LISA GODBEY WOOD, Chief Judge.
Presently before the Court is Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). For the reasons stated herein, Defendants' motion is
For purposes of this Motion to Dismiss, the allegations in Plaintiff's Complaint are taken as true. See Powell v. Lennon, 914 F.2d 1459, 1464 (11th Cir.1990). On December 2, 2008, Plaintiff Tiffany Townsend, a black female, was driving with a passenger in Coffee County, Georgia. While stopped at a red light, Plaintiff observed a black male driver approaching the intersection with sparks coming from his vehicle. As he came to a stop, Plaintiff approached to inquire if the driver was safe and to advise him to move his vehicle from the roadway. The driver moved his vehicle to a parking lot across the street. Plaintiff followed him and exited her vehicle to inquire again whether he needed assistance. A white female motorist also pulled into the parking lot and proceeded toward the male driver.
As Plaintiff proceeded to her vehicle, Grantham unholstered his service revolver and told Plaintiff to place her hands on the back of his patrol car and to spread her legs. Grantham did not address the other female motorist who had stopped in the parking lot. Grantham approached Plaintiff, grabbed her arm, placed his weapon to her head, and handcuffed her. Plaintiff asked Defendant why he was treating her differently from the white female motorist. Plaintiff "recalls Defendant Grantham's [response] being, "I don't want her ... I just want you." Plaintiff began to weep in the parking lot while handcuffed. After leaving the scene, Plaintiff presented herself at Coffee Regional Medical Center, where her arm was placed in a sling, and she received pain medication and treatment for emotional distress.
Plaintiff filed suit based on this incident against both Deputy Grantham, individually and in his official capacity, and Coffee County. She initially filed her Complaint in the Superior Court of Coffee County, Georgia, and Defendants removed the case to federal court. Plaintiff asserts claims against Deputy Grantham, individually and in his official capacity, for false arrest/false imprisonment (Count I); against Grantham for assault and battery (Count II);
A 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss tests the sufficiency of a plaintiff's complaint. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). The Court must accept the factual allegations in the complaint as true, but is not bound to accept as true any "legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949-50, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)) (internal quotation marks omitted).
To state a claim for relief, the pleadings must contain "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2). That statement serves to "give the defendant `fair notice of what the plaintiff's claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.'" Tellabs, Inc. v. Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd., 551 U.S. 308, 319, 127 S.Ct. 2499, 168 L.Ed.2d 179 (2007) (quoting Dura Pharm., Inc. v. Broudo, 544 U.S. 336, 346, 125 S.Ct. 1627, 161 L.Ed.2d 577 (2005)). This is a liberal pleading standard
Plaintiff asserts federal-law claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against both Defendants for violations of her federal constitutional rights.
The Eleventh Circuit has rejected the notion that a Georgia county can be liable under § 1983 for the actions of members of a sheriff's office, finding that, pursuant to the Georgia Constitution, a sheriff's office is independent from the county in which it operates. Grech v. Clayton Cnty., 335 F.3d 1326, 1332, 1335 (11th Cir. 2003). Sheriff's are agents of the state of Georgia, rather than of the counties. Id. at 1333. "In contrast to the State, counties have no authority or control over, and no role in, Georgia sheriffs' law enforcement function." Id. at 1336. By extension, sheriff's deputies are likewise not considered county actors. See id. ("Georgia courts have concluded that sheriffs' deputies are employees of the sheriff and not the county."). "Georgia courts also speak with unanimity in concluding that a defendant county cannot be held liable for the tortious actions of the sheriff or his deputies in performing their law enforcement activities." Id. at 1337 (citing Wayne Cnty. Bd. of Comm'rs v. Warren, 236 Ga. 150, 223 S.E.2d 133, 134 (1976)); see also Lamb v. Davis, CV208-160, 2009 WL 982037, at *1 (S.D.Ga. Apr. 10, 2009) (Alaimo, J.) ("The Sheriff's Department, rather than the county government in the county where the department is located, is responsible for the law enforcement functions and acts of the Sheriff's deputies.").
The Grech court explained further that a county "is not liable for § 1983 violations except for those policies and customs for which the county entity has some control and responsibility." Id. at 1343. A county will not be held liable for a deputy's actions on a theory of respondeat superior. A contrary result "would ignore Monell's and Georgia law's conception of counties as corporations that act through a governing body ... and would impose even broader liability than the respondeat superior liability rejected in Monell." Id.; see also Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 691, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978) ("[A] municipality cannot be held liable under § 1983 on a respondeat superior theory."). Therefore, any claim Plaintiff may be attempting to assert against Defendant Coffee County because it "authorized Defendant Grantham in his actions," see Compl. ¶ 31, is subject to dismissal.
A well-pled claim that Coffee County violated Plaintiff's constitutional rights through a custom or policy for which the county had some control or responsibility, however, could survive this motion. Plaintiff alleges that Coffee County inadequately trained sheriff's deputies, failed to train and control Defendant Grantham, and negligently hired Grantham. Compl. ¶¶ 32-33. The County, however, had no control over the training, control, or hiring of deputies employed by the Sheriff's Office. See Grech, 335 F.3d at 1336 ("Counties [] have no role in the training or supervision of the sheriff's deputies. Instead, sheriffs exercise authority over their deputies independent from the county. Sheriffs alone
Defendant argues that he is entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity
The Eleventh Amendment bars suit when a state itself is sued or when an "arm of the State" is sued. Manders, 338 F.3d at 1308. "Whether a defendant is an `arm of the state' must be assessed in light of the particular function in which the defendant was engaged when taking the actions out of which liability is asserted to arise." Id. In making this determination, the Court considers four factors set forth in Manders: "(1) how state law defines the entity; (2) what degree of control the State maintains over the entity; (3) where the entity derives its funds; and (4) who is responsible for judgments against the entity." Id. at 1309.
First, as discussed supra,
In light of all these factors, the Eleventh Circuit found in Manders that a sheriff was an "arm of the state" when his use-of-force policy at a jail was at issue. Id. at 1328. Although the present case involves law-enforcement functions of a sheriff's office (investigatory stop and arrest),
Defendant asserts the defense of qualified immunity against the § 1983 claims Plaintiff brings against him in his individual capacity. Plaintiff has alleged that Defendant Grantham violated her constitutional rights under the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments. The Court will address Grantham's qualified immunity defense only in the context of the Fourth Amendment, however, as dismissal of the other constitutional claims is appropriate on other grounds.
The Fifth Amendment, which protects individuals from being "deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law," U.S. Const. amend. V, applies only to federal, not state, actors. Jordan v. Mosley, 298 Fed.Appx. 803, 806 n. 5 (11th Cir.2008) (citing Knoetze v. U.S. Dep't of State, 634 F.2d 207, 211 (5th Cir.
The Sixth Amendment provides, "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury...." U.S. Const. amend. VI. As Defendant notes, the basis for Plaintiff's Sixth Amendment claim is not clear, see Defs.' Br. 5, but the law is clear that Sixth Amendment protections do not attach at the time of an arrest. See United States v. Gouveia, 467 U.S. 180, 190, 104 S.Ct. 2292, 81 L.Ed.2d 146 (1984). Rather, they attach "only after the government initiates adversarial judicial proceedings." United States v. Langley, 848 F.2d 152, 153 (11th Cir.1988). Plaintiff does not allege that any adversarial judicial proceedings were initiated against her; at most, she was arrested and released at the scene. Furthermore, Plaintiff concedes in her Response the inapplicability of the Sixth Amendment to the facts. Resp. 3. Therefore, her Sixth Amendment claim is dismissed.
The Eighth Amendment's prohibition against "cruel and unusual punishment," U.S. Const. amend. VIII, "applies only to punishments inflicted after conviction for crimes." Schiavo ex rel. Schindler v. Schiavo, 403 F.3d 1289, 1295 (11th Cir. 2005), Plaintiff does not even allege that she was charged with — much less convicted of — a crime. On this issue, Plaintiff simply "concedes that she was not injured while incarcerated after conviction." Resp. 3. Accordingly, Plaintiff's Eighth Amendment claim is dismissed.
The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits state actors "from depriving a person of life, liberty or property without due process of law." Castle v. Appalachian Tech. Coll., 631 F.3d 1194, 1199 (11th Cir.2011) (citing U.S. Const. amend. XIV). Plaintiff asserts violations of both her procedural and substantive due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment.
To prevail on a procedural due process claim, a plaintiff must establish: "(1) a constitutionally protected interest in life, liberty or property; (2) governmental deprivation of that interest; and (3) the constitutional inadequacy of procedures accompanying the deprivation." Bank of Jackson Cnty. v. Cherry, 980 F.2d 1362, 1366 (11th Cir.1993). Procedural due process protections do not attach, however, until after an arrest is completed, the plaintiff has been released from the arresting
Plaintiff's substantive due process claim also fails, because the Eleventh Circuit has held that the Fourth, not Fourteenth, Amendment provides Plaintiff an explicit source of constitutional protection against excessive force during an arrest. See Kesinger ex rel. Estate of Kesinger v. Herrington, 381 F.3d 1243, 1248 n. 2 (11th Cir.2004) ("The Supreme Court in Graham made explicit ... [that] `all claims that law enforcement officers have used excessive force [] in the course of an arrest, investigatory stop, or other "seizure" of a free citizen should be analyzed under the Fourth Amendment and its "reasonableness" standard, rather than under a "substantive due process" approach.'" (quoting Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 395, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989))). "If an Amendment provides an explicit textual source of constitutional protection against the sort of conduct complained of, that Amendment — not the more generalized notion of substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment — is the guide for analyzing the claim." Jordan v. Mosley, 298 Fed.Appx. 803, 805 (11th Cir.2008). Both Plaintiff's excessive force and unreasonable seizure claims are covered by the Fourth Amendment. Moreover, Plaintiff concedes in her Response that "[t]o the extent that [her Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment] claims are duplicative, ... the Fourth Amendment analysis should be employed." Resp. 9.
In her Response, Plaintiff clarifies that she is alleging a violation of her rights under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because "she was treated differently on account of her race from similarly situated persons."
Plaintiff asserts both unreasonable seizure and excessive force claims against Defendant Grantham under § 1983, properly invoking the Fourth Amendment.
Defendant Grantham was clearly acting within the scope of his discretionary
Plaintiff claims that Defendant Grantham violated her Fourth Amendment rights in two ways: by using excessive force in arresting her, and by arresting her without probable cause (unreasonable seizure). The Court addresses each claim individually for purposes of the qualified immunity analysis.
First, Plaintiff's excessive-force claim is analyzed under an objective-reasonableness standard. Oliver, 586 F.3d at 905. To determine whether Defendant Grantham's use of force was objectively reasonable, the Court must consider his actions "`from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight.'" Id. (quoting Kesinger ex rel. Estate of Kesinger v. Herrington, 381 F.3d 1243, 1249 (11th Cir. 2004)).
Accepting as true the allegations in Plaintiff's Complaint, Plaintiff verbally acknowledged to Deputy Grantham that she was not going to comply with his command to stop. Compl. ¶ 11. In response to Plaintiff's noncompliance, Defendant Grantham "grabbed her arm, placed his weapon to her head, and put her in handcuffs." Id. at ¶ 13.
In Jones v. City of Dothan, where the plaintiff was even more compliant than Plaintiff Townsend, and the police officers used greater force than did Defendant Grantham, the Eleventh Circuit found that there was no constitutional violation and granted the officers qualified immunity on an excessive force claim. 121 F.3d 1456, 1458, 1460-61 (11th Cir.1997). There, the facts viewed in the light most favorable to
The Eleventh Circuit's conclusion in Jones is equally applicable to the facts of the present case: "While use of force against Mr. Jones may have been unnecessary, the actual force used and the injury inflicted were both minor in nature. Given such variables, the application of the excessive force standard would not inevitably lead an official in [the defendant officers'] position to conclude that the force was unlawful." Id. at 1460-61. Even accepting the allegations in Plaintiff's Complaint as true, Plaintiff has not shown that Grantham violated clearly established law in the force he employed. Accordingly, Defendant Grantham is entitled to qualified immunity on Plaintiff Townsend's § 1983 excessive force claim, and the claim is dismissed.
Second, Defendant Grantham is also entitled to qualified immunity on Plaintiff's claim that he violated her Fourth Amendment rights by arresting her without probable cause (thus effectuating an unreasonable seizure). In a Fourth Amendment analysis of an arrest, the standard is arguable, not actual, probable cause. Skop v. City of Atlanta, 485 F.3d 1130, 1137-38 (11th Cir.2007). Whether an arresting officer possesses arguable probable cause depends on the elements of the alleged offense and the totality of the circumstances. Id. Arguable probable cause exists if "reasonable officers in the same circumstances and possessing the same knowledge as the Defendant[] could have believed that probable cause existed to arrest." Id. at 1137 (quoting Lee, 284 F.3d at 1195) (internal quotation marks omitted). "This standard recognizes that law enforcement officers may make reasonable but mistaken judgments regarding probable cause but does not shield officers who unreasonably conclude that probable cause exists." Id.
Defendant Grantham claims that he possessed arguable probable cause to detain Plaintiff for the statutory misdemeanor offense of obstruction of an officer. Defs.' Br. 15 (citing O.C.G.A. § 16-10-24(a)). O.C.G.A. § 16-10-24(a) provides: "[A] person who knowingly and willfully obstructs or hinders any law enforcement officer in the lawful discharge of his official duties is guilty of a misdemeanor." Plaintiff admits that she refused to comply with Defendant Grantham's verbal command to halt. Compl. ¶¶ 11-12. Plaintiff views her statements to Defendant Grantham, however, as "demonstrating] that she was confused as to what to do as she was told by another officer to return to her car," rather than as a failure to comply with an officer's commands. Resp. 15. Even
Defendant Grantham also faced other factors during the situation; for example, he was cognizant that "a fellow officer was engaged with a suspect while the plaintiff was being non-compliant" and had to make decisions based on the immediate situation. Defs.' Br. 15. Viewing the totality of the circumstances, and taking the allegations in Plaintiff's Complaint as true, the Court cannot say that Defendant did not possess at least arguable probable cause to detain and arrest Plaintiff for the misdemeanor offense of obstructing an officer.
Having dismissed all federal claims over which this Court has original jurisdiction, the Court declines to exercise its supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiff's remaining state-law claims. See 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3); Raney v. Allstate Ins. Co., 370 F.3d 1086, 1089 (11th Cir.2004) (encouraging district courts to dismiss any remaining state claims where federal claims have been dismissed prior to trial).
In her Response', Plaintiff asks that if the Court finds that the Complaint does not provide a sufficient factual basis, it allow her to "conduct limited discovery into any issue this Court deems questionable." Resp. 21.
Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is hereby