The more common reversal of fortune in a civil rights case

In Bankhead v. Knickrehm, the Eighth Circuit took a qualified immunity appeal, found the individuals on the merits, and ordered judgment also in favor of the government, which was not even a party to the appeal - now, that's the more common reversal of fortune I see in civil rights cases. The merits issue in Bankhead was racial discrimination, and the Court found not enough evidence of discrimination to create a jury question, and so it never go to the question of whether constitutional rights of the plaintiffs were clearly established.