O'Donnell v. Knott

• Decision Date: 04 October 2017
• Docket Number: CIVIL ACTION No. 16–2040
• Citation: 283 F.Supp.3d 286
• Parties: Kathleen O'DONNELL, Plaintiff, v. Kathryn KNOTT, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

283 F.Supp.3d 286

Kathleen O'DONNELL, Plaintiff,

v.Kathryn KNOTT, et al., Defendants.

CIVIL ACTION No. 16–2040

United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania.

Signed October 4, 2017

Filed October 6, 2017

Martell Harris, Sean Ruppert, Nelson D. Berardinelli, Kraemer, Manes & Associates, LLC, Pittsburgh, PA, for Plaintiff.

John W. Morris, Philadelphia, PA, Tina Mazaheri, Doylestown, PA, for Defendants.

Goldberg, J.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Plaintiff, Kathleen O'Donnell, a private citizen, alleges that Defendants Kathryn Knott and Karl Knott used Karl Knott's position as Chief of Police to enlist certain individuals within the Bucks County District Attorney's Office (Defendants David Heckler, Martin McDonough, and Mark Zielinksi) to assist in silencing Plaintiff's protected speech on social media. Presently before me is a motion to dismiss for failure to state claims filed by Defendants Heckler, McDonough, Zielinski, and Bucks County (the "County Defendants"). Defendants Kathryn and Karl Knott (the "Knotts") have also filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state claims. For the reasons that follow, all claims against Bucks County will be dismissed. Both motions will be denied in all other respects.

I. FACTUAL & PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND ¹

On September 11, 2014, Kathryn Knott was involved in an altercation wherein two gay men were assaulted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The incident received extensive news coverage, which allegedly included Kathryn Knott's public statements on social media regarding her "proclaimed disgust with homosexuals." Kathryn Knott was subsequently arrested, convicted, and sentenced to a term of imprisonment for her participation in the assault. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 11–14.)

On September 26, 2014, having heard about Kathryn Knott through various news media outlets, Plaintiff created a user account on the social media website "Disqus.com." According to Plaintiff, "Disqus.com is an online social media website, which is very similar to Twitter, where users post [ ] comments on news articles." Plaintiff's username for the account was "Knotty is a Tramp." She asserts that she created the account to parody Kathryn Knott's behavior, and used the account to satirically comment on "a number of current events." The profile picture for the account was an "extremely unflattering, publicly available photo, which showed Ms. Knott drinking directly from a large bottle of alcohol with her eyes closed." (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 16–17.)

The complaint notes that Kathryn Knott is the daughter of Karl Knott, who, at all times relevant to this litigation, was the Chief of Police for Chalfont, Pennsylvania (a borough located in Bucks County). Plaintiff alleges that Kathryn Knott informed her father of the Knotty is a Tramp social media account with "the expectation that her father would use his influence as a Chief of Police...to silence the person" behind the profile. Karl Knott allegedly contacted the Bucks County District Attorney's Office to assist him and his daughter in identifying the person behind the Knotty is a Tramp account. A meeting was allegedly arranged wherein Mr. Knott attempted to "convince individuals" within the District Attorney's Office to force the person behind the account to "cease publication." (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 18–20.)

On March 23, 2015, subsequent to this alleged meeting, Defendants Martin McDonough and Mark Zielinski, both detectives (collectively "the detectives"), allegedly met with Kathryn Knott at her home, where she provided additional information regarding the account's postings. Thereafter, Plaintiff claims that the Bucks County District Attorney's Office identified her as the operator of the social media account by "identifying the locations from which she published materials on the account." The detectives then allegedly obtained a court order for the IP addresses used to post the comments linked to the account. Based on that information, Plaintiff insists that it was readily apparent that she "did not live, work, or publish any material...from within Bucks County, but rather that all materials were published from where [Plaintiff] lived in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, and where she worked in Chester County, Pennsylvania." Nevertheless, she claims that Defendant David Heckler—who was at that time the District Attorney for Bucks County—directed the detectives to "confront" Plaintiff in retaliation for her posts under the Knotty is a Tramp username. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 22, 39.)

On August 6, 2015, the detectives allegedly traveled outside of their territorial jurisdiction to Plaintiff's workplace, which was located in Chester County. Plaintiff claims that the detectives first approached her boss and spoke with him in a private meeting. They informed him that Plaintiff had "assumed the identity" of Kathryn Knott by posting under the Knotty is a Tramp profile, and that she was using the account to post harassing comments about Kathryn Knott. They further advised Plaintiff's boss that she had been posting some of this material from a computer in her workplace. The detectives apparently did not ask any questions of Plaintiff's boss, but merely conveyed the information outlined above. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 23–25.)

At the conclusion of this meeting, the detectives asked Plaintiff's boss to bring Plaintiff into the room. The boss remained in the room as the detectives confronted Plaintiff about the Knotty is a Tramp account. During this exchange, Plaintiff admitted to operating the account and using it to "comment on various items in the news." She claims the detectives then "threatened...that if she continued to publish under the username...she would be arrested for ‘fraudulently impersonating Ms. Knott.’ " Plaintiff asserts that the detectives also insinuated—in front of Plaintiff's boss—that if Plaintiff continued the postings, "charges would be filed" against her, and her employer "would be publicly linked" to the account. (Am. Compl. ¶ 26.)

Fearing arrest, Plaintiff acquiesced to the detectives' demands and agreed to stop posting comments under the Knotty is a Tramp username. At that point, Plaintiff was directed to leave the room. The detectives continued speaking with Plaintiff's boss, and allegedly informed him that Plaintiff had previously been cited for "excessively harassing a bakery near where she worked." Plaintiff's employment was terminated immediately following the detectives' visit to her workplace. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 30–31.)

Plaintiff advances six counts in her Amended Complaint: First Amendment retaliation pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and § 1988 (Counts I & II); prior restraint of her free speech pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and § 1988 (Counts III & IV); and civil conspiracy under Pennsylvania common law (Counts V & VI).

Defendants McDonough and Zielinski, Defendant Heckler, and Bucks County have all moved to dismiss each of the claims against them pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Defendants Kathryn and Karl Knott have similarly moved to dismiss the two conspiracy claims against them pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6).

II. LEGAL STANDARD

To survive a motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a complaint must "contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face.’ " 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, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ). The plausibility standard requires more than a "sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully." Id. While it "does not impose a probability requirement at the pleading stage," plausibility does require "enough facts to raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence of the necessary elements of a claim." Phillips v. Cty. of Allegheny, 515 F.3d 224, 234 (3d Cir. 2008).

To determine the sufficiency of a complaint under Twombly and Iqbal, a court must take the following three steps: (1) the court must "tak[e] note of the elements a plaintiff must plead to state a claim;" (2) the court should identify the allegations that, "because they are no more than conclusions, are not entitled to the assumption of truth;" and (3) "where there are well-pleaded factual allegations, a court should assume their veracity and then determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement for relief." Burtch v. Milberg Factors, Inc., 662 F.3d 212, 221 (3d Cir. 2011) (citations omitted). Courts must construe the allegations in a complaint "in the light most favorable to the plaintiff." Id. at 220.

In evaluating a motion to dismiss, courts generally consider only the allegations contained in the complaint, the exhibits attached thereto, and matters of public record. Schmidt v. Skolas, 770 F.3d 241, 249 (3d Cir. 2014) ; Pryor v. Nat'l Collegiate Athletic Ass'n., 288 F.3d 548, 567 (3d Cir. 2002). "[A] complaint may not be dismissed merely because it appears unlikely that [a] plaintiff can prove those facts or will ultimately prevail on the merits." Connelly v. Lane Const. Corp., 809 F.3d 780, 790–91 (3d Cir. 2016) (quoting Phillips, 515 F.3d at 231 ).

III. ANALYSIS—COUNTY DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS

A. Absolute Immunity—Defendant David Heckler

Defendant Heckler argues that he is entitled to absolute immunity. He posits that "prosecutors are absolutely immune from civil liability for activities intimately associated with the judicial phases of the criminal process," and that, as District Attorney, his "investigation into criminal charges are acts within the scope of a prosecutor's duties." (Defs.' Mot. to Dismiss 13– 14.)

Plaintiff responds that Heckler's actions fell outside the scope of activities "intimately associated" with the judicial phases of the criminal process for two reasons. First, Plaintiff avers that Heckler knowingly directed Detectives McDonough and Zielinski to travel outside of their territorial jurisdiction in violation of 42 Pa. Con. Stat. § 8953(a)(...