Brookens v. United States, Civil Action No. 12–502 (RWR)

• Decision Date: 07 October 2013
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 12–502 (RWR)
• Citation: 981 F.Supp.2d 55
• Parties: Benoit Brookens, et al., Plaintiffs, v. United States of America, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

981 F.Supp.2d 55

Benoit Brookens, et al., Plaintiffs,

v.United States of America, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 12–502 (RWR)

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

October 7, 2013

Claude W. Roxborough, II, Melodie Venee Shuler, Kimmel & Roxborough, LLP, Washington, DC, for Plaintiffs.

Wynne Patrick Kelly, U.S. Attorney's Office, Washington, DC, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

RICHARD W. ROBERTS, Chief Judge

Plaintiffs Benoit Brookens and Mary Todd filed this action asserting claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the common law against the District of Columbia, the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia and numerous other defendants in connection with Brookens's arrest and prosecution for criminal contempt for violating an order that prohibited Brookens from practicing law or holding himself out as a lawyer in the District of Columbia. The District of Columbia and the named federal defendants move to dismiss the complaint. Because the plaintiffs have failed to address the federal movants' arguments and the complaint fails to state a claim for which relief can be granted against the District of Columbia, the defendants' motions will be granted and the complaint will be dismissed against all federal defendants and the District of Columbia. Because the plaintiffs have demonstrated no good cause to extend time to serve defendant Judge Butler, he will be dismissed as a defendant.

BACKGROUND

In 1984, Brookens was a resident of the District of Columbia. He was a member of the bars of the States of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, but he was not a member of the District of Columbia Bar. That year, Brookens filed a tenant petition with the Office of the D.C. Rent Administrator on behalf of himself and other tenants in the apartment building in which he lived. Compl. ¶ 25. The Rent Administrator awarded Brookens $10,000 in damages, awarded the class over one million dollars in rent overcharges and ordered that the tenants were entitled to rent reductions. Id. ¶¶ 26–27. In 1986, Brookens was found to have engaged in the unauthorized practice of law in other matters while he was not an admitted member of the D.C. bar. SeeBrookens v. Comm. on Unauthorized Practice of Law, 538 A.2d 1120 (D.C.1988). Brookens was prohibited from

(1) representing any person other than himself, or any corporation, association, partnership, organization, or other entity, in any court in the District of Columbia unless he is a member of the bar of the court in which such representation takes place;

(2) using such terms as “lawyer,” “attorney,” “counsel,” “counselor” or “counsellor,” “Esq.,” or “Esquire” to refer to himself in such manner as to convey the impression that he is entitled or authorized to practice law in the District of Columbia, or in any way holding himself out as authorized or qualified to practice law in the District of Columbia;

(3) engaging in any manner in the practice of law in the District of Columbia, as that term is defined in Rule 49(b)(3) of the General Rules of this court; and

(4) engaging in any other conduct prohibited by Rule 49(b)(2) of the General Rules[.]

Brookens, 538 A.2d at 1122 n. 6. In 2010 Brookens was arrested and charged with 19 counts of criminal contempt for violating these prohibitions and engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. The governmentwent forward on four of the counts. Compl. ¶ 35; Fed. Defs.' Mem. in Supp. of Mot. to Dismiss (“Fed. Defs.' Mem.”), Ex. 1 at 1. The matter was assigned to Superior Court Judge Lopez,¹ who conducted a bench trial. Defendants Assistant United States Attorney Cynthia Wright, the chair of the Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law (the “Committee”), and Theodore Metzler, a Committee member, prosecuted the case. In May 2012, Judge Lopez issued an opinion finding Brookens guilty of four counts of misdemeanor criminal contempt of court for engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. Fed. Defs.' Mem. at 4; see also United States v. Brookens, No.2011–CCC–10 (D.C.Super.Ct. filed May 20, 2012).

The plaintiffs filed this 12–count action in May 2012, based on the events surrounding Brookens' prosecution. The complaint alleges that the District of Columbia, District of Columbia Bar, Wright, Metzler and his law firm Covington & Burling LLP, and Administrative Law Judges Tyrone Butler and Jennifer Long acted under the color of state law to violate the plaintiffs' right to equal protection by preventing Brookens from representing low-income residents in administrative proceedings (First Cause of Action), Compl. ¶¶ 36–90; that the District, Wright, Covington & Burling, Metzler, Judge Butler and Judge Long acted under the color of state law to violate Todd's rights under the First Amendment by detaining her for associating with Brookens, and that they committed common law torts by maliciously prosecuting Brookens and intentionally inflicting emotional distress on him (Second, Third and Eighth Causes of Action), id. ¶¶ 91–155, 245–264; that all defendants acted under the color of state law to violate Brookens' Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures (Fourth Cause of Action), id. ¶¶ 156–228; that Brookens was falsely arrested and denied a speedy jury trial (Fifth Cause of Action), id. ¶¶ 229–235; that the unidentified Marshals, unidentified MPD officers and Neumann assaulted and battered Brookens and Todd (Sixth and Seventh Causes of Action), id. ¶¶ 236–244; that Wright defamed Brookens (Ninth Cause of Action), id. ¶¶ 265–277; and finally that the District, the United States, the United States Attorney, and Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey Ragsdale negligently failed to train and properly supervise the prosecutors who participated in the criminal action (Eleventh and Twelfth Causes of Action), id. ¶¶ 286–325.² The complaint sought an order enjoining Metzler and Wright from criminally prosecuting Brookens, id. ¶¶ 326–27, an order “[t]hat the prosecution” of Brookens by Wright and Metzler “violates the U.S. Constitution,” $3,000,000 in compensatory damages, punitive damages, costs and attorneys' fees, id. at 50. Metzler, Covington & Burling, the District of Columbia Bar, and Judge Long filed motions to dismiss that were granted as conceded.³ The District of Columbia and the named federal defendants have now moved to dismiss under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), 12(b)(5), and 12(b)(6), and, in the alternative, for summary judgment under Rule 56.⁴

DISCUSSION

Rule 12(b)(1) provides that a federal court must dismiss a case when it lacks subject matter jurisdiction. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1). Generally, “ ‘[b]efore a court may address the merits of a complaint, it must assure that it has jurisdiction to entertain the claims.’ ” Cornish v. Dudas, 715 F.Supp.2d 56, 60 (D.D.C.2010) (quoting Marshall v. Honeywell Tech. Solutions, Inc., 675 F.Supp.2d 22, 24 (D.D.C.2009)). It is the plaintiff's burden to demonstrate subject matter jurisdiction. Shuler v. United States, 531 F.3d 930, 932 (D.C.Cir.2008). If the plaintiff cannot meet her burden, the court must dismiss the action. Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env't, 523 U.S. 83, 94, 118 S.Ct. 1003, 140 L.Ed.2d 210 (1998) (citing Ex parte McCardle, 74 U.S. (7 Wall.) 506, 19 L.Ed. 264 (1868)). In considering a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, a court “ ‘treat[s] the complaint's factual allegations as true’ ” and “ ‘grant[s] plaintiff ‘the benefit of all inferences that can be derived from the facts alleged.’ ” Nat'l Whistleblower Ctr. v. Department of Health and Human Services, 839 F.Supp.2d 40, 44 (D.D.C.2012) (quoting Sparrow v. United Air Lines, Inc., 216 F.3d 1111, 1113 (D.C.Cir.2000) (internal quotation omitted)). However, “[b]ecause subject matter jurisdiction focuses on the court's power to hear the claim, ... the court must give the plaintiff's factual allegations closer scrutiny when resolving a Rule 12(b)(1) motion than would be required for a Rule 12(b)(6) motion[.]” Aref v. Holder, 774 F.Supp.2d 147, 159 (D.D.C.2011).

“ ‘A complaint can be dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6) when a plaintiff fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.’ ” Howard Univ. v. Watkins, 857 F.Supp.2d 67, 71 (D.D.C.2012) (quoting Peavey v. Holder, 657 F.Supp.2d 180, 185 (D.D.C.2009) (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6))). Motions to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) test the legal sufficiency of a complaint. Smith–Thompson v. Dist. of Columbia, 657 F.Supp.2d 123, 129 (D.D.C.2009).

To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, acceptable as true, to “state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” ... A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.

Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 556, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). “The complaint must be construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and ‘the court must assume the truth of all well-pleaded allegations.’ ” Watkins, 857 F.Supp.2d at 71 (quoting Warren v. Dist. of Columbia, 353 F.3d 36, 39 (D.C.Cir.2004)). “[A] complaint attacked by a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss does not need detailed factual allegations[.]” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. However, “[w]here a complaint pleads facts that are ‘merely consistent with’ a defendant's liability, it ‘stops short of the line between possibility and plausibility of entitlement to relief.’ ” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

A motion under Rule 12(b)(5) to dismiss for failure to properly serve process may be granted when a plaintiff fails to “demonstrate that the procedure employed satisfied the requirements of Rule 4 and any other applicable provision of law.” Light v....