WILKINSON, Circuit Judge:
Sharon Thomas appeals the dismissal under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e) of her claims against three charitable organizations, which she says unlawfully refused to admit her to homeless shelters because of her alleged mental health disability. We affirm the judgment of dismissal as modified to indicate that it be without prejudice.
Thomas was receiving behavioral health services from Monarch Mental Health Care, a non-profit organization, when she became homeless on July 10, 2012. Monarch referred her to defendant Salvation Army. When she arrived at the Salvation Army shelter on July 12, 2012, Thomas completed some preliminary paperwork, agreed to follow the shelter's rules, and was admitted.
The Salvation Army shelter was crowded, and on July 16, a Salvation Army staff member informed Thomas that she would be transferred to defendant Church in the City, a shelter run by the third and final defendant, Victory Christian Center.
While at Church in the City, Thomas visited the Salvation Army shelter twice. First, on July 19, Thomas completed the Salvation Army's official intake assessment paperwork. In this paperwork, Thomas disclosed that she was receiving behavioral mental health services and authorized the release of some medical information to the Salvation Army. Second, on July 31, Thomas went to the Salvation Army to see a doctor to get medication. Thomas does not specify what medication she was receiving, but she notes that the doctor referred her to a behavioral health center. On the same visit, Thomas met with her Salvation Army case manager. The meeting included a discussion of Thomas's mental health issues.
Thomas's problems with the shelters began on August 12, when Church in the
From August 12 through August 15, Thomas tried and failed to be admitted to the Salvation Army shelter a number of times. Immediately after being ejected from Church in the City, Thomas went to the Salvation Army shelter. She was told that she would not be allowed to stay there if she had been ejected from Church in the City. That same day, Thomas was hospitalized for chest pains, and a hospital social worker called the Salvation Army on her behalf. The social worker was informed that Thomas's Salvation Army case worker had decided that Thomas would not be admitted to the Salvation Army shelter.
Thomas herself called the Salvation Army twice the next day, August 13. On the first phone call, Thomas's case manager told her that she had been ejected from Church in the City for violating curfew. This call ended after Thomas accused her case manager of acting unethically. On the second phone call, the director of the Salvation Army shelter told Thomas she had been ejected from Church in the City because she was not a good fit.
The following night, August 14, Thomas had nowhere to stay and went to the police department for help. Two police officers escorted her to the Salvation Army shelter, where she was again denied entry. This time, a staff member told Thomas that the director of the shelter had instructed her not to let Thomas stay. The staff member did not give a specific reason for that instruction but apparently believed it was due to mental health issues and that if Thomas received a mental health evaluation, she would be admitted to the shelter. Thomas went to a psychiatric emergency room and was examined by a psychiatrist. The next day, August 15, Thomas returned to the Salvation Army shelter with her psychiatric discharge papers. She was again refused admission to the shelter, though this time Thomas was not given a reason for the denial.
Thomas does not allege that she sought admission at the Salvation Army shelter after August 15, but she did continue to seek an answer for why she had been denied admission. On September 12, 2012, she received an email from the Area Commander for the Salvation Army, explaining that he had investigated her case and that the denial of services was justified because Thomas had "exhibited disrespect and hostility toward the staff." J.A. 21. The Area Commander offered shelter if Thomas submitted to "a mental health evaluation and stabilization services from" a behavioral mental health organization. J.A. 21. In response, Thomas requested records of her stay and of the Salvation Army's relationship with Church in the City. On October 23, 2012, Thomas received an email from another Salvation Army employee, denying her request for records.
Nearly two years later, on July 24, 2014, Thomas filed this action in the Western District of North Carolina, moving to proceed in forma pauperis. The district court granted Thomas's motion. In the same order, however, the district court dismissed all of Thomas's claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) for failure to state a claim on which relief could be granted. In addition, the district court warned Thomas that if she continued to file meritless lawsuits, it would require her to show cause as to why the court should not enter a pre-filing
Thomas challenges the dismissal of her claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, 42 U.S.C. § 1985, the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), the Fair Housing Act ("FHA"), and the Rehabilitation Act. The district court dismissed these claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). "The standards for reviewing a dismissal under § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) are the same as those for reviewing a dismissal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)."
Thomas's § 1983 claim cannot proceed because none of the defendants are state actors. To state a claim under § 1983, a plaintiff must allege that he was "deprived of a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States, and that the alleged deprivation was committed under color of state law."
Thomas's § 1985 claim of a civil conspiracy between the Salvation Army and Church in the City must also be dismissed because there are no allegations to support the existence of any conspiracy. To bring a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1985, a plaintiff must show:
Thomas also raises a claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act but lacks standing to bring it. Title III of the ADA prevents discrimination on the basis of a disability in places of public accommodation. 42 U.S.C. § 12182. It provides a private right of action for injunctive relief but no right of action for monetary relief. 42 U.S.C. § 12188;
Thomas fails to show any real or immediate threat that she will be wronged again. Any denial of access to the shelters occurred almost two years before Thomas filed this action. Her complaint does not allege that she is still homeless or that the defendants would still deny her access to the shelters because of her disability. Moreover, Thomas indicates that she filed her complaint "due [to] the persistent and distressing memories and thoughts about the experiences of abuse and discrimination," J.A. 24, not to prevent future discrimination. Without the threat of future harm, Thomas is not entitled to injunctive relief and thus has no valid claim under Title III of the ADA.
In dismissing Thomas's ADA claim for failure to exhaust administrative remedies, the district court erred by characterizing her claim as an employment claim under Title I of the ADA. The district court was correct that Title I requires a plaintiff to exhaust administrative remedies by filing a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission before pursuing litigation in federal court. 42 U.S.C. § 12117;
In her original complaint, Thomas cites the sections of the ADA that comprise Title II. Title II, however, applies only to "the services, programs, or activities of a public entity." 42 U.S.C. § 12132;
Thomas's FHA claim was properly dismissed because her complaint does not contain a plausible allegation of discrimination. As relevant here, the FHA makes it unlawful to "make unavailable or deny ... a dwelling to any buyer or renter because of a handicap," 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(1), or to "discriminate against any person in the terms, conditions, or privileges of sale or rental of a dwelling ... because of a handicap." 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(2). A handicap is "a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more of such person's major life activities." 42 U.S.C. § 3602(h). The Salvation Army argues that homeless shelters are not covered under § 3604(f) because the residents are not buyers or renters and because a homeless shelter does not meet the definition of a dwelling under the FHA. Courts have differed on these points.
One such defect is that Thomas's complaint fails to adequately identify her mental disability. Thomas provides limited evidence in her complaint that she has some type of mental illness — she received care from a behavioral health organization, she had an appointment with a doctor, and she was on medication. In her informal appellate brief, Thomas specifies her mental illness as a mood disorder. This evidence, though, does not suggest that her mental illness is a handicap covered by the FHA. Moreover, Thomas alleges that she was "mentally stable" and that the mental evaluation requested by the Salvation Army was "unnecessary." J.A. 5, 20. These facts do not give rise to a "reasonable inference,"
Another defect is that Thomas's complaint does not draw a sufficient nexus of causation between whatever mental illness she may have and the defendants' actions. To state a claim under the FHA, Thomas must show that the defendants denied her housing "because of" her handicap. 42 U.S.C. § 3604(f)(1). Thomas's allegation against Church in the City on this point is purely conclusory. Church in the City did not give Thomas a reason for the denial of shelter, and nothing in Thomas's complaint suggests that the denial was because of her alleged mental disability. While Thomas's allegations against the Salvation Army are somewhat more detailed, the complaint does not make a plausible allegation that the Salvation Army unlawfully denied Thomas shelter "because of" a mental disability. Even when construed liberally and with all reasonable inferences made in Thomas's favor,
The communications between the Salvation Army and Thomas indicate that the Salvation Army had legitimate reasons to be wary of admitting Thomas and sought reasonable reassurance that Thomas would not cause problems as a resident. The most detailed explanation of the Salvation Army's concerns was in the September 12,
The Salvation Army was within its rights to require reasonable steps to ensure that Thomas was stable before admitting her to the shelter. The Salvation Army is charged with protecting all of those in its shelters, and it simply cannot run the serious risk of admitting a resident who will be disruptive and may inflict harm on others. Admitting such a resident jeopardizes the safety of other residents and may subject the shelter to significant liability.
If denying access to an unstable applicant subjected a shelter to extended litigation and potential liability, the shelter would be faced with a difficult dilemma. Charitable organizations would be subject to liability whichever way they turned. Denial of access would lead to lawsuits like this one, and ill-advised grants of access could lead to staggering judgments against the charitable organization if another resident was seriously harmed. The time and expense involved in all of this would risk impairing the humane mission of sheltering homeless persons that is these organizations' very reason for being.
In fact, Congress anticipated this very problem and repeatedly declined to extend statutory protection to individuals who present a threat to public health or the safety of others.
Thomas argues that she received different explanations from different Salvation Army staff members for refusing to admit her. These explanations, however, show once again the Salvation Army exercising caution when confronted with a potentially disruptive resident, and any minor inconsistencies are evidence of multiple shelter employees dealing with a difficult situation.
Thomas also complains that the Salvation Army did not accept her discharge papers from the emergency room as a mental health evaluation. These papers were the result of a brief consultation and fell short of being the considered opinion of a mental health professional. The Salvation Army was under no obligation to accept such an abbreviated assessment as an adequate response to its offer of shelter if Thomas submitted to a fuller mental health evaluation from a behavioral health organization.
In sum, Thomas's complaint does not contain "factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged."
Finally, Thomas's claim under the Rehabilitation Act was also properly dismissed. As with the ADA and the FHA, the Rehabilitation Act forbids discrimination based on a disability. The Rehabilitation Act, though, differs in two key ways. First, it applies only to programs receiving federal assistance. 29 U.S.C. § 794;
Because we affirm the district court's dismissal of all of Thomas's federal claims, we also affirm its decision to decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction and thus to dismiss Thomas's state law claims without prejudice.
The district court was right to dismiss the complaint given its multiple deficiencies, namely the omission of the nature of any illness much less the presence of such illness as a causative agent of the Salvation Army's decision. The Salvation Army was justified in exercising prudence, protecting other residents and its staff, and requesting a more thorough evaluation of Thomas's mental health. Thomas has not thrown this reasonable explanation into plausible doubt.