win their underlying tort action and, while that action was pending, the Ohio Supreme Court would need to adopt their interpretation of Ohio Revised Code § 2744.07(B). Although the latter eventuality may seem remote, it is far from impossible and, as it happens, the Ohio Supreme Court has accepted an appeal addressing this very issue. See Ayers v. Cleveland, 153 Ohio St.3d 1467, 106 N.E.3d 65 (2018) (Table). Because it is not impossible for Plaintiffs to prevail on their indemnification claims, those claims are not ripe for adjudication. As discussed above, in evaluating whether a claim is ripe, courts should determine (1) whether a matter is "appropriate for judicial resolution" and (2) whether the parties would undergo hardship "if judicial relief is denied" on their claim before it ripens further. Young, 652 F.2d at 625. Neither factor supports finding the indemnification claims are ripe here. First, interpreting Ohio Revised Code § 2744.07(B) is best avoided unless necessary. Federal courts generally avoid interpreting unsettled state law because state "courts are in the better position to apply and interpret" their own jurisdiction's law. Travelers Indem. Co. v. Bowling Green Prof'l Assocs., PLC, 495 F.3d 266, 272 (6th Cir. 2007). As the Supreme Court said in Railroad Commission of Texas v. Pullman Co., 312 U.S. 496, 61 S.Ct. 643, 85 S.Ct. 971 (1941) and repeated in Louisiana Power & Light Co. v. City of Thibodaux, 360 U.S. 25, 79 S.Ct. 1070, 3 L.Ed.2d 1058 (1959): Had we or they (the lower court judges) no choice in the matter but to decide what is the law of the state, we should hesitate long before rejecting their forecast of [state] law. But no matter how seasoned the judgment of the district court may be, it cannot escape being a forecast rather than a determination. Thibodaux, 360 U.S. at 27, 79 S.Ct. 1070 (quoting Pullman, 312 U.S. at 499, 61 S.Ct. 643). Where, as here, adjudicating an issue of state law is unnecessary because the litigation is in its early stages, and state law is unsettled, the inappropriateness of deciding the issue in federal court weighs in favor of finding the claim unripe for adjudication in federal court. Second, that no harm will befall Cleveland if "judicial relief is denied" for the time being also weighs in favor of finding the indemnification claims unripe. Young, 652 F.2d at 625. The district court's grant of Cleveland's motions for judgment on the pleadings as to Plaintiffs' indemnification claims did not release Cleveland from the litigation, as Plaintiffs still have Monell claims outstanding against Cleveland. The only effect that denying Cleveland's motions, or holding them in abeyance, would have on the litigation would be to delay adjudication of the indemnification claims until a later stage in the litigation. At that point, the district court may be able to avoid interpreting Ohio Revised Code § 2744.07(B), because the Ohio Supreme Court may already have done so. The district court should interpret Ohio law only if the Ohio Supreme Court has not done so by the time the underlying § 1983 claims have been properly adjudicated on remand, and if those claims are found to have merit. The ripeness doctrine therefore requires that the indemnification claims not be adjudicated on the merits at the pleading stage, given the unsettled condition of state law. Because "a dismissal with prejudice operates as a rejection of the plaintiff's claims on the merits," the district court erred in dismissing those claims with prejudice. Mich. Surgery Inv., LLC v. Arman, 627 F.3d 572, 575 (6th Cir. 2010) (quoting United States v. One Tract of Real Prop., 95 F.3d 422, 425-26 (6th Cir. 1996)). B. Plaintiffs' Motions to Substitute Plaintiffs sought leave to amend their complaints to substitute the administrator of the estates of Defendants Terpay, Staimpel, and Farmer as a party in place of those Defendants, as they are now deceased. District courts "should freely give leave" to amend a complaint pre-trial "when justice so requires." Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). One permissible reason to deny leave is the "futility of [the] amendment[s]." Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182, 83 S.Ct. 227, 9 L.Ed.2d 222 (1962). The district court denied leave to amend, reasoning that § 1983 claims brought in Ohio do not survive the deaths of the tortfeasors, and, therefore, the requested amendments would be futile. On appeal, Defendants argue that the district court was correct, but also suggest an alternative ground for affirming-that Plaintiffs did not timely present their claims to the estates of the deceased Defendants. We address the survivability and timeliness arguments in turn. 1. Survival of § 1983 Claims Defendants first argue that the denial of Plaintiffs' motions to amend should be affirmed because § 1983 claims do not survive the death of the tortfeasor in Ohio. 42 U.S.C. § 1988(a) provides that in actions to protect civil rights, where "the laws of the United States ... are deficient in the provisions necessary to furnish suitable remedies and punish offenses against law, the common law, as modified and changed by the constitution and statutes of the State wherein the court having jurisdiction of such civil or criminal cause is held," shall be applied, "so far as the same is not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States." The Supreme Court has interpreted this statutory language as requiring a three-step process for determining which jurisdiction's procedural law, such as provisions concerning statutes of limitations or the abatement of claims, is used in § 1983 suits. See Robertson v. Wegmann, 436 U.S. 584, 588-89, 98 S.Ct. 1991, 56 L.Ed.2d 554 (1978). First, a district court must determine whether there is an applicable federal law that covers the issue, and, if there is, apply it. See id. Second, if there is no relevant federal law, then the district court must determine what the appropriate rule is in the state where the district court sits. See id. at 588, 98 S.Ct. 1991. Third, the district court must determine whether the law of that state is "inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the United States;" if there is no inconsistency, the state law is used, but if inconsistency exists, a federal common-law rule is used. Id. at 588-89, 98 S.Ct. 1991. Because "[n]o federal statute or rule says anything about the survivorship of § 1983 claims," Crabbs v. Scott, 880 F.3d 292, 294 (6th Cir. 2018), we turn to the relevant Ohio law, which provides: In addition to the causes of action which survive at common law, causes of action for mesne profits, or injuries to the person or property, or for deceit or fraud, also shall survive; and such actions may be brought notwithstanding the death of the person entitled or liable thereto. Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2305.21 (West 2019). Plaintiffs argued before the district court that their claims fall within "injuries to the person," while Defendants argued that "injuries to the person" encompasses only physical injuries, and not the violation of rights alleged in this case. The district court agreed with Defendants, citing a district court case holding that under Ohio law, § 1983 claims similar to those brought by Plaintiffs did not involve "injuries to the person." Tinney v. Richland Cty., No. 1:14 CV 703, 2014 WL 6896256, at *2 (N.D. Ohio Dec. 8, 2014), aff'd, 678 F. App'x 362 (6th Cir. 2017). After the district court's judgment, however, Tinney was superseded by a published opinion of this circuit holding precisely the opposite. Crabbs expressly rejected the holding in Tinney, deciding instead that § 1983 claims are subject to the procedural rules of the state where they are brought that relate to personal injury actions, regardless of the specific type of injury alleged in the suit. See 880 F.3d at 296. When hearing a direct appeal, this court evaluates the merits of the case based on current law, not the law existing when the district court entered its judgment. See Chaz Concrete Co., LLC v. Codell, 545 F.3d 407, 409 (6th Cir. 2008). After Crabbs, all claims brought under § 1983 are to be treated as actions sounding in personal injury tort. Because Ohio Revised Code § 2305.21 provides that actions for personal injury survive the deaths of the tortfeasors, and that statute does not conflict with the laws of the United States, see Crabbs, 880 F.3d at 295, § 1983 actions brought in Ohio survive the deaths of the tortfeasors. Therefore, through no fault of its own, the district court was in error as to its grounds for finding that the proposed amendments, substituting the administrator of the estates of Terpay, Staimpel, and Farmer for those Defendants, would be futile. 2. Timeliness of Plaintiffs' Claims Against the Estates Defendants argue that we should affirm the district court on alternative grounds- namely, that the claims against the estates were not timely brought. Proper adjudication of this issue requires analysis of both Ohio and federal law. Defendants argue that Ohio estate law regarding the timely filing of claims defines which entities have the capacity to be sued, while Plaintiffs argue that those provisions are merely statutes of limitations. See Ohio Rev. Code §§ 2117.06, 2117.37. The points of contention do not end there, however. If Plaintiffs are correct that Ohio estate law merely establishes statutes of limitations, the parties also dispute whether those statutes or the general Ohio statute of limitations applies to § 1983 suits. On the other hand, if Defendants are correct that Ohio estate law defines which entities have the capacity to be sued, the parties also disagree over whether federal courts hearing § 1983 actions are bound by that definition, as well as whether an exception to that definition, provided in Ohio Revised Code § 2117.06(G), applies to the facts of this case. The district court did not address these issues, instead relying on its holding that the § 1983 claims did not survive the deaths of the deceased Defendants. "It is the general rule that a federal appellate court does not consider an issue not passed upon below." Lindsay v. Yates, 498 F.3d 434, 441 (6th Cir. 2007) (quoting United States v. Henry, 429 F.3d 603, 618 (6th Cir. 2005)). This directive is not jurisdictional, however, and "a departure from this general rule may be warranted when `the issue is presented with sufficient clarity and completeness and its resolution will materially advance the progress of this already protracted litigation.'" Katt v. Dykhouse, 983 F.2d 690, 695 (6th Cir. 1992) (quoting Pinney Dock & Transp. Co. v. Penn Cent. Corp., 838 F.2d 1445, 1461 (6th Cir. 1988)). We will follow the general rule and decline to address these issues in the first instance. These are thorny issues of first impression in this circuit, and because the district court has not yet addressed them, we do not believe they are "presented with sufficient clarity and completeness" for our review. Id. 3. Conclusion The district court erred in finding that Plaintiffs' proposed amendments would be futile on the ground that § 1983 claims brought in Ohio do not survive the deaths of the tortfeasors, and we decline to address whether Defendants have presented an alternative ground on which the district court's denial of Plaintiffs' motions to amend could be affirmed. Because applying the wrong legal standard constitutes reversible error on abuse of discretion review, United States v. Arny, 831 F.3d 725, 730 (6th Cir. 2016), the district court's denial of the motions to file amended complaints is REVERSED and REMANDED for further proceedings. C. Stoiker's Motion for Summary Judgment We next address the district court's grant of summary judgment to Stoiker on the § 1983 claims that Stoiker violated Plaintiffs' Fourteenth Amendment right to due process by withholding exculpatory evidence, fabricating evidence, and conspiring to do the same, and Plaintiffs' Fourth Amendment right to be free of malicious prosecution. If a police officer violates the Constitution, "42 U.S.C. § 1983 provides a civil remedy for those" injured by the violation. Peffer v. Stephens, 880 F.3d 256, 263 (6th Cir. 2018). But officers sued under the aegis of § 1983 are protected from liability by the doctrine of qualified immunity "insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known." Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 231, 129 S.Ct. 808, 172 L.Ed.2d 565 (2009) (quoting Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982)). Qualified immunity does not apply if (1) "on the plaintiff's facts," a constitutional violation occurred, and (2) the alleged violation was of "clearly established constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known." Hoover v. Radabaugh, 307 F.3d 460, 465 (6th Cir. 2002) (quoting Dickerson v. McClellan, 101 F.3d 1151, 1158 (6th Cir. 1996)). The district court found that there was insufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find that Stoiker had committed any of the alleged constitutional violations. We address each of the appealed determinations in turn. 1. Constitutional Violations a. Withholding Exculpatory Evidence The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides that no state may "deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1. In Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), the Supreme Court held "that the suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or to punishment, irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the prosecution." Prosecutors are not the only state actors bound by Brady, and "police can commit a constitutional deprivation analogous to that recognized in Brady by withholding or suppressing exculpatory material." Moldowan v. City of Warren, 578 F.3d 351, 379 (6th Cir. 2009). Brady claims have three elements: "[1] the evidence at issue must be favorable to the accused, either because it is exculpatory, or because it is impeaching; [2] that evidence must have been suppressed by the State, either willfully or inadvertently; and [3] prejudice must have ensued." Strickler v. Greene, 527 U.S. 263, 281-82, 119 S.Ct. 1936, 144 L.Ed.2d 286 (1999). The district court granted summary judgment to Stoiker on the ground that Plaintiffs had failed to present evidence sufficient for a reasonable jury to find the second element-that Stoiker had suppressed evidence. It did so for two reasons. First, it held that there was insufficient evidence for a jury to find that Stoiker was involved with the unconstitutional activity at all, noting that Vernon had never identified Stoiker as one of the officers involved. Second, even if Stoiker were involved, the district court held, there was insufficient evidence that he was aware of any exculpatory evidence, and an officer unaware of exculpatory evidence cannot suppress that evidence. We disagree with the district court's reasoning. Given the evidence in the record, although a jury might ultimately find that Stoiker did not suppress evidence, it would not be unreasonable in finding that he had. Consider the following evidence. Vernon testified that Staimpel and another officer led him into a room after he failed to identify Plaintiffs at a line-up and coerced him into signing a false statement about that line-up. Staimpel testified at trial that (1) Stoiker was his partner and (2) Stoiker was present for the line-up. Based on Staimpel's testimony, a reasonable jury could infer that (3) Stoiker was present during the post-line-up interview of Vernon and (4) Stoiker was present when Vernon signed his false statement explaining his "fear" of Plaintiffs. In addition, the record contains a police report, signed by Stoiker and dated the day that Vernon testified he was coerced into signing a false statement by two detectives, detailing the version of the line-up and subsequent interview that Vernon alleges were fabricated. The district court is correct that the report does not say that Stoiker was involved in that line-up and interview, but a jury is "allowed to make reasonable inferences from facts proven in evidence having a reasonable tendency to sustain them," Galloway v. United States, 319 U.S. 372, 396, 63 S.Ct. 1077, 87 S.Ct. 1458 (1943), and it is reasonable to infer that a detective who signs a report was involved in the events recounted in that report. Because of this proof, a reasonable jury could find that Stoiker was present when Vernon was coerced into signing the allegedly false statement, in which he claimed that he had failed to identify Jackson and Bridgeman in the line-up because he was afraid of them. And if Stoiker was present when Vernon was coerced into signing the allegedly false statement, he knew that Vernon had not given fear of Plaintiffs as his true reason for not identifying them- in other words, that the statement was false. That knowledge was exculpatory evidence. See Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150, 154, 92 S.Ct. 763, 31 L.Ed.2d 104 (1972) ("When the reliability of a given witness may well be determinative of guilt or innocence, nondisclosure of evidence affecting credibility falls within [Brady's disclosure] rule." (citation and internal quotation marks omitted)). If Stoiker was present, he also knew that detectives coerced Vernon's statement, which was a related, but separate, piece of exculpatory evidence. See id. In addition, a reasonable jury could find that Stoiker was aware of a third piece of exculpatory evidence. While his possible awareness of this evidence is less clear-cut than of the above-mentioned pieces of exculpatory evidence, it would not be unreasonable for a jury to infer that Stoiker knew Vernon had said he had not seen Plaintiffs commit the crime with which they were charged. Whether or not Stoiker was told by other officers that Vernon had not seen Plaintiffs commit the murder, Vernon stated that he was asked at the line-up "if I could recognize anyone there who was at the shooting" and that he answered that question in the negative. R. 99-3, PageID 1236. Stoiker and the district court interpret that question as asking whether Vernon recognized anyone in the line-up. Vernon interpreted it as asking whether he had seen anyone in the line-up commit the crime. If Vernon's interpretation is correct, then the officers present-which a reasonable jury could find included Stoiker -knew that Vernon was claiming he had not seen Plaintiffs commit the crime when he answered "No" to their question. A reasonable jury could find that Vernon, the only witness to the events who has testified to the contents of that conversation, interpreted the question correctly. As Stoiker did not disclose any of this evidence to prosecutors, a reasonable jury could find that Stoiker suppressed exculpatory evidence in violation of Brady. As to the third element of a Brady claim, a reasonable jury could find that Plaintiffs suffered prejudice as a result of the alleged suppression. To show prejudice, Plaintiffs must show that the allegedly suppressed evidence was "material;" in other words, "that there is a reasonable probability that the suppressed evidence would have produced a different verdict." Strickler, 527 U.S. at 280, 281, 119 S.Ct. 1936. Because Vernon's coerced statement formed the core of the prosecution's case, there is a reasonable likelihood that, had the juries in Plaintiffs' trials known that that statement was fabricated and coerced, or that Vernon had orally stated that he had not seen the shooting, the juries would not have convicted Plaintiffs. Therefore, a reasonable jury could find all three elements of a Brady claim satisfied. b. Fabricating Evidence The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is also "violated when evidence is knowingly fabricated and a reasonable likelihood exists that the false evidence would have affected the decision of the jury." Gregory v. City of Louisville, 444 F.3d 725, 737 (6th Cir. 2006) (citing Stemler v. City of Florence, 126 F.3d 856, 872 (6th Cir. 1997)). Stoiker presents two arguments for why summary judgment was appropriate on this issue. First, he contends there was insufficient evidence that he was involved in the fabrication of Vernon's statement. Second, Stoiker argues there was insufficient evidence that the fabricated statement affected the decision of the jury. The district court agreed with both of Stoiker's arguments. Turning to the first argument, a reasonable jury could find, as discussed in section II(C)(1)(a), supra, that Stoiker was in the room when Vernon was initially intimidated, left the room with Staimpel, and then returned to the room with Staimpel, at which point Staimpel coerced Vernon into signing the statement. This does not necessarily entail that Stoiker participated in the creation of the false statement, but a reasonable jury could infer that Stoiker either drafted, or assisted Staimpel in drafting, the false statement. If Stoiker was actively involved in the fabrication of the false statement, he knowingly fabricated evidence. As for the second argument, there is, in fact, sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to conclude that the false statement influenced the juries at Plaintiffs' trials. True, as the district court noted, although the statement was introduced in evidence by the defense at Jackson's trial, it was used only by defense counsel in an attempt to impeach Vernon's testimony and "it is unclear whether the jury in the Jackson trial had the statement while they were deliberating." Jackson v. City of Cleveland, CASE NO. 1:15CV989, 2017 WL 3380456, at *3 (N.D. Ohio Aug. 4, 2017). Also, the statement was not admitted in evidence at Bridgeman's or Ajamu's trial at all. And it is fair to conclude, as the district court reasoned, that "Vernon's live testimony," not the statement, "led to the conviction[s] in all three trials." Id. But the relevant question is not whether the fabricated evidence was shown to the jury; it is whether the statement affected the decision of the jury. For example, a fabricated search warrant affidavit, used to obtain evidence later shown to the jury, can form the basis for a fabrication-of-evidence suit. See Webb v. United States, 789 F.3d 647, 670 (6th Cir. 2015). And fabricated evidence that "is used as [the] basis for a criminal charge" can form the basis for a § 1983 claim because, absent that evidence, there would have been no jury. Halsey v. Pfeiffer, 750 F.3d 273, 294 n.19 (3d Cir. 2014). A reasonable jury in the present case could find that the fabricated statement impacted the juries' decisions in the criminal trials in at least two ways. First, the prosecutor testified that his understanding of Vernon's statement was based on the copy in the police report and that, if he had known what had actually happened on the day of the line-up, he would have declined to prosecute: he does not, as he put it, "believe in prosecuting innocent people." R. 114-29, PageID 5350. The prosecutor did not speak to Vernon prior to bringing charges, and so the false statement constituted the entire basis for his understanding of Vernon's involvement. If Staimpel and Stoiker had not fabricated Vernon's statement, therefore, charges would not have been brought, and, of course, a jury that is never empaneled is a jury that does not return a guilty verdict. A jury in the present case also could find that the falsified statement caused the criminal verdicts because the statement coerced Vernon to testify in conformance with it. Unlike Staimpel's baseless threat to prosecute Vernon's parents if Vernon failed to sign a statement saying that he had seen Plaintiffs commit the crime, Vernon would have faced a real threat of prosecution for perjury had his testimony conflicted with his earlier signed statement. See Osburn v. State, 7 Ohio 212, 214-15 (1835) (admitting as evidence of perjury a paper signed by the defendant). A reasonable jury could therefore find both that Stoiker participated in the fabrication of Vernon's statement and that there is a reasonable probability the statement affected the juries at Plaintiffs' trials. c. Conspiracy to Withhold and Fabricate Evidence To make out a claim for conspiracy to deprive them of their due process rights, Plaintiffs must show "that (1) a single plan existed, (2) the conspirators shared a conspiratorial objective to deprive the plaintiffs of their constitutional rights, and (3) an overt act was committed in furtherance of the conspiracy that caused the injury." Robertson v. Lucas, 753 F.3d 606, 622 (6th Cir. 2014) (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting Revis v. Meldrum, 489 F.3d 273, 290 (6th Cir. 2007)). For the reasons discussed above, a reasonable jury could find that Stoiker and Staimpel planned to draft a false statement and coerce Vernon into signing that statement and that they committed an overt act in furtherance of that plan. Further supporting the conspiracy claim, it would not be unreasonable for a jury to infer that the detectives planned to withhold the existence of their acts from prosecutors for the purpose of tipping the scales against Plaintiffs, as informing prosecutors of the coercion would have rendered their actions meaningless. However, the inquiry does not end there. We must also determine whether an individual can be held liable for conspiracy when the alleged conspiracy was undertaken by agreement with another individual or individuals employed by the same entity as the defendant. The intracorporate conspiracy doctrine, which states that if "all of the defendants are members of the same collective entity, there are not two separate `people' to form a conspiracy," has been applied to 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3) by this court. Johnson v. Hills & Dales Gen. Hosp., 40 F.3d 837, 839-40 (6th Cir. 1994) (quoting Hull v. Cuyahoga Valley Joint Vocational Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 926 F.2d 505, 510 (6th Cir. 1991)). Section 1985(3) creates a cause of action for a conspiracy between two or more persons to deprive another of the equal protection of the laws. We have also held that the doctrine applies in § 1985(2) suits. Doherty v. Am. Motors Corp., 728 F.2d 334, 339 (6th Cir. 1984). 42 U.S.C. § 1985(2) creates a cause of action for a conspiracy to, among other actions, obstruct justice or to intimidate a party, witness, or juror. But this circuit has never decided whether the intracorporate conspiracy doctrine also applies to suits under § 1983. See DiLuzio v. Vill. of Yorkville, 796 F.3d 604, 615 (6th Cir. 2015) (noting that "the Sixth Circuit has never held that the intra-corporate conspiracy doctrine applies to municipal government officials in a § 1983 action and the district courts within our circuit are split on this question"). To determine whether there is a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether Stoiker conspired to violate Plaintiffs' constitutional rights, therefore, we must resolve this issue of first impression. We are aware of only one circuit, the Eleventh, that has squarely addressed the issue and has determined that the intra-corporate conspiracy doctrine applies in § 1983 actions as in § 1985 actions. See Grider v. City of Auburn, 618 F.3d 1240, 1261 (11th Cir. 2010); Rehberg v. Paulk, 611 F.3d 828, 854 (11th Cir. 2010). By contrast, we are aware of no circuit that has applied the doctrine in § 1985 actions but declined to apply it in § 1983 actions. We join the Eleventh Circuit and hold that the intracorporate conspiracy doctrine applies in § 1983 suits to bar conspiracy claims where two or more employees of the same entity are alleged to have been acting within the scope of their employment when they allegedly conspired together to deprive the plaintiff of his rights. See Grider, 618 F.3d at 1261-62; cf. Johnson, 40 F.3d at 841 ("[W]hen employees act outside the course of their employment, they and the corporation may form a conspiracy under 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3)."). We so hold because the considerations that support applying the intracorporate conspiracy doctrine in § 1985 suits pertain equally to the § 1983 context, and we discern no logical distinction upon which to treat § 1983 conspiracy claims differently. Cf. Hull, 926 F.2d at 509-10 (holding that the intracorporate conspiracy doctrine applies to § 1985(3) claims and stating "that this court's opinion in Doherty [which applied the doctrine to § 1985(2)-not § 1985(3)-claims] is dispositive of this issue"). Recognizing that district courts within this circuit have split on the question, we will explain why the reasons for applying the doctrine to § 1983 outweigh the reasons for not doing so. The intracorporate conspiracy doctrine was recognized in antitrust and civil rights cases based on the legal notion of corporations as "persons." See Copperweld Corp. v. Indep. Tube Corp., 467 U.S. 752, 769 n.15, 104 S.Ct. 2731, 81 L.Ed.2d 628 (1984); Doherty, 728 F.2d at 339. When employees of a corporation act to further the purposes of that "person," principles from the law of agency dictate that those employees be treated not as separate "persons" but as part of the same "person." See Hull, 926 F.2d at 509-10; Doherty, 728 F.2d at 339. We have recognized the relevance of these principles to suits against employees of local government entities as well as against employees of private corporations. See Hull, 926 F.2d at 509-10. Furthermore, the Supreme Court has made clear that municipalities are "persons" for purposes of § 1983. Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 690, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). Because the intracorporate conspiracy doctrine follows from the legal definition of "person," which includes local governments, the doctrine has been developed to deal with the question whether there are two separate persons to form a conspiracy. See Hull, 926 F.2d at 510. The doctrine's application to other civil rights statutes has not been premised upon any factor unique to those statutes. We therefore see no reason to decline to apply the doctrine to § 1983. Section 1983 creates a cause of action against any "person" who deprives a plaintiff of his rights, just like § 1985. Therefore, if § 1985 cannot be violated by an alleged conspiracy where the alleged conspirators are all employees of the same entity acting within the scope of their employment, neither can § 1983. Furthermore, we decline to adopt the rationale that because "[§] 1985 is in its essence a conspiracy statute[,] [while] [§] 1983 is not," the intracorporate conspiracy doctrine applies to the former but not the latter. Kinkus v. Vill. of Yorkville, 476 F.Supp.2d 829, 840 (S.D. Ohio 2007). Although § 1983 does not expressly contemplate a cause of action for conspiracy, once we have recognized such a cause of action -which we have, see, e.g., DiLuzio, 796 F.3d at 615-16-the question whether a conspiracy can exist where all alleged conspirators work for the same entity, and are alleged to have been acting in the scope of their employment, naturally arises. That inquiry is identical under § 1983 and § 1985. After all, we did not apply the intracorporate conspiracy doctrine in § 1985 actions on a theory that the text of that particular statutory provision demanded it. Instead, we simply adopted a conspiracy jurisprudence that developed outside the civil rights context. See Hull, 926 F.2d at 509. Nor do we see any reason to limit application of the doctrine to cases in which a municipality is alleged to have conspired with one or more of its employees, in contrast to cases in which two or more employees are alleged only to have conspired with each other. We have made clear that "members of the same legal entity cannot conspire with one another as long as their alleged acts were within the scope of their employment." Jackson v. City of Columbus, 194 F.3d 737, 753 (6th Cir. 1999) (emphasis added) (citing Johnson, 40 F.3d at 840), abrogated on other grounds by Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N. A., 534 U.S. 506, 122 S.Ct. 992, 152 L.Ed.2d 1 (2002); accord Hull, 926 F.2d at 510. In Hull, we applied the doctrine to bar the plaintiff's § 1985(3) claim alleging conspiracy against "a school district superintendent, the executive director of the district, and a school administrator, all of whom [were] employees or agents of the Board [of Education]." 926 F.2d at 510. The plaintiff did not allege that the school board itself was a conspirator, but we noted that "[s]ince all of the defendants [were] members of the same collective entity, there [were] not two separate `people' to form a conspiracy." Id. Finally, we have recognized an exception to the intracorporate conspiracy doctrine in § 1985(3) suits where the defendants were alleged to have been acting outside the scope of their employment, see Johnson, 40 F.3d at 841, and we have indicated that the exception would apply equally in the § 1983 context were we to apply the doctrine in § 1983 suits, see DiLuzio, 796 F.3d at 616. Accordingly, the intracorporate conspiracy doctrine applies to § 1983, and we assume that adopting the doctrine entails adopting the exception. Cf. DiLuzio, 796 F.3d at 616. But the scope-of-employment exception is unsupported by the record here because Plaintiffs have alleged that Stoiker and the other individual Defendants were acting "within the scope of their employment." R. 86, PageID 1018; No. 17-3843, R. 53, PageID 707. Therefore, as a matter of law, Stoiker cannot be liable for conspiracy in violation of § 1983 where he is alleged to have conspired with other employees of the same government entity, in the scope of their employment, to violate Plaintiffs' rights. The district court's grant of summary judgment to Stoiker on the conspiracy claims is AFFIRMED. d. Malicious Prosecution The Fourth Amendment begins: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated." U.S. Const. amend. IV. Amongst other protections, this guarantee affords people the right to be free of unjust prosecution. See Mills v. Barnard, 869 F.3d 473, 479-80 (6th Cir. 2017). A malicious-prosecution claim has four elements: "(1) that a criminal prosecution was initiated against the plaintiff and that the defendant ma[d]e, influence[d], or participate[d] in the decision to prosecute; (2) that there was a lack of probable cause for the criminal prosecution; (3) that, as a consequence of a legal proceeding, the plaintiff suffered a deprivation of liberty ... apart from the initial seizure; and (4) that the criminal proceeding must have been resolved in the plaintiff's favor." Id. at 480 (alterations in original) (internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting Sykes v. Anderson, 625 F.3d 294, 308-09 (6th Cir. 2010)). There being no dispute that Plaintiffs suffered a deprivation of liberty or that the criminal proceedings were resolved in their favor, we need only address the first two elements. i. Stoiker Influenced or Participated in the Decision to Prosecute The first element of the malicious-prosecution claim is met when an officer "could reasonably foresee that his misconduct would contribute to an independent decision that results in a deprivation of liberty" and the misconduct actually does so. Sykes, 625 F.3d at 316 (quoting Higazy v. Templeton, 505 F.3d 161, 177 (2d Cir. 2007)). This element is met when an officer includes "misstatements and falsehoods in his investigatory materials" and those materials influence a prosecutor's decision to bring charges. Id. A reasonable jury could find that Stoiker's misconduct influenced the decision to bring charges against Plaintiffs for two reasons. First, Stoiker and Staimpel "[c]onsulted with [the prosecutor] who issued papers charging [Plaintiffs] with [homicide]." R. 114-28, PageID 5321. Although the record does not indicate the contents of that consultation, it is reasonable to infer that it involved false statements about Vernon's identification of Plaintiffs and that this consultation influenced the prosecutor's decision to bring charges against Plaintiffs. Second, the prosecutor's only knowledge of Vernon's involvement when deciding to bring charges was based on Vernon's statement, a statement that a jury could reasonably find to have been fabricated by Stoiker. And the prosecutor later testified that had he known about what actually happened on the day of the line-up-because Stoiker and Staimpel had told him during conversation, or because they had drafted an accurate statement for Vernon, or because Stoiker had drafted an accurate report concerning that day's events-the prosecutor would not have proceeded to trial. ii. There Was a Lack of Probable Cause for the Criminal Prosecution When a grand jury returns an indictment against a defendant, this creates a "presumption of probable cause," which is rebuttable by showing that: (1) [A] law-enforcement officer, in the course of setting a prosecution in motion, either knowingly or recklessly ma[de] false statements (such as in affidavits or investigative reports) or falsifie[d] or fabricate[d] evidence; (2) the false statements and evidence, together with any concomitant misleading omissions, [we]re material to the ultimate prosecution of the plaintiff; and (3) the false statements, evidence, and omissions d[id] not consist solely of grand-jury testimony or preparation for that testimony (where preparation has a meaning broad enough to encompass conspiring to commit perjury before the grand jury). King v. Harwood, 852 F.3d 568, 587-88 (6th Cir. 2017). As discussed above, a reasonable jury could find that Stoiker falsified or fabricated evidence, and that the evidence did not consist solely of grand-jury testimony or preparation for that testimony. Stoiker argues, however, that even if he fabricated Vernon's false statement, that statement could not have been material to the grand jury's determination of probable cause, as it was not presented to the grand jury. Although Vernon may have testified to the grand jury in conformance with his fabricated statement, Stoiker argues, it was Vernon's testimony, not the earlier statement, that impacted the grand jury's decision. But a careful reading of King shows that fabricated evidence can be material to a grand jury's determination of probable cause without being presented to the grand jury. If only evidence presented to a grand jury could be material to that grand jury's decision, plaintiffs would be faced with the Scylla and Charybdis of either admitting that the fabricated evidence was not material or claiming that it was material because it was presented to the grand jury, thereby gracing the fabricator with the absolute immunity afforded to grand jury testimony. See id. at 589. Instead, plaintiffs can show that a fabrication was material to the grand jury's determination by showing "that the officer has made knowing or reckless false statements or has falsified or fabricated evidence in the course of setting a prosecution in motion." Id. Here, according to the prosecutor, had Stoiker not fabricated Vernon's