Waters v. City of Morristown, TN

• Decision Date: 31 January 2001
• Docket Number: No. 00-5019,00-5019
• Citation: 242 F.3d 353
• Parties: (6th Cir. 2001) Kathryn M. Waters, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. City of Morristown, Tennessee; Merlin E. Shuck, individually and in his official capacity as a Morristown Alderman/Morristown City Councilman; Jerry Graham, individually and in his official capacity as Lieutenant in the Morristown Police Department, Defendants-Appellees. Argued:
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 353

242 F.3d 353 (6th Cir. 2001)

Kathryn M. Waters, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. City of Morristown, Tennessee; Merlin E. Shuck, individually and in his official capacity as a Morristown Alderman/Morristown City Councilman; Jerry Graham, individually and in his official capacity as Lieutenant in the Morristown Police Department, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 00-5019

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

Argued: January 31, 2001

Decided and Filed: February 22, 2001

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. Nos. 94-00077

[Copyrighted Material Omitted] James R. Moore, MOORE & BROOKS, Knoxville, Tennessee, for Appellant. Pamela L. Reeves, WATSON, HOLLOW & REEVES, Knoxville, Tennessee, Denise T. Stapleton, TERRY, TERRY AND STAPLETON, Morristown, Tennessee, for Appellees.

Pamela L. Reeves, WATSON, HOLLOW & REEVES, Knoxville, Tennessee, Denise T. Stapleton, TERRY, TERRY AND STAPLETON, Morristown, Tennessee, for Appellees.

Before: DAUGHTREY and GILMAN, Circuit Judges; HEYBURN, District Judge. ^*

OPINION

RONALD LEE GILMAN, Circuit Judge.

Kathryn M. Waters brought suit against Veterinarian and City Alderman Merlin E. Shuck, Police Officer Jerry Graham, and the city of Morristown, Tennessee pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §1983, contending that they had unlawfully deprived Waters of her constitutionally protected rights. The district court granted the defendants' motion for summary judgment, concluding that Dr. Shuck had not acted under color of state law when he harassed and abused Waters, that Officer Graham was entitled to qualified immunity, and that Waters had failed to establish any custom or policy that would trigger the city of Morristown's liability. Waters now challenges that decision. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual background

From January of 1992 through May of 1993, Waters worked as a veterinary assistant at Dr. Shuck's Morristown Animal Hospital. During this entire period of time, Dr. Shuck was both a licensed veterinarian and a Morristown city alderman. Waters and Dr. Shuck became involved in a personal relationship sometime after her employment commenced at the animal hospital, and Dr. Shuck began to exert increasing control over Waters's life. Dr Shuck insisted as a condition of Waters's continuing employment that she attend his church, stop drinking excessively, and leave her husband, who was also a heavy drinker.

In January of 1993, Dr. Shuck allegedly confined Waters to his animal hospital for approximately ten days in an attempt to prevent her from drinking. Although she had access to several telephones inside the animal clinic, Waters did not report the incident to the police. Instead, she used the phones to call relatives and even to have the local taxi company deliver beer to her on one occasion. Waters had the ability to escape because Dr. Shuck frequently left the back door unlocked so that she could smoke outside. She finally left through the unlocked back door one evening when she called the taxi company to retrieve her.

Following this incident, Waters felt the need to separate herself from Dr. Shuck. She did so by visiting with her children in Florida. Dr. Shuck provided the money for a one-way plane ticket and even drove Waters to the airport. Waters claims that Dr. Shuck then began making repeated telephone calls to her in Florida, urging her to return to Morristown to settle her affairs and threatening to send down the Morristown police chief to have her arrested. After she agreed to return to Morristown, Dr. Shuck sent her a return airline ticket.

On the evening of February 26, 1993, while Dr. Shuck was out of town, Waters went into the animal hospital to check on the animals. A hospital employee saw Waters and notified the police that Waters, who was no longer a permanent employee, was trespassing. Waters had already been drinking heavily that day. The police arrested Waters for public intoxication and criminal trespass, and confiscated as potential evidence a key to the clinic, her car's distributor wire, and $150 in cash, all of which were found on her person. Although the police returned the distributor wire and money to Waters, the key was given to Dr. Shuck because it belonged to the animal hospital. Upon Dr. Shuck's return to Morristown, he had the trespass charges dismissed and informed the police he did not want to pursue the matter.

Early the next morning, the local taxi company was cited by the Morristown police for violating several of Hamblen County's taxicab regulations. The police found that one of its cabs had dysfunctional tail lights, lacked a rate meter, and had an invalid permit. Waters alleges that this was the only time that the taxi company had ever been inspected by the police and, because of its proximity to her arrest and to the confiscation of her car's distributor wire, demonstrated a concerted effort by the Morristown police to restrict her ability to travel.

In March of 1993, Dr. Shuck allegedly went to Waters's apartment and became upset when he found her drinking. Waters contends that he slapped her across the face with such force that her dentures broke. Later that same month, Dr. Shuck purportedly caught her drinking again. This time, Waters claims that he hit her on the head with a liquor bottle and then took her back to his animal hospital to suture the wound. Still another assault took place on April 18, 1993, when Dr. Shuck allegedly struck Waters and broke her nose. Waters did not report any of these incidents to the police.

During this period of time, Waters contends that Dr. Shuck used his position as a Morristown alderman to have the police track her whereabouts. When the owner of the local taxi company refused to tell Dr. Shuck where Waters had been driven on a particular occasion, he allegedly had the police find out the information for him. Then, on April 4, 1993, Dr. Shuck purportedly had the police department issue a "BOLO" (Be On the Lookout) for Waters. Nothing ever came of the inquiry. Waters was not aware at the time that it had occurred, and the police chief denied that the department ever issued such a bulletin.

A few days later, Dr. Shuck again contacted the taxi company and allegedly threatened to use his influence as a city alderman to have its operating license revoked if it continued to transport Waters. Despite these alleged threats, the taxi company continued to drive Waters around town. The owner of the company stated that she would continue to serve whoever needed transportation. In addition, the defendants pointed out that aldermen do not possess individual authority over licensing procedures for the local taxi companies under the Morristown City Charter, but must act in concert with at least two other members of the Council to take any action.

The next altercation between Dr. Shuck and Waters occurred on May 8, 1993. Dr. Shuck allegedly broke into Waters's apartment while she was out and rummaged through her belongings. He purportedly left a note stating that Waters had turned his life upside down, so he was now going to do the same to her. For the first time since the abuse began, Waters contacted the police. She told the responding officers that she suspected that Dr. Shuck was the perpetrator and that she was afraid of him. She declined, however, to make a formal complaint. One of the officers later testified that the presence of the overturned furniture was suspicious and looked staged. The officer also stated that Waters appeared to have been drinking when they questioned her about the incident.

Later that day, the police received a 911 call reporting a second disturbance involving Dr. Shuck. He was reported to have broken into an apartment belonging to one of Waters's friends, Robert Cadman, in search of her. Both Waters and Cadman were asleep inside the apartment when Dr. Shuck arrived. Officer Graham was among the officers who responded to the call. When he arrived at the scene, Waters was visibly intoxicated. Waters claims that Graham allowed Dr. Shuck to control the police investigation and was permitted to take her back to her apartment while the police drove her car there. Officer Graham, however, testified that he asked Waters whether she was okay and if she wanted to leave with Dr. Shuck. He claims that she responded affirmatively, telling him that Dr. Shuck always took care of her. When Waters was later asked about these events, she admitted that the details were "real fuzzy," that she "had enough alcohol in [her] . . that [she] could not see very well," and that she never told the police she did not want to go with Dr. Shuck. Cadman informed the police that he would let the city of Morristown decide whether to prosecute because he was not sure if he wanted to pursue the matter.

On May 10, 1993, two Morristown police officers followed up with Waters concerning the incident. When they informed Waters that she could press charges against Dr. Shuck, she specifically told them that she did not wish to prosecute. Waters admitted that the police officers encouraged her to pursue the matter and repeatedly told her that they were there to protect her, not Dr. Shuck. She did agree, however, to give the police a statement, detailing some of the abuse that she had suffered at the hands of Dr. Shuck.

After the detectives left her home, Waters contacted Dr. Shuck. She demanded and received $1,500 in exchange for recanting her statement to the police. When Waters was later questioned under oath by Dr. Shuck's attorneys, she disavowed her previous allegations against him and testified that she had felt pressured by the police to make an official report.

Dr. Shuck continued his harassment and abuse throughout the next six months. On December 16, 1993, Dr. Shuck was arrested for conspiracy to kidnap Waters and her former husband, whom she had divorced by then, and for...