JOE L. WEBSTER, Magistrate Judge.
This matter is before the Court upon Plaintiff Russell F. Walker's motion for summary judgment (Docket Entry 29), motion to compel discovery (Docket Entry 35), motion to supplement the complaint (Docket Entry 37), motion to compel witness fees (Docket Entry 42), and Defendants Town of Aberdeen, North Carolina and Officer J.J. Smith's motion for summary judgment (Docket Entry 45). All motions are ripe for disposition.
Plaintiff, pro se, filed this action against Defendants J.P. Thomas & Company, Inc, ("Thomas Tire"), the Town of Aberdeen, North Carolina, and Officer J.J. Smith ("Officer Smith") alleging a violation of his civil rights due to the wrongful issuance of citations. (Complaint, Docket Entry 2.) According to the Complaint, on May 23, 2014, Plaintiff backed his vehicle into a parked vehicle in the parking lot of Thomas Tire. (Id. ¶ 7.) Plaintiff inspected the other vehicle, did not notice any other damage, and left the scene. (Id.) An employee of Thomas Tire called the Aberdeen Police Department "in an attempt to insure that Thomas's customer was paid for any damage to its customer's car." (Id. ¶ 9.) After Plaintiff arrived home, he received a phone call from Officer Smith who informed Plaintiff that he would be charged for violation of the "Hit-and-Run" statute after leaving the scene of an accident without notifying the owner of the other vehicle. (Id. ¶ 10.) Plaintiff immediately returned to Thomas Tire and gave Officer Smith his information, including Plaintiffs "driver's license number, date of birth, [and] insurance details. . . ." (Id. ¶ 11.) Officer Smith charged Plaintiff with two misdemeanors: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-166 and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-154. (Id. ¶ 12.) Plaintiff alleges that "[t]he issuing of citation was a violation of the Civil Rights of the plaintiff as there was no conduct which could be a violation of North Carolina law as there was no willfulness nor mens rea on [Plaintiff's] part." (Id. ¶ 15.) Plaintiff seeks monetary damages, seeks to enjoin the Aberdeen Police Department from issuing any further citations under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-166, and seeks to declare this statute unconstitutional as a violation of the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. (Id. ¶¶ 17-19.) He also requests that the Court exercise pendant jurisdiction over his state law claims. (Id. ¶ 20.)
On December 8, 2014, Thomas Tire filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (Docket Entry 17.) The Court thereafter granted Thomas Tire's motion dismissing Plaintiff's claims against it. (See Order dated Jan. 8, 2015, Docket Entry 26.) On January 20, 2015, Plaintiff filed the pending motion for summary judgment. (Docket Entry 29.) Plaintiff later filed the pending motions to compel discovery, to supplement the complaint, and to compel witness fees. (Docket Entries 35, 37, 42.) On July 15, 2015, Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment. (Docket Entry 45.)
Summary judgment is appropriate when there exists no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c); Zahodnick v. Int'l Bus. Machs. Corp., 135 F.3d 911, 913 (4th Or. 1997). The party seeking summary judgment bears the initial burden of coming forward and demonstrating the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Temkin v. Frederick County Comm'rs, 945 F.2d 716, 718 (4th Or. 1991) (citing Celotex v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986)). Once the moving party has met its burden, the non-moving party must then affirmatively demonstrate that there is a genuine issue of material fact which requires trial. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587 (1986). There is no issue for trial unless there is sufficient evidence favoring the non-moving party for a fact finder to return a verdict for that party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250 (1986); Sylvia Dev. Cop. v. Calvert County, Md, 48 F.3d 810, 817 (4th Or. 1995). Thus, the moving party can bear his burden either by presenting affirmative evidence or by demonstrating that the non-moving party's evidence is insufficient to establish his claim. Celotex, 411 U.S. at 331 (Brennan, dissenting). When making the summary judgment determination, the court must view the evidence, and all justifiable inferences from the evidence, in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Zahodnick, 135 F.3d at 913; Halperin v. Abacus Tech. Corp., 128 F.3d 191, 196 (4th Or. 1997).
Moreover, "once the moving party has met his burden, the nonmoving party must come forward with some evidence beyond the mere allegations contained in the pleadings to show there is a genuine issue for trial." Baberv. Hosp. Corp. of Am., 977 F.2d 872, 874-75 (4th Cir. 1992). The non-moving party may not rely on beliefs, conjecture, speculation, or conclusory allegations to defeat a motion for summary judgment. Id. The non-movant's proof must meet the substantive evidentiary standard of proof that would apply at a trial on the merits. Mitchell v. Data Gen. Corp., 12 F.3d 1310, 1316 (4th Cir. 1993), modified on other grounds, Stokes v. Westinghouse Savannah River Co., 420, 429-30 (4th Cir. 2000); DeLeon v. St. Joseph Hosp., Inc., 871 F.2d 1229, 1233 n.7 (4th Cir. 1989). Defendants' Motion to Dismiss
Defendant Smith first asserts that he is entitled to summary judgment in his individual capacity based upon qualified immunity. The Court must consider two questions when ruling on qualified immunity: "(1) whether a constitutional or statutory right would have been violated on the facts alleged by the plaintiff, and (2) whether the right asserted was clearly established at the time of the alleged violation." Anderson v. Caldwell Cnty. Sheriffs Office, 524 F. App'x 854, 860 (4th Cir. 2013) (citing Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 200 (2001)). The Supreme Court has held that qualified immunity protects "all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law." Malley v. Briggs, 475 U.S. 335, 341 (1986). Thus, if an official's conduct is "objectionably reasonable," qualified immunity applies. Torchitisky v. Siwinski, 942 F.2d 257, 261 (4th Cir. 1991). Moreover, the Fourth Circuit in Gomez v. Atkins states that "qualified immunity protects law officers from `bad guesses in gray areas,' and it ensures that they may be held personally liable only `for transgressing bright lines.'" Gomez v. Atkins, 296 F.3d 253, 261 (4th Cir. 2002) (citing Maciariello v. Sumner, 973 F.2d 295, 298 (4th Cir.1992)). The burden of proof and persuasion lies with the defendant official under a claim of qualified immunity. Wilson v. Kittoe, 337 F.3d 392, 397 (4th Cir. 2003).
Defendant Smith asserts that he is entitled to qualified immunity based upon the existence of probable cause at the time the citation was issued. Under North Carolina law, "[p]robable cause is defined as the existence of facts and circumstances known to the decision maker which would induce a reasonable person to commence a prosecution." Martin v. Parker, 150 N.C. App. 179, 182, 563 S.E.2d 216, 218 (2002) (citation omitted). Smith issued Plaintiff a citation under North Carolina's hit-and-run statute, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-166, which provides in part:
Plaintiff also asserts state law claims for abuse of process, negligent infliction of emotional distress, intentional infliction of emotion distress, and outrage.
Based upon the evidence viewed in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, the Court finds that there is no genuine issue of material fact as to whether Smith acted with malice or corruption. Smith's acts after receiving notification of Plaintiff's conduct were in fact reasonable, particularly in light of Plaintiff's concession that he backed into a parked vehicle, that there was damage to the parked vehicle,
Albeit unclear, Plaintiff also appears to assert claims against the Town of Aberdeen and Officer Smith in his official capacity.
In his motion for summary judgment, Plaintiff presents three "Statement of Questions," but addresses only one argument that he was not guilty of violating the hit-andrun statute for several reasons: (1) he went back to the scene of the incident within 48 hours, (2) he gave Officer Smith all of his contact information, including insurance information, and (3) Thomas Tire and the car owner had a bailee/bailor relationship. (PL's Pet. at 4, Docket Entry 29.) Although not fully clear, Plaintiff appears to argue that there is no genuine issue of material fact as to whether he violated N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-166, thus he is entitled to summary judgment on all claims. To this extent, it is unclear what Plaintiff seeks through this motion as he concedes that all charges have been dismissed against him. (Id. 15.) Moreover, Plaintiff misinterprets N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-166 to suggest that he did not violate it because he came back to the scene of this incident within 48 hours, complied with Officer Smith, and that the "bailment" status of the parked vehicle placed responsibility of the car on Thomas Tire, which already had Plaintiff's contact information. The plain language of the statute requires Plaintiff to immediately furnish specific information to "the nearest available peace officer," or "place a paper-writing containing the information in a conspicuous place upon or in the damaged vehicle." N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-166(cl). To the extent the statute allows reporting of a collision with an unattended vehicle within 48 hours of the incident, it does so only after a driver leaves a note on the damaged vehicle. See id.; see also N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-166.1 (c) (The report may be made orally or in writing, must be within 48 hours of the accident. . . ."). Here, it is clear, and Plaintiff admits, that he left the scene of the incident without placing a note on the vehicle, and provided contact information only after his interaction with Officer Smith. Thus, Plaintiff's allegations are simply without merit.
The Court also denies Plaintiffs motions to compel discovery. Plaintiff seeks a discovery order from the Court commanding the Town of Aberdeen to provide Officer Smith's personnel record including psychiatric reports. (Docket Entry 35.) Plaintiff has not indicated why he seeks this information. Courts have recognized strong policy concerns regarding public disclosure of personnel files; here, Plaintiff has not shown how these files or reports are "clearly relevant," or that "the need for disclosure is compelling" to the case. James v. Peter Pan Transit Mgmt., Inc., No. 5:97-CV-747-BO-l, 1999 WL 735173, at *11 (E.D.N.C. Jan. 20, 1999) (unpublished); see also Brown v. SLS Int'l, Inc., No. 3:05 CV 203, 2006 WL 3694535, at *1 (W.D.N.C. Dec. 13, 2006) (unpublished) (plaintiffs need for disclosure not compelling). As to Plaintiffs motion to compel witness fees, Plaintiff cites no authority for his argument. Other courts addressing this issue have routinely denied such a request. See Delehantv. United States, No. 3:10-CV-178-AC, 2012 WL 6455808, at *3 (D. Or. Dec. 13, 2012) (denying request for witness fees to a party plaintiff); Gillam v. A. Shyman, Inc., 31 F.R.D. 271, 273 (D. Alaska 1962) (disallowing witness fees for party witnesses); Picking v. Pennsylvania K Co., 11 F.R.D. 71, 72 (M.D. Pa. 1951) (denying a party's request for witness fees and mileage). Here, the Court also denies Plaintiffs request. Lastly, the Court denies Plaintiffs motion to supplement the Complaint. (Docket Entry 37.) Plaintiff seeks only to add 42 U.S.C. § 1985 as applied to J.P. Thomas & Co., Inc. This defendant has been already been dismissed from this action. Plaintiffs amendment would be futile in that the allegations in Plaintiffs Complaint fail to allege a valid § 1985 claim. Johnson v. Oroweat Foods Co., 785 F.2d 503, 510 (4th Cir. 1986) (Amendment should be denied as futile "when the proposed amendment is clearly insufficient or frivolous on its face.").
For the reasons stated herein,
A Judgment dismissing this action will be entered contemporaneously with this Order.