Butler v. Sheriff of Palm Beach Cnty.

Decision Date06 July 2012
Docket NumberNo. 11–13933.,11–13933.
Citation23 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C 1271,685 F.3d 1261
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit
PartiesLarry D. BUTLER, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. SHERIFF OF PALM BEACH COUNTY, Dorethea Collier, individually, Defendants–Appellees.

685 F.3d 1261
23 Fla.
L. Weekly Fed. C 1271

Larry D. BUTLER, Plaintiff–Appellant,
v.
SHERIFF OF PALM BEACH COUNTY, Dorethea Collier, individually, Defendants–Appellees.

No. 11–13933.

United States Court of Appeals,
Eleventh Circuit.

July 6, 2012.


[685 F.3d 1262]


Christopher A. Haddad, Law Office of Christopher A. Haddad, PA, Lakeworth, FL, for Plaintiff–Appellant.

Harriet R. Lewis, Lewis Stroud & Deutsch, PL, Boca Raton, FL, Thomas Michael Bates, West Palm Beach, FL, for Defendants–Appellees.


Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Before CARNES, BARKETT and BLACK, Circuit Judges.

CARNES, Circuit Judge:

In one of his ballads, Jim Croce warned that there are four things that you just don't do: “You don't tug on Superman's

[685 F.3d 1263]

cape/ You don't spit into the wind/ You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger/ And you don't mess around with Jim.”1 He could have added a fifth warning to that list: “And you don't let a pistol-packing mother catch you naked in her daughter's closet.”

I.

It all started with a phone call.2 Nineteen-year-old Uzuri Collier called Larry Butler, who was of a similar age, and invited him to her house. Butler responded to the invitation the way most young men over the age of consent would have—he went. Once Butler was at Uzuri's house, he and she consented to watch television for a while. Then they consented to do what young couples alone in a house have been consenting to do since the memory of man (and woman) runneth not to the contrary. The record does not disclose how long these two young people had known each other in the dictionary sense, but that afternoon in Uzuri's bedroom they also knew each other in the biblical sense. While doing so, and while clothed in the manner that is customary in such matters, which is to say not at all, they heard someone coming into the house.

The record does not tell us how the timing worked out as unfortunately as it did. It may be that the two young people simply lost track of time, which would be understandable given the circumstances. Or it may be that Uzuri's mother, Dorethea Collier, left work early that day. However it happened, Collier came close to catching the couple coupling. So close that when they heard her, Butler had only enough time to dash into the bedroom closet wearing nothing but a look of surprise.

Collier was a corrections officer at the Eagle Academy, which is a “boot-camp facility for minors” run by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. She was wearing her uniform and gun belt with pistol and “[u]pon entering the room, she began demanding that Uzuri explain why she was undressed and what she was doing.” While talking with her daughter, Collier took off her utility belt and threw it on the bed. Sometime thereafter—the implication is sooner rather than later—Collier discovered Butler stark naked in her daughter's closet. She yelled at him and punched him one time. Then Collier picked up her utility belt, put it back on, and drew her gun. She told Butler that if he moved or did not follow her commands, she would shoot him.

Butler tried to explain that Uzuri had invited him to the house, but Collier insisted that he must have broken in. She had the still-naked Butler turn around, she handcuffed him, and she made him get down on his knees. After staying there “for a prolonged period,” Butler pleaded with Collier that he could not maintain that position any longer. Collier responded by telling him to bend over or she would shoot him. She “made numerous threats against Butler, [telling him] that she would ‘kill him’ if he did not obey her commands.”

While still holding Butler at gunpoint, Collier called her husband and told him to come home immediately. After that, she called a supervisor at Eagle Academy and asked what charges she could bring against Butler for entering the house and

[685 F.3d 1264]

“engaging in sexual relations with her daughter.” The supervisor told Collier that if Butler had entered without permission he could be charged with trespassing and rape, but that if he had been invited in, she would have to let him go. About this time, Collier's husband arrived at the house, and he “also assaulted Butler.” In what manner, we are not told.

Collier continued to hold Butler at gunpoint, threatening to kill him if he did not follow orders. After Collier's husband “inquired further” about the naked man's identity and determined who he was, Butler was allowed to get dressed and leave, although Collier kept the gun pointed at him while he was dressing. One can assume that it did not take Butler long to get dressed and get out, but before he had time to leave Collier “warned him about the consequences of filing charges or even ‘thinking about’ reporting the incident.” She told Butler that if he reported what had happened, she “would submit a report to discredit him and would engage in some ‘creative writing’ if necessary to justify the filing of charges against him for trespassing on the property.” Despite those threats, Butler eventually reported the incident to law enforcement. There is no allegation that Collier responded by submitting a report of her own or by filing trespassing charges against Butler.

II.

Butler filed a lawsuit in Florida state court against Collier, individually and in her official capacity as a corrections officer with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, and against Ric Bradshaw, the Sheriff of Palm Beach County, Florida, in his official capacity only. Butler's complaint claimed that Collier had violated 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by using “plainly excessive and disproportionate force on Butler to effect an unlawful and unreasonable search and seizure” (Count II). His complaint also included a state law claim of “battery/excessive force” against Collier in her official capacity (Count III), and state law claims against her both individually and in her official capacity for false imprisonment (Counts IV & V) and for intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress (Counts VI–IX). The claim against Sheriff Bradshaw was a derivative one, asserting that he had as a matter of policy, practice, and custom inadequately trained, disciplined, and supervised deputies and others under his supervision, including Collier, resulting in violations of § 1983 (Count I).

Collier and Bradshaw removed the case to federal district court, see28 U.S.C. § 1441(a), based on federal question jurisdiction, see id. § 1331, which was premised on the § 1983 claims. The defendants each filed a motion to dismiss the complaint. In a written response to the motions to dismiss his § 1983 claims, Butler contended that Collier had acted under color of law by, among other things, attempting to charge him with a crime, asserting that: “[s]he contacted officials at the Eagle Academy ... about what charges she could bring against plaintiff. She even sought to charge Plaintiff with trespassing but was overridden by her supervisor.”3 Because Butler's arguments against dismissal relied on facts that were not in the complaint itself, the court dismissed the complaint with leave to file an amended one.

[685 F.3d 1265]

Butler filed an amended complaint, asserting the same claims against the defendants, except for the negligent infliction of emotional distress claims (originally Counts VII & IX), which he had already agreed to dismiss. The defendants each filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint. They argued, among other things, that the allegations still did not show Collier had acted under color of law.

The district court concluded that the allegations in the amended complaint showed no more than Collier acting as a private individual because nothing she allegedly did to Butler relied on or invoked her authority as a law enforcement officer. For that reason, the court once again dismissed Butler's § 1983 claims under Rule 12(b)(6). Because Butler had been unable to state a federal claim despite being given an opportunity to amend the complaint, the court concluded that any further attempts to amend would be futile and made the dismissal with prejudice. The court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Butler's state law claims, remanding them to state court.4

III.

“We review de novo the district court's grant of a motion to dismiss under 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim, accepting the allegations in the complaint as true and construing them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Ironworkers Local Union 68 v. AstraZeneca Pharm., LP, 634 F.3d 1352, 1359 (11th Cir.2011) (quotation marks omitted). The plaintiff's “[f]actual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level, on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact).” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1965, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (citations omitted). To survive a motion to dismiss, the plaintiff must plead “a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Id. at 570, 127 S.Ct. at 1974.

IV.

Section 1983 does not federalize all torts or other deprivations of rights committed by a person who is a law enforcement officer or other government agent. Instead, the statute covers only those deprivations committed “under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of...

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