Dorwart v. Caraway

• Decision Date: 12 November 1998
• Docket Number: No. 95-446,95-446
• Citation: 1998 MT 191,966 P.2d 1121,290 Mont. 196
• Parties: , 1998 MT 191 Russell Edward DORWART and Harry Dorwart, Plaintiffs, Appellants and Cross-Respondents, v. Paul CARAWAY, individually and as a deputy in the Stillwater County Sheriff's Office; Danny Ames, individually and as a deputy in the Stillwater County Sheriff's Office; Cliff Brophy, individually and as Sheriff of Stillwater County, Montana; and County of Stillwater, State of Montana, Defendants, Respondent and Cross-Appellants.
• Court: Montana Supreme Court

Page 1121

966 P.2d 1121

290 Mont. 196, 1998 MT 191

Russell Edward DORWART and Harry Dorwart, Plaintiffs Appellants and Cross-Respondents, v. Paul CARAWAY, individually and as a deputy in the Stillwater County Sheriff's Office; Danny Ames, individually and as a deputy in the Stillwater County Sheriff's Office; Cliff Brophy, individually and as Sheriff of Stillwater County Montana; and County of Stillwater, State of Montana Defendants, Respondent and Cross-Appellants.

No. 95-446.

Supreme Court of Montana.

Argued June 12, 1997.

Submitted July 15, 1997.

Decided Aug. 4, 1998.

As Amended on Denial of Rehearing

Nov. 12, 1998. ^*

Gary R. Thomas (argued); Thomas Law Office, Red Lodge, for Appellants.

Steven R. Milch (argued); Crowley, Haughey, Hanson, Toole & Dietrich, Billings, for Respondents.

Joseph P. Mazurek, Attorney General; Clay R. Smith, Solicitor, Helena, for Amicus.

GRAY, Justice.

¶1 Plaintiffs Russell Edward Dorwart (Dorwart) and Harry Dorwart appeal from the judgment entered by the Thirteenth Judicial District Court, Stillwater County, on its order granting partial summary judgment to defendants Paul Caraway, Danny Ames, Cliff Brophy and Stillwater County. The defendants cross-appeal from the judgment entered by the District Court on its order granting partial summary judgment to Dorwart. We affirm in part, reverse in part and remand for further proceedings.

¶2 We address the following dispositive issues on appeal and cross-appeal:

¶3 1. Did the District Court err in determining that the actions of the Sheriff's deputies in entering Dorwart's residence and levying upon personal property therein did ¶4 2. Did the District Court err in determining that Montana's post-judgment execution statutes are unconstitutional because they do not provide the procedural due process of law required by Article II, Section 17 of the Montana Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution?

not violate Dorwart's constitutional rights to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article II, Section 11 of the Montana Constitution or his right to privacy under Article II, Section 10 of the Montana Constitution?

¶5 3. Are the Sheriff's deputies entitled to qualified immunity from individual liability for Dorwart's 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims?

¶6 4. Did the District Court err in granting summary judgment in favor of Stillwater County and Cliff Brophy, in his capacity as Sheriff, on Dorwart's 42 U.S.C. § 1983 search and seizure claim?

¶7 5. Did the District Court err in granting summary judgment in favor of the defendants on Dorwart's conversion and trespass claims and Harry Dorwart's trespass claim?

¶8 6. Did the District Court err in concluding that Dorwart is not entitled to attorney's fees?

BACKGROUND

¶9 Dorwart was the named defendant in two actions in the Small Claims Division of the Justice Court in Stillwater County, Montana. Default judgments were entered against him in those actions on February 19 and March 11, 1991. The Justice Court subsequently issued writs of execution to enforce the judgments on March 12 and April 9, 1991, respectively.

¶10 On the evening of April 11, 1991, Dorwart was driving his pickup truck along Highway 78 between Columbus and Absarokee when he was stopped by Deputy Sheriff Danny Ames (Ames) and served with the two writs of execution. Ames also arrested Dorwart for driving under the influence of alcohol, seized the pickup truck and transported Dorwart to the Stillwater County Jail (Jail). After Dorwart was incarcerated in the Jail, either Ames or Deputy Sheriff Paul Caraway (Caraway) asked Dorwart whether the door to his residence was locked and Dorwart responded that one door was not locked. He also told the deputies that his wallet and driver's license were on the dashboard of his mother's car, which was parked in his driveway.

¶11 Ames and Caraway proceeded to Dorwart's residence, entered the house and the garage, and seized various items of personal property pursuant to the writs of execution. They also took Dorwart's wallet from the dashboard of the car. Neither Ames nor Caraway had requested permission from Dorwart to enter his residence.

¶12 Dorwart's pickup truck, its contents and his wallet were returned to him several days later. On April 18, 1991, Dorwart filed in Justice Court a Motion for Release of Property and to Quash the Writs of Execution, supported by an Affidavit of Exemption and other affidavits, asserting that the personal property which Ames and Caraway had seized from his house and garage either was exempt from execution or did not belong to him. The record does not indicate whether the Justice Court held a hearing on Dorwart's motion but, on September 30, 1991, it ordered that all of the property seized from Dorwart's house and garage be returned to its rightful owners. Dorwart subsequently retrieved the property from the Jail.

¶13 On April 5, 1993, Dorwart filed a complaint against Caraway, Ames, Sheriff Cliff Brophy (Brophy) and Stillwater County (collectively, the County). The complaint asserted various state and federal claims, as well as several common law tort claims, resulting from the seizure of his property and requested monetary damages. Dorwart later amended the complaint to add a claim for declaratory and injunctive relief based on his contention that Montana's post-judgment execution statutes are unconstitutional. Harry Dorwart, Dorwart's father and the owner of Dorwart's residence, asserted a trespass claim against Caraway and Ames.

¶14 The County moved for summary judgment on all claims against all defendants and Dorwart moved for partial summary judgment on all but two of his claims. The District Court granted Dorwart's motion for

summary judgment on his claim for declaratory and injunctive relief, granted the County's motion for summary judgment on the remainder of Dorwart's claims and entered judgment accordingly. Dorwart appeals and the County cross-appeals.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶15 Our standard in reviewing a district court's summary judgment ruling is de novo; we use the same Rule 56, M.R.Civ.P., criteria as the district court. Clark v. Eagle Systems, Inc. (1996), 279 Mont. 279, 283, 927 P.2d 995, 997 (citations omitted). A party seeking summary judgment must establish the absence of any genuine issue of material fact which would allow the nonmoving party to recover and entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. Rule 56(c), M.R.Civ.P.; Clark, 279 Mont. at 283, 927 P.2d at 997-98 (citations omitted).

¶16 Ordinarily, we begin our review in a summary judgment case by determining whether the moving party established the absence of disputed and material fact issues. See Montana Metal Buildings, Inc. v. Shapiro (1997), 283 Mont. 471, 475, 942 P.2d 694, 696-97. Here, however, the material facts are undisputed and the parties' assertions of error relate only to the District Court's conclusions of law regarding entitlement to summary judgment. We review a district court's conclusions of law to determine whether those conclusions are correct. Albright v. State, By and Through State (1997), 281 Mont. 196, 205, 933 P.2d 815, 821 (citation omitted).

DISCUSSION

¶17 1. Did the District Court err in determining that the actions of the Sheriff's deputies in entering Dorwart's residence and levying upon personal property therein did not violate Dorwart's constitutional rights to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article II, Section 11 of the Montana Constitution or his right to privacy under Article II, Section 10 of the Montana Constitution?

¶18 The District Court concluded that Ames and Caraway did not violate Dorwart's constitutional rights when they entered his home and levied upon property therein because the writs of execution constituted judicial authorization for their actions. Dorwart contends that this conclusion is erroneous, arguing that the writs, in and of themselves, were insufficient to justify intrusion into his home without a search warrant. As a result, according to Dorwart, the deputies' entry into his home and subsequent levy on his property violated his constitutional rights to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and his right to privacy. We address Dorwart's separate search and seizure and privacy arguments in turn.

¶19 Dorwart's complaint stated two search and seizure-related claims against Caraway and Ames. The first was brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (§ 1983), which authorizes a cause of action when a person has been deprived of a federally protected right by another person acting under color of state law. See 42 U.S.C. § 1983; Mysse v. Martens (1996), 279 Mont. 253, 260, 926 P.2d 765, 769. This search and seizure-related claim alleged that Caraway and Ames violated Dorwart's rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The second claim alleged that the deputies' entry into Dorwart's home and seizure of his personal property violated his state constitutional rights as guaranteed by Article II, Section 11 of the Montana Constitution. The County moved for summary judgment on both causes of action, contending that the deputies' actions neither deprived Dorwart of a federally protected right that would give rise to a § 1983 claim nor violated Article II, Section 11 of the Montana Constitution.

¶20 The District Court granted the County's motion, concluding that Caraway and Ames did not violate Dorwart's federal or state constitutional rights when they entered his home and levied upon personal property therein because the writs of execution constituted judicial authorization for their actions. Dorwart argues that the writs, in and of themselves, were insufficient to justify intrusion into his home and, as a result, that the entry into his home and levy on his property violated his constitutional...