Filed: Oct. 25, 2005
Latest Update: Feb. 21, 2020
Summary: United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit F I L E D IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT October 25, 2005 Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk No. 04-30796 Summary Calendar H.P. ROWLEY, III, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus TCHEFUNCTA CLUB ESTATES, INC.; UNIDENTIFIED PARTY, Defendants-Appellees. - Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana USDC No. 2:04-CV-753-J - Before HIGGINBOTHAM, BENAVIDES, and DENNIS, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* H.P. R
Summary: United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit F I L E D IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT October 25, 2005 Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk No. 04-30796 Summary Calendar H.P. ROWLEY, III, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus TCHEFUNCTA CLUB ESTATES, INC.; UNIDENTIFIED PARTY, Defendants-Appellees. - Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana USDC No. 2:04-CV-753-J - Before HIGGINBOTHAM, BENAVIDES, and DENNIS, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* H.P. Ro..
More
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT October 25, 2005
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
No. 04-30796
Summary Calendar
H.P. ROWLEY, III,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
TCHEFUNCTA CLUB ESTATES, INC.; UNIDENTIFIED PARTY,
Defendants-Appellees.
--------------------
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Louisiana
USDC No. 2:04-CV-753-J
--------------------
Before HIGGINBOTHAM, BENAVIDES, and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
H.P. Rowley, III, appeals the dismissal of his 42 U.S.C.
§ 1983 complaint for failure to state a claim. Affording the
district court’s ruling de novo review, Priester v. Lowndes County,
354 F.3d 414, 418 (5th Cir.), cert. denied,
125 S. Ct. 153 (2004),
we affirm.
To state a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim, the complaint must (1)
allege the violation of a constitutional right and (2) allege that
the violation “‘was committed by a person acting under color of
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that
this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except
under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
No. 04-30796
-2-
state law.’” Cornish v. Corr. Servs. Corp.,
402 F.3d 545, 549 (5th
Cir. 2005) (citation omitted). Rowley alleges that his
constitutional rights were violated by Tchefuncta Club Estates,
Inc. (“TCE”), a private entity that maintains public areas and
provides some utility and security services to the Tchefuncta Club
Estates community. These violations allegedly occurred in three
distinct ways: (1) TCE’s imposition of various fees on all
homeowners to pay for four full-time deputy sheriffs to be assigned
by the St. Tammany Sheriff’s Department to the community, and using
these deputies to collect the fees; (2) TCE’s ordering the deputies
not to enforce a local ordinance against allowing minors to operate
golf carts on public roads; and (3) TCE’s ordering a deputy to
accompany two TCE employees who attempted to cut off Rowley’s water
supply on account of his failure to pay fees.
We will affirm a district court’s dismissal of a complaint
under Rule 12(b)(6) “only if it appears that no relief could be
granted under any set of facts that could be proven consistent with
the allegations.” Ballard v. Wall,
413 F.3d 510, 514-15 (5th Cir.
2005). When considering the complaint, we do so in a light most
favorable to the plaintiff, and resolve every doubt on his behalf.
See
Cornish, 402 F.3d at 548.
Assuming arguendo that Rowley’s complaint states facts
implicating TCE as a state actor with respect to its employment of
the deputy sheriffs, we are persuaded that the complaint, although
offering detail, is bereft of any actionable conduct by the deputy
No. 04-30796
-3-
sheriffs. Rowley can point to no right violated by the imposition
of fees for basic services, the delivery of notices relating to
these fees, and the failure to enforce the golf cart ordinance.
Although a closer call, we can find no actionable conduct on the
part of the officers in relation to the effort by TCE employees to
disconnect Rowley’s water supply. In his complaint, Rowley asserts
that the TCE employees came onto his lawn, used metal detectors to
locate his water pipe, and began digging in an effort to disconnect
his water supply, relenting only after he agreed to pay the overdue
fees. Importantly, there is no indication that the deputy actively
participated in the effort to disconnect the water supply; rather,
he was merely present at the scene.1
Based on the foregoing, the judgment of the district court
dismissing Rowley’s complaint for failure to state a claim is
AFFIRMED.
1
To the extent that TCE’s employees may have violated
Rowley’s constitutional rights, Rowley cannot establish state
action. See
Cornish, 402 F.3d at 550 (“Deciding whether a
deprivation of a protected right is fairly attributable to the
State ‘begins by identifying the specific conduct of which the
plaintiff complains.’” (quoting Am. Mfrs. Mut. Ins. Co. v
Sullivan,
526 U.S. 40, 50 (1999)) (quotation omitted in Cornish).