C.P. v. Collier Cnty.

• Citation: 145 F.Supp.3d 1085
• Decision Date: 18 November 2015
• Docket Number: Case No: 2:15-cv-238-FtM-29CM
• Parties: C.P., a minor, by and through his next friends, Fidel Perez, and Aida C. Perez, Plaintiffs, v. Collier County, James Driscoll, individually and in his official capacity, Alan Flanagan, individually and in his official capacity, and Kevin Rambosk, individually and in his official capacity, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida

145 F.Supp.3d 1085

C.P., a minor, by and through his next friends, Fidel Perez, and Aida C. Perez, Plaintiffs,

v.Collier County, James Driscoll, individually and in his official capacity, Alan Flanagan, individually and in his official capacity, and Kevin Rambosk, individually and in his official capacity, Defendants.

Case No: 2:15-cv-238-FtM-29CM

United States District Court, M.D. Florida, Fort Myers Division.

Signed November 18, 2015

Jose Angel Baez, Michelle Medina, Baez Law Firm, Coral Gables, FL, Luis Fernando Calderon, P. Jan Kubicz, Baez Law Firm, Orlando, FL, for Plaintiffs.

Richard Allen Giuffreda, Purdy, Jolly, Giuffreda & Barranco, PA, Ft Lauderdale, FL, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

JOHN E. STEELE, SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This matter comes before the Court on review of defendant Sheriff Rambosk's Motion to Dismiss Counts XIII and XIV (Doc. #10), defendant Collier County's Motion to Dismiss (Doc. #11), and defendants Driscoll and Flanagan's Motion to Dismiss Counts I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X, and to Strike Punitive Damages (Doc. #12), all filed on June 15, 2015. Plaintiff filed Responses to each Motion to Dismiss (Docs. ##16-18) on June 22, 2015.

I.

Plaintiff's Complaint (Doc. #1) contains the following allegations: Plaintiff (“C.P”) is a disabled child, diagnosed with mild retardation and autism. (Id. ¶ 6.) On December 15, 2013, plaintiff was waiting outside of his home in Collier County, Florida for his father to come home from work in order to do some holiday decorating. (Id. ¶ 13.) At approximately 6:46 p.m., the Collier County Sheriff's Office received a call regarding a “suspicious person” and, in response, dispatched defendants Flanagan and Driscoll. (Id. ¶ 15.) The caller warned the police as to the “suspicious person's” mental capacity, specifically stating that the individual was a “slow kid that lives in my neighborhood.” (Id. ¶ 16.)

Upon arrival, Flanagan and Driscoll located an individual matching the suspect's description, later identified as the plaintiff. (Id. ¶ 17.) Flanagan and Driscoll proceeded to approach the plaintiff, and asked “what's going on here? Do you live here?” (Id. ¶ 18.) Acting out of fear, plaintiff began to retreat from Flanagan and Driscoll. (Id. ¶ 20.) As plaintiff began to retreat, Driscoll grabbed plaintiff's right shoulder area and put his left leg on plaintiff's left side, then proceeded to perform a takedown maneuver. (Id. ) Flanagan then deployed his Taser. (Id. ¶ 21.) Plaintiff allegedly did not react to the Taser, so both Flanagan and Driscoll deployed their Tasers on plaintiff for at least six cycles. (Id. ) Driscoll then grabbed plaintiff and pushed him onto the ground, and both Flanagan and Driscoll proceeded to strike plaintiff with their aluminum flashlights and their fists. (Id. ¶¶ 22-24.) Driscoll deployed his Taser on plaintiff one more time for at least four cycles. (Id. ¶ 25.) Flanagan and Driscoll then handcuffed plaintiff. (Id. ¶ 26.) Emergency Medical Services arrived to the scene of the incident to treat plaintiff for his injuries. (Id. ¶ 27.)

Following the incident, Flanagan and Driscoll filled out several reports charging plaintiff with battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence, and resisting an officer without violence. (Id. ¶ 28.) As a result of Flanagan and Driscoll's reports, juvenile delinquency charges were brought against plaintiff in the Circuit Court for the Twentieth Judicial Circuit in and for Collier County, Florida, case number 13-000826CJ-(CHG). (Id. ¶ 29.) These charges were eventually dismissed because plaintiff was not competent and his competency could not be restored. (Id. ¶ 48.)

Plaintiff filed a fourteen-count Complaint against Collier County, James Driscoll in his individual and official capacities, Alan Flanagan in his individual and official capacities, and Sheriff Kevin Rambosk in his individual and official capacities. (Doc. #1.) Plaintiff's Complaint contains the following counts: Excessive Force in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Driscoll and Flanagan (Counts I and II); Malicious Prosecution in violation of state law and the Fourth Amendment pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Driscoll and Flanagan (Counts III and IV); state law claims of False Arrest/False Imprisonment (Counts V and VI), Battery (Counts VII and VIII), and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (Counts IX and X) against Driscoll and Flanagan; Governmental Entity Liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Collier County (Count XI); Governmental Entity Liability for Failure to Train or Supervise under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Collier County (Count XII); Supervisory Liability for Failure to Correct under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Sheriff Rambosk (Count XIII); and Supervisory Liability for Failure to Train under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Sheriff Rambosk (Count XIV). (Id. )

Defendants Driscoll and Flanagan filed a partial Answer and defenses to plaintiff's Complaint (Doc. #13) on June 15, 2015, responding to the allegations against them in their individual capacities as to Counts I, II, V, VI, VII, and VIII. (Id. ) They move to dismiss the remainder of the Complaint. (Doc. #12.) The other defendants move to dismiss all counts against them. (Docs. ## 10, 11.)

II.

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2), a Complaint must contain a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). This obligation “requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (citation omitted). To survive dismissal, the factual allegations must be “plausible” and “must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Id. See also Edwards v. Prime Inc. , 602 F.3d 1276, 1291 (11th Cir. 2010). This requires “more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (citations omitted).

In deciding a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, the Court must accept all factual allegations in a complaint as true and take them in the light most favorable to plaintiff, Erickson v. Pardus , 551 U.S. 89, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007), but “[l]egal conclusions without adequate factual support are entitled to no assumption of truth,” Mamani v. Berzain , 654 F.3d 1148, 1153 (11th Cir.2011) (citations omitted). “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937. “Factual allegations that are merely consistent with a defendant's liability fall short of being facially plausible.” Chaparro v. Carnival Corp. , 693 F.3d 1333, 1337 (11th Cir. 2012) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). Thus, the Court engages in a two-step approach: “When there are well-pleaded factual allegations, a court should assume their veracity and then determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief.” Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937.

III.

A. Counts I and II

Counts I and II allege claims against Driscoll and Flanagan in their individual and official capacities under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for excessive force in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. (Doc. #1, pp. 9-11.) Driscoll and Flanagan move to dismiss Counts I and II because (1) the official capacity claims are duplicative and redundant of claims brought against the sheriff in his official capacity and (2) the facts alleged do not support a Fourteenth Amendment claim in either their individual or official capacities. (Doc. # 12, pp. 4-6.) These defendants also move to strike demands for punitive damages against them in their official capacities. (Id. )

(1) Official Capacity Claims

Section 1983 suits against officers in their official capacities “generally represent only another way of pleading an action against an entity of which an officer is an agent,” not against the officer individually. Kentucky v. Graham , 473 U.S. 159, 165, 105 S.Ct. 3099, 87 L.Ed.2d 114 (1985) (quoting Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs. , 436 U.S. 658, 690 n.55, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978) ). See also Penley v. Eslinger , 605 F.3d 843, 854–55 (11th Cir.2010). As long as the entity received notice and the opportunity to respond, an official capacity suit imposes liability only on the entity. Graham , 473 U.S. at 166, 105 S.Ct. 3099 ; Brandon v. Holt , 469 U.S. 464, 471–72, 105 S.Ct. 873, 83 L.Ed.2d 878 (1985).

Only those officials who have final policymaking authority can render an entity liable under Section 1983. Hill v. Clifton , 74 F.3d 1150, 1152 (11th Cir.1996). “[T]he mere delegation of authority to a subordinate to exercise discretion is not sufficient to give the subordinate policymaking authority. Rather, the delegation must be such that the subordinate's discretionary decisions are not constrained by official policies and are not subject to review.” Mandel v. Doe , 888 F.2d 783, 792 (11th Cir.1989). In Florida, a deputy sheriff does not possess final policymaking authority in connection with seizures or arrests. Brown v. Neumann , 188 F.3d 1289, 1290–91 (11th Cir.1999). Thus, official capacity suits against a deputy sheriff are simply another way of alleging claims against the Sheriff in his official capacity, which in turn is effectively a suit against the governmental entity the sheriff represents. Adcock v. Baca , 157 Fed.Appx. 118, 119 (11th Cir.2005) ; Cook ex rel. Estate of Tessier v. Sheriff of Monroe Cnty. , 402 F.3d 1092, 1115 (11th Cir.2005). Which entity or entities become liable is determined under principles set forth in McMillian v. Monroe County , 520 U.S. 781, 117 S.Ct. 1734, 138 L.Ed.2d 1 (1997) and its progeny.

Plaintiff agrees that a suit against an individual in his official...