Goodman v. Sipos, 00-14476

Citation259 F.3d 1327
Decision Date02 August 2001
Docket NumberNo. 00-14476,00-14476
Parties(11th Cir. 2001) KIM GOODMAN, on her own behalf and on behalf of her minor child, MICHAEL GOODMAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. PATRICIA SIPOS and D'ANNA LIBER, Defendants - Appellees
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (11th Circuit)

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Before CARNES, COX and NOONAN*, Circuit Judges.

CARNES, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff Kim Goodman ("Goodman"), on her own behalf and on behalf of her son Michael Goodman ("Michael"), brought this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Defendants Patricia Sipos and D'Anna Liber, employees of the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services ("DFCS"), seeking damages for alleged violations of their constitutional rights in connection with the investigation and initiation of a state juvenile proceeding to remove Michael from Goodman's custody. The district court found that the plaintiffs were "essentially challenging" the order issued by a Georgia state juvenile court removing Michael from Goodman's custody, and held that the lawsuit was barred under the Rooker - Feldman doctrine. We agree with respect to some of the plaintiffs' claims, but do not agree that all of the claims were so "inextricably intertwined" with the state court order as to be barred. As a result, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.

I. BACKGROUND
A. FACTS

This lawsuit arises out of an investigation of child neglect conducted by DFCS against Goodman. Defendant D'Anna Liber was the Supervisor of the Child Services Investigation Section of the Cobb County DFCS Office in 1995 when this investigation took place. On October 27, 1995, Liber received a call from school personnel informing her of a report from one of Goodman's neighbors that Goodman left Michael, age 13 at the time, at home alone all day from 7 a.m. until 10 or 11 p.m., and that Michael asked neighbors for food. The school official further informed Liber that Goodman had previously withdrawn Michael from school, indicating that she would home-school him.

In response to this report, a caseworker visited Goodman's home and reported that Michael was barefoot, and that he admitted he was at home alone four days a week until after 10:30 p.m. while his mother worked and went to school. He indicated that they had more food now that his mother was working. Goodman later called Liber and stated that she was complying with home-schooling regulations, but she refused to meet with any DFCS officials.

On November 9, 1995, Liber received an anonymous call from a neighbor of Goodman. The neighbor again stated that Michael was at home alone, both during the day and at night. About two weeks later, DFCS received a third report from another neighbor stating similar concerns.1 The person making the third report stated that Michael begged for food, was not clean, walked barefoot in a yard with 20 chickens, and lived in a house with about 50 birds. That person also said he and other neighbors were concerned about Michael and that Goodman was "a little crazy." Liber assigned Defendant Patty Sipos, a DFCS caseworker, to investigate the reports.

After being assigned to the case, Sipos went to Goodman's house and knocked on the door, but no one answered. Sipos called Liber and informed her of this, and Liber decided that police involvement was necessary. Liber called the child abuse unit of the Cobb County Police Department and informed them of the situation, and two uniformed officers were sent to the house to meet Sipos. Officers Forrester and Crook came to the house, discussed the situation with Sipos, and then knocked on the door. The subsequent events are in dispute.

According to Michael, Officer Forrester opened the unlocked door and stood at the threshold with Sipos behind him. According to the defendants, the officers explained to Michael why they were there, and asked him to call his mother so that they could meet with her. After several minutes of discussion and unsuccessful attempts to reach Goodman, the defendants state that Michael opened the door wide and gestured for the officers and Sipos to enter. Goodman and Michael deny that he consented (or had authority to consent) for the officers or Sipos to enter.

Sipos states that her purpose in entering was to determine whether the house posed a health hazard to Michael (because of the report of birds) and to determine whether there was food for him. According to the defendants, Sipos and the officers quickly walked through the house, while Michael laughed and joked with the officers. Sipos and the officers departed after Sipos concluded that the house was not a health risk and that there was food.

Sipos returned later in the day in an attempt to speak with Goodman, but no one was home. She then returned the next day and spoke with a neighbor who expressed concerns about Michael's being at home alone all day and his begging for food.2 Sipos later called Goodman at work after getting no answer at home, but Goodman hung up on her.

On December 5, 1995, a confidential source claiming to be a long-time friend of Goodman reported to Sipos that Goodman had threatened to shoot herself and Michael. The caller said that Goodman was acting bizarre, and had said that she had a gun. The caller seemed to Sipos to be reliable. Thereafter, Sipos spoke with Robert Grayson, an attorney for DFCS, about the situation. Grayson spoke with the confidential source and concluded based on that conversation that there was sufficient evidence to seek an ex parte order taking custody of Michael away from Goodman.

The next day, DFCS filed an ex parte petition, supported by an affidavit from Sipos, seeking to obtain custody of Michael. The petition and supporting affidavit stated that Michael was deprived because his mother had withdrawn him from school without complying with home school requirements. They indicated that DFCS had received several reports of Michael being home alone all day, and a report that Goodman had threatened to shoot herself and Michael. Finally, the petition and affidavit stated that Goodman had been uncooperative with DFCS during its investigation, and that Michael should be removed from his mother's custody for his own safety. Goodman alleges that Sipos' affidavit filed in support of the petition for custody was intentionally or recklessly false.

After reviewing DFCS' ex parte petition, the Cobb County juvenile court issued an order taking custody away from Goodman and setting a hearing for the following day. Michael was then picked up by the sheriff's department.

The following day, the juvenile court held a hearing which Goodman attended. The court found probable cause to grant DFCS custody of Michael, and DFCS and Goodman agreed that Michael would be placed with a family friend, Curtis Scott. A few days later, DFCS took Michael away from Scott, however, because Sipos claimed that Scott had deprived her of access to Michael. According to Goodman, Sipos threatened to have Scott arrested if he did not return Michael. At that time Michael was placed in a shelter. Goodman filed a motion with the juvenile court to have Michael returned to Scott's custody, but after a hearing the court denied her motion. The parties eventually agreed that Robert Goodman, Michael's father, would be granted temporary custody of him. On April 12, 1996, the juvenile court entered an order requiring that Michael remain in his father's custody for up to two years.

B. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In their complaint, the plaintiffs raise three § 1983 claims that are based on allegations of separate constitutional violations. First, they allege that Liber, Sipos and Officer Forrester violated their Fourth Amendment rights by unlawfully entering and searching Goodman's house without a warrant or consent.3 Second, the plaintiffs challenge the veracity of the affidavit submitted by Sipos to the juvenile court in support of the ex parte petition for custody of Michael, and argue that it and the ensuing ex parte proceeding violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Finally, the plaintiffs allege that the defendants committed an additional due process violation by threatening Scott with arrest if he did not return Michael to DFCS.4

Following extensive discovery, the defendants moved for summary judgment based on the Rooker-Feldman doctrine and qualified immunity.5 The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Sipos and Liber based on the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, reasoning that:

Notwithstanding the fact that plaintiffs frame much of defendants' conduct in terms of alleged constitutional deprivations, by attacking the veracity of certain pieces of evidence and the manner in which certain evidence was obtained, plaintiffs are essentially challenging the basis of the Juvenile Court of Cobb County, Georgia's decision to remove Michael Goodman from . . . [Kim] Goodman's custody.

II. DISCUSSION

The only issue that we address is whether the district court correctly determined that it had no subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiffs' claims in light of the Rooker-Feldman doctrine.6 "We review questions of subject matter jurisdiction de novo." Singleton v. Apfel, 231 F.3d 853, 856 (11th Cir. 2000). For the reasons explained below, we conclude that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction on two of the plaintiffs' three claims.

The Rooker-Feldman doctrine places limits on the subject matter jurisdiction of federal district courts and courts of appeal over certain matters related to previous state court litigation. See Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co., 263 U.S. 413, 415-16, 44 S. Ct. 149, 150 (1923); District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462, 476-82, 103 S. Ct. 1303, 1311-15 (1983). We have described the Rooker-Feldman doctrine as follows:

The Rooker-Feldman doctrine provides that federal courts, other than the ...

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