SIMANDLE, Chief Judge:
In this action, Plaintiff Crystal A. Evans, a former Gloucester Township Councilmember, alleges that Gloucester Township ("the Township"), Gloucester Township Police Department ("the Police Department"), former Mayor David R. Mayer, and other municipal employees conspired to violate her rights under the First, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution by fostering a culture of political retribution. Plaintiff also asserts several state law claims arising from the same alleged misconduct. Specifically, Plaintiff contends that Mayer and others in his administration subjected Plaintiff to hostility and harassment during council meetings, implicated Plaintiff in an alleged voting fraud scheme, orchestrated Plaintiff's arrest for stalking without probable cause, and participated in a sexually-explicit internet defamation campaign against Plaintiff. Plaintiff attempts to present this series of incidents as part of an expansive conspiracy directed by Defendant Mayer to squelch political opposition and as the product of a municipal policy or custom of political retaliation.
This matter comes before the Court upon a motion to dismiss by Defendants Gloucester Township, Gloucester Township Police Department, and David R. Mayer. [Docket Item 13.] Defendants argue that Plaintiff's claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and 42 U.S.C. § 1985 should be dismissed as untimely, that Plaintiff's state tort claims should be dismissed for failure to comply with the New Jersey Tort Claims Act ("NJTCA"), and that Plaintiff's claims are otherwise insufficiently pleaded. The Court must therefore determine whether Plaintiff's claims are barred by the statute
For the reasons discussed below, the Court will grant Defendants' motion to dismiss.
The Court accepts as true for purposes of the instant motion the following facts from Plaintiff's Amended Complaint. [Docket Item 11.]
Plaintiff Crystal Evans is a former Gloucester Township Councilmember and member of the Gloucester Township Democratic Party. (Am.Compl. ¶ 26.) Plaintiff served as a constituent caseworker for the New Jersey Fourth Legislative District under former state assemblyman and current Mayor of Gloucester Township, Defendant David R. Mayer from January, 2004 to January, 2008. (Id. ¶ 27.) During this time, Plaintiff developed a close relationship with Mayer and he nominated her as the Democratic candidate for Gloucester Township Council in 2007. (Id. ¶ 28.) Plaintiff was elected and served on Council from January, 2008 to January, 2012. (Id. ¶ 29.)
Plaintiff alleges that shortly after entering office she fell out of favor with Democratic council members and party leaders because she refused to participate in unethical behavior and consistently opposed proposals she believed benefitted a small group of political insiders. (Id. ¶¶ 30, 40.) Before Plaintiff's first council meeting she was instructed by Township Clerk Rosemarie DiJosie
Plaintiff alleges that after leaving office she continued to experience harassment directed by Gloucester Township officials. (Id. ¶ 44.) As a councilmember, Plaintiff supported "South Jersey Citizens," a Gloucester Township watchdog group, in its effort to gather signatures for a referendum petition which sought to establish an ordinance limiting campaign contributions from municipal contractors. (Id. ¶ 45.) Plaintiff alleges that from March, 2012 to July, 2012, Mayer conspired with Gloucester Township Solicitor Howard C. Long and a legal assistant to the Gloucester Township Law Manager to fabricate a voting fraud charge against Plaintiff. (Id. ¶ 46.) South Jersey Citizens submitted the petition signatures to Rosemarie DiJosie on February 19, 2012. (Id. ¶ 47.) Plaintiff contends that Defendant Marianne Coyle, a legal assistant in the Township Law Department, threatened an elderly constituent who had signed the petition, JoAnne Stallworth, with a lawsuit if she did not sign an affidavit stating that Plaintiff tricked her into signing the petition by saying it supported funding for a local recreation center. (Id. ¶ 50.) Ms. Stallworth allegedly signed such an affidavit at the law offices of Wade, Long, Wood & Kennedy, LLC in the spring of 2012. (Id. ¶ 52.) Plaintiff maintains that all three partners of this firm were members of Mayer's administration. (Id. ¶ 53.) The affidavit was leaked to a reporter at the Courier Post who contacted Plaintiff to inquire into voter fraud allegations leveled by the Mayer administration. (Id. ¶ 55.) According to Plaintiff, Defendants also attempted to use Ms. Stallworth's affidavit "to manufacture a voter fraud allegation against Plaintiff in a public lawsuit" brought by South Jersey Citizens against Rosemarie DiJosie. (Id. ¶ 56.)
From July 19, 2010 to November 12, 2012, Plaintiff was employed as the manager of the Turnersville branch of the New Jersey Motor Vehicles Commission ("MVC"). (Id. ¶ 57.) Between September, 2011 and November, 2012, Plaintiff began receiving automated phone calls from the Gloucester Township Police Department and Mayer's office announcing weather alerts and emergency storm procedures. (Id. ¶ 59.) Plaintiff found these phone calls unusual because her MVC branch was outside the normal target area for such notifications, she received them on her private extension which was only known by state employees, and other MVC employees were not receiving the notifications. (Id. ¶¶ 60-61.) During this same period, Plaintiff suspected that the director of the MVC, Robert Grill, was asked to monitor her activities because Grill required Plaintiff to share her computer username and password with a new hire, Kathleen Sharpe. (Id. ¶ 62.) Plaintiff discovered Ms. Sharpe using the computer in Plaintiff's office on several occasions. (Id.) Plaintiff asserts that the harassment became so severe that she wrote a letter to the Department of Justice in September, 2012 alleging that she was being targeted for political retaliation. (Id. ¶ 63.)
Plaintiff further alleges that on the evening of November 7, 2012, Angela DeLucca
On the morning of November 8, 2012, Plaintiff's counsel, Gary Lammono, Esq., contacted the Township Police Department and arranged for Plaintiff to voluntarily appear at the station that afternoon for processing. (Id. ¶ 82.) Nevertheless, arrangements were made with the Camden County Prosecutor's Office for the Gloucester Township police officers to arrest Plaintiff out of district at her place of work, the Turnersville MVC. (Id. ¶ 83.) In the late afternoon of November 8, 2012, a Camden County prosecutor and three Gloucester Township Police Department officers made "a very public display of entering" the Turnersville MVC to arrest Plaintiff. (Id. ¶ 84.) Soon thereafter, on November 14, 2012,
Beginning in March, 2012, Plaintiff alleges that Mayer and/or the Gloucester Township Police Department directed Defendants James Dougherty, Frank Mellace, Melissa Mellace, the Gloucester
On or about November 13, 2012, Sean McCullen published details of Plaintiff's arrest as obtained from Defendant David Harkins in an article entitled "Former Gloucester Township Councilwoman arrested." (Id. ¶ 97.) On November 14, 2012, someone using the handle "Best4GT" whom Plaintiff believes to have been Defendant Mayer, wrote that "Ms. Evans just went off her rocker when she found her husband in this woman's home." (Id. ¶ 98.) On the same day, someone using the handle "YMBDFA" posted that Plaintiff had a previous criminal record for "using a government computer for unofficial business." (Id. ¶ 99.) On November 15, 2012, gtrmc.com was closed for public comment and thereafter only private paid members of gtrmc.com could post to the site. (Id. ¶ 100.) Also on November 15, 2012, "Best4GT" stated that Plaintiff had driven to Ms. DeLucca's residence and caught her spouse "banging the hell" out of one of her friends. (Id. ¶ 101.)
Several months later, on February 21, 2013, a gtrmc.com user with the handle "Sybil Evans" wrote that Plaintiff had a previous history of criminal incidents involving stalking, threats of violence, and vandalism and "insinuated" that Plaintiff was having an affair with her brother-in-law Daniel Evans. (Id. ¶ 102.) On February 22, 2013, "YMBDFA" stated that Plaintiff had a criminal history and implied that Plaintiff was providing names and addresses of minors to a known male sex offender and previously used her teenage modeling business, Role Models, Inc., as a recruitment vehicle for underage female victims. (Id. ¶ 103.) On March 4, 2013, "Best4GT" whom Plaintiff believes to be Defendant Mayer, posted the following: "It is known that Crystal Evans was previously arrested for stalking and made death threats by phone to Mr. Mellace in the past. Police reports were filed on the night of July 19, 2011, and the police have been investigating the incident since." (Id. ¶ 104.) At the time of these posts, gtrmc.com was owned and operated by Defendant Frank Mellace, a Gloucester Township Democratic Committee member who worked in the Gloucester Township Tax Assessor's Office. (Id. ¶ 105.)
Plaintiff filed this action on November 14, 2014. [Docket Item 1.] Defendants Gloucester Township, Gloucester Township Police Department, and Mayor Mayer filed a motion to dismiss which the Court dismissed as moot [Docket Item 12] after Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint on April 20, 2015. [Docket Item 11.] Plaintiff's 12-count Amended Complaint consists of claims for municipal liability; conspiracy to commit gender discrimination in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1985; violation of Plaintiff's First Amendment right to engage in protected political speech; malicious prosecution; abuse of process; false arrest; violation of Plaintiff's Fourteenth Amendment liberty interest in reputation; false light; tortious interference with a business relationship; intentional infliction of emotional distress; and violation of Plaintiff's Fourteenth Amendment substantive and procedural due process rights. Plaintiff asserts such claims against 17 named defendants: Gloucester Township; Gloucester Township Police Department; David R. Mayer; David Harkins; David Carlamere; Howard C. Long; Marianne Coyle; Officer James Dougherty; Officer Benjamin Lewitt; Officer Gregory A. Jackson; Robert Grill; Frank Mellace; Melissa Mellace; Gloucester Township Residence Media Resources; gtrmc.com accountholder "Best4GT;" gtrmc.com accountholder "ymbdfa;" and gtrmc.com accountholder "Sybil Evans."
Defendants Gloucester Township, Gloucester Township Police Department, and Mayor Mayer filed the instant motion to dismiss Plaintiff's Amended Complaint. [Docket Item 13.] After the Court granted Defendants' motion to strike Plaintiff's initial opposition brief [Docket Item 19], Plaintiff filed opposition in conformity with the Court's Order. [Docket Item 20.] Defendants filed a reply. [Docket Item 21.]
A motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) may be granted only if, accepting all well-pleaded allegations in the complaint as true and viewing them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, a court concludes that the plaintiff failed to set forth fair notice of what the claim is and the grounds upon which it rests. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544,
A statute of limitations defense may be raised by motion under Rule 12(b)(6) if the limitations bar is apparent on the face of the complaint. Schmidt v. Skolas, 770 F.3d 241, 249 (3d Cir.2014).
The Court begins by addressing Defendants' argument that Plaintiff's claims are barred by the statute of limitations. Defendants contend that Plaintiff's claims under § 1983 and § 1985 are time-barred because they were filed beyond the two year limitations period applicable to personal injury claims in New Jersey.
Defendants' statute of limitations argument is an affirmative defense and "the burden of establishing its applicability to a particular claim rests with the defendant." Pension Trust Fund for Operating Engineers v. Mortgage Asset Securitization Transactions, Inc., 730 F.3d 263, 271 (3d Cir.2013). A statute of limitations defense may be raised by motion under Rule 12(b)(6) if the limitations bar is apparent on the face of the complaint. Schmidt v. Skolas, 770 F.3d 241, 249 (3d Cir.2014). Moreover, the Third Circuit has stated in the context of the discovery rule that when "the pleading does not reveal when the limitations period began to run ... the statute of limitations cannot justify Rule 12 dismissal." Schmidt, 770 F.3d at 251 (collecting cases) (quotation and citation omitted).
At the outset, the Court rejects Plaintiff's argument that the continuing violation doctrine applies to this case. Both the federal courts and New Jersey courts recognize this equitable exception to the statute of limitations. As this Court has noted, "[v]irtually all of the precedent discussing the continuing violation doctrine involves workplace discrimination suits." Major Tours, Inc. v. Colorel, 799 F.Supp.2d 376, 387 (D.N.J.2011); see also Speth v. Goode, Civ. 95-0264(JBS), 2011 WL 221664, at *6-7 (D.N.J. Jan. 20, 2011). New Jersey courts have described the doctrine as "an equitable exception to the statute of limitations" that applies to "causes of action arising under anti-discrimination
In National R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Morgan, 536 U.S. 101, 122 S.Ct. 2061, 153 L.Ed.2d 106 (2002), which New Jersey courts have followed, the Supreme Court addressed the doctrine in the context of workplace harassment. Id. at 115-21, 122 S.Ct. 2061. See also Alexander v. Seton Hall Univ., 204 N.J. 219, 8 A.3d 198, 203 (2010); Shepherd v. Hunterdon Developmental Center, 174 N.J. 1, 803 A.2d 611, 623 (2002); Green v. Jersey City Bd. of Educ., 177 N.J. 434, 828 A.2d 883, 891 (2003). The Supreme Court in Morgan established that the doctrine applies only to a certain class of claims, holding that "[h]ostile environment claims are different in kind from discrete acts. Their very nature involves repeated conduct. The `unlawful employment practice' therefore cannot be said to occur on any particular day. It occurs over a series of days or perhaps years and, in direct contrast to discrete acts, a single act of harassment may not be actionable on its own." Morgan, 536 U.S. at 115, 122 S.Ct. 2061. The Morgan Court "distinguished between `discrete' discriminatory acts, such as wrongful terminations, and acts concerning unlawful employment practices, which `cannot be said to occur on any particular day,'" and applied the continuing violation doctrine to the latter set of claims. Mancini v. Township of Teaneck, 179 N.J. 425, 846 A.2d 596, 599-600 (2004) (quoting Morgan, 536 U.S. at 115, 122 S.Ct. 2061).
Addressing the continuing violation doctrine in the context of a retaliation claim, the New Jersey Supreme Court has explained the doctrine as follows:
Roa v. LAFE, 200 N.J. 555, 985 A.2d 1225, 1233 (2010).
The continuing violation doctrine does not apply to Plaintiff's claims because her claims are based on a series of separate acts which she knew or should have known were actionable at the time they occurred, namely, alleged discrimination during her time as a constituent caseworker and councilmember from 2008 to 2012 (including her dismissal from the constituent caseworker position in June, 2008);
Having rejected Plaintiff's reliance on the continuing violation doctrine, the Court must consider whether the discovery rule or equitable tolling applies to Plaintiff's claims.
Defendants also argue that Plaintiff's First Amendment retaliation claim and her Fourteenth Amendment due process claim are time-barred to the extent they are based on her allegedly improper arrest on November 8, 2012. Because Plaintiff was arrested on November 8, 2012 more than two years before she filed the original complaint, Plaintiff's due process claim is also time-barred. See Blow v. Paterson Police Dep't, Civ. 11-2128(SRC), 2012 WL 368206, at *6 (D.N.J. Feb. 3, 2012) (dismissing as time-barred plaintiff's due process and equal protection claims based on allegedly improper arrest and search). As to the First Amendment claim, such claims "are always individually actionable, even when relatively minor." O'Connor v. City of Newark, 440 F.3d 125, 127-28 (3d Cir.2006). The Third Circuit has held that principles in Morgan "apply with equal force to § 1983 claims," and to the extent Plaintiff's allegations are "discrete, then each gave rise to a cause of action at the time it occurred." O'Connor, 440 F.3d at 129. Therefore, for the reasons discussed above, the Court finds Plaintiff's First Amendment retaliation claim barred by the statute of limitations to the extent it is based on an arrest which occurred over two years prior to the filing of the complaint.
To the contrary, it is not apparent on the face of the Amended Complaint that Plaintiff's malicious prosecution claim is barred by the statute of limitations. As noted above, malicious prosecution claims do not accrue until charges are dismissed. Ginter v. Skahill, 298 Fed.Appx. 161, 163 (3d Cir.2008) (citing Smith v. Holtz, 87 F.3d 108, 111 (3d Cir.1996)). The Amended Complaint does not state when the charges were dismissed and the Court therefore cannot conclude that Plaintiff's malicious prosecution claim is time-barred. For this same reason, the Court finds that Plaintiff's First and Fourteenth Amendment claims, to the extent based on an allegedly improper prosecution, are not clearly time-barred.
The Court now turns to Plaintiff's constitutional claims based on the alleged political retaliation during her time as a constituent caseworker and councilmember,
The Court rejects Plaintiff's attempt to invoke the doctrine of equitable tolling under New Jersey and federal law by relying on facts not pleaded in the Amended Complaint. For example, Plaintiff argues that she is entitled to equitable tolling for her § 1983 and § 1985 claims related to events between April, 2012 and July, 2012 pertaining to the voter fraud allegations because Plaintiff did not learn until July, 2012 that Ms. Stallworth was coerced into signing false affidavits. This fact is absent from the Complaint, and even if accepted as true, fails to render Plaintiff's claim timely. Plaintiff also asserts in briefing regarding the allegedly defamatory internet posts that bloggers attempted to conceal their identities by using pseudonyms and Plaintiff only learned of the connection to Frank Mellace in November, 2014. Because Plaintiff failed to include these allegations in the Amended Complaint, the Court cannot rely on them and they cannot be used to invoke equitable tolling.
In light of the foregoing, the Court finds, based on the allegations in the Amended Complaint, that Plaintiff's § 1983 and § 1985 claims are time-barred with the exception of those based on an allegedly improper prosecution following her November 8, 2012 arrest, as well as Plaintiff's claims based on statements published on the internet after November 14, 2012.
Defendants further argue, as a preliminary matter, that Plaintiff's state tort claims for false light, tortious interference with a business relationship, and intentional infliction of emotional distress must be dismissed because Plaintiff failed to give Defendants proper notice as required by the NJTCA. Plaintiff contends the NJTCA does not apply to her claims against Defendant Mayer because they involve conduct undertaken outside the course of his official duties. Plaintiff also makes clear that she is only asserting state tort claims against the individual defendants, which for purposes of the instant motion means only Mayer.
The NJTCA requires notice of a claim of injury against a public entity to
Defendants argue that Plaintiff has failed to state a § 1985 claim against Defendant Mayer based on alleged gender discrimination. Section 1985(3) creates a cause of action against any two persons who "conspire ... for the purpose of depriving, either directly or indirectly, any person or class of persons of the equal protection of the laws, or of equal privileges and immunities under the laws...." 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3). To state a claim under § 1985(3) plaintiff must allege the following elements: "(1) a conspiracy; (2) for the purpose of depriving, either directly or indirectly, any person or class of persons of the equal protection of the laws, or of equal privileges and immunities under the laws; and (3) an act in furtherance of the conspiracy; (4) whereby a person is either injured in his person or property or deprived of any right or privilege of a citizen of the United States." United Bhd. of Carpenters & Joiners of Am., Local 610, AFL-CIO v. Scott, 463 U.S. 825, 828-29, 103 S.Ct. 3352, 77 L.Ed.2d 1049 (1983). The second element requires plaintiff to allege that the conspiracy was motivated by racial, gender, or other class-based discriminatory animus. Griffin v. Breckenridge, 403 U.S. 88, 102, 91 S.Ct. 1790, 29 L.Ed.2d 338 (1971); Slater v. Susquehanna Cnty., 465 Fed.Appx. 132, 136 (3d Cir. 2012) (quoting Farber v. City of Paterson, 440 F.3d 131, 135 (3d Cir.2006)).
In the present action, Plaintiff has failed to allege the deprivation of any federally protected right. Plaintiff's § 1985(3) claim, at least with respect to Defendant Mayer, is premised on allegations that Mayer and others "engaged in
Defendants argue that Plaintiff has failed to state a § 1983 claim against Defendant Mayer in counts four through eight. Plaintiff argues in response that Plaintiff has sufficiently pleaded a § 1983 claim against Mayer for political retaliation under the First Amendment, for malicious prosecution under the Fourth Amendment, for abuse of process under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, for deprivation of liberty and property interests under the Fourteenth Amendment, and for deprivation of Plaintiff's rights under 18 U.S.C. § 241.
Section 1983 provides in relevant part:
42 U.S.C. § 1983. To state a claim for relief under section 1983, a plaintiff must allege: 1) the violation of a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States and 2) that the alleged deprivation was committed or caused by a person acting under color of state law. West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48, 108 S.Ct. 2250, 101 L.Ed.2d 40 (1988); Piecknick v. Pennsylvania, 36 F.3d 1250, 1255-56 (3d Cir.1994). See also Malleus v. George, 641 F.3d 560, 563 (3d Cir.2011).
Having conceded that Plaintiff's claims against Mayer in his official capacity should be dismissed, the Court only considers Plaintiff's claims against him in his individual capacity.
Notwithstanding the Court's conclusion above that many of Plaintiff's claims against Mayer are time-barred on the face of the Amended Complaint, Plaintiff has failed to allege sufficient facts demonstrating Mayer's personal involvement in the alleged wrongs to establish a § 1983 claim against him in his individual capacity. Plaintiff's claims for political retaliation, for malicious prosecution, for abuse of process, for deprivation of liberty and property interests, and for deprivation of Plaintiff's rights under 18 U.S.C. § 241 are principally based on her purportedly false arrest on November 8, 2012.
Although Plaintiff alleges that Mayer personally posted disparaging comments on the internet about her and directed others to engage in additional forms of cyber harassment, such allegations are also insufficient to state a claim under § 1983. As discussed above, allegations of defamation are "actionable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 only if it occurs in the course of or is accompanied by a change or extinguishment of a right or status guaranteed by state law or the Constitution." Clark v. Twp. of Falls, 890 F.2d 611, 619 (3d Cir.1989). Plaintiff alleges that her ability to secure employment has been significantly diminished as a result of the alleged internet defamation. (Am.Compl. ¶ 110.) The Third Circuit in Clark, however, found in the context of a due process claim that the potential loss of future employment insufficient to constitute the alteration or extinguishment of any right or interest. Id. at 620 ("The possible loss of future employment opportunities is patently insufficient to satisfy the requirement... that a liberty interest requires more than mere injury to reputation."). As in Clark, there is no allegation here that Plaintiff applied for and was rejected from employment.
Defendants further argue that Plaintiff has failed to state a claim for municipal liability. Plaintiff maintains in response that all of the alleged misconduct giving rise to Plaintiff's claims resulted from an unconstitutional municipal custom, policy, or practice.
It is well-established that municipal liability under § 1983 "may not be proven under the respondeat superior doctrine, but must be founded upon evidence that the government unit itself supported a violation of constitutional rights." Bielevicz v. Dubinon, 915 F.2d 845, 850 (3d Cir.1990) (citing Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs. of City of New York, 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978)). As a consequence, a municipality is liable under § 1983 only when "execution of a government's policy or custom, whether made by its lawmakers or by those whose edicts or acts may fairly be said to represent official policy, inflicts the injury." Monell, 436 U.S. at 694, 98 S.Ct. 2018; Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati, 475 U.S. 469, 483, 106 S.Ct. 1292, 89 L.Ed.2d 452 (1986) (plurality opinion) ("[M]unicipal liability under § 1983 attaches where — and only where — a deliberate choice to follow a course of action is made from among various alternatives by the official or officials responsible for establishing final policy with respect to the subject matter in question."). Whether a policy or a custom, "The plaintiff must also demonstrate that, through its deliberate conduct, the municipality was the `moving force' behind the injury alleged." Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs of Bryan Cnty., Okl. v. Brown, 520 U.S. 397, 404, 117 S.Ct. 1382, 137 L.Ed.2d 626 (1997). Thus, for a plaintiff to sufficiently demonstrate municipal liability under § 1983, he or she must present facts to support a finding that execution of a specific policy or custom, or the directive of the municipality's final decision maker, caused the alleged harm.
Plaintiff's conclusory allegations in counts one and two as to municipal liability fait to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Mayer and others "fostered a political culture of fear and intimidation ... to resolve political grudges" and discourage individuals from exercising their right to political speech. (Am.Compl. ¶ 112.) According to the Amended Complaint, Gloucester Township and the Gloucester Township Police Department "have exhibited an unconstitutional custom, policy, and practice" by which municipal officials harass and intimidate political opponents through "unreasonable fines, audits, civil actions, criminal charges, arrests, prosecutions, cyber harassment and smear campaigns." (Id. ¶ 114.) Plaintiff asserts that she "witnessed firsthand" Defendant Mayer and others in his administration "routinely direct Gloucester Township ... officials to harass and intimidate political opponents." (Id. ¶ 115.) Plaintiff then casts each instance of alleged misconduct "as a direct and proximate result of Gloucester Township's
For example, in regards to Plaintiff's November 8, 2012 arrest, Plaintiff notes the "unilateral" decision by Officer Lewitt to escalate the initial allegations. Plaintiff maintains that Defendants David Carlamere, Marianne Coyle, and Howard C. Long elicited false statements about Plaintiff from an elderly constituent and that various unidentified Camden County prosecutors and Gloucester Township police officers attempted to arrest Plaintiff at her place of work. Likewise, Plaintiff alleges that numerous individuals using different internet pseudonyms posted offensive comments on the internet about Plaintiff.
In light of the foregoing, the Court will grant Defendants' motion to dismiss. The Court finds that Plaintiff's § 1983 and § 1985 claims against Defendants Mayer, Gloucester Township, and the Gloucester Township Police Department are time-barred except to the extent based on an allegedly improper prosecution following her November 8, 2012 arrest and allegedly defamatory internet posts published on or after November 14, 2012. Plaintiff's state law claims against these Defendants are precluded by the NJTCA's notice requirements. In addition, the Court concludes that Plaintiff's § 1985 claim must be dismissed for failure to allege the deprivation of a federally protected right and failure to plausibly allege an actual conspiracy. Plaintiff has likewise failed to allege plausible § 1983 claims against Defendant Mayer or a plausible municipal liability claim against the Township and the Police Department.
Because the Court cannot conclude that amendment would be futile, dismissal will be without prejudice except for Plaintiff's tort claims which are barred under the