Kohl v. Casson

• Decision Date: 28 September 1993
• Docket Number: 92-3458,Nos. 92-3366,s. 92-3366
• Citation: 5 F.3d 1141
• Parties: David J. KOHL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Joseph M. CASSON, Individually, and in his Official Capacity as County Attorney of Jefferson County, Nebraska; County of Jefferson, a Body Politic and Corporate of the State of Nebraska; Mitch Siebe, Individually and in his Official Capacity as Police Officer for the City of Fairbury; City of Fairbury, a Body Politic and Corporate of the State of Nebraska; Lewis J. Mason, in his Official Capacity as City Councilman of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Marvin Engel, in his Official Capacity as City Councilman of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Joe Jelinek, in his Official Capacity as City Councilman of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Gene Siefford, in his Official Capacity as City Councilman of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Dan Stanton, in his Official Capacity as City Councilman of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Harley Brown, in his Official Capacity as City Councilman of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Marvin Moerer, in his Official Capacity as City Councilman of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Chris Goeking, in his Official Capacity as City Councilman of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Deb Klaus, in her Official Capacity as City Councilwoman of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Douglas G. Rosener, in his Official Capacity as City Attorney of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska, Defendants-Appellees. David J. KOHL, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Joseph M. CASSON, Individually, and in his Official Capacity as County Attorney of Jefferson County, Nebraska, Defendant-Appellant, County of Jefferson, a Body Politic and Corporate of the State of Nebraska, Defendant, Mitch Siebe, Individually and in his Official Capacity as Police Officer for the City of Fairbury, Defendant-Appellant, City of Fairbury, a Body Politic and Corporate of the State of Nebraska; Lewis J. Mason, in his Official Capacity as City Councilman of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Marvin Engel, in his Official Capacity as City Councilman of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Joe Je
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 1141

5 F.3d 1141

David J. KOHL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Joseph M. CASSON, Individually, and in his Official Capacity

as County Attorney of Jefferson County, Nebraska; County of

Jefferson, a Body Politic and Corporate of the State of

Nebraska; Mitch Siebe, Individually and in his Official

Capacity as Police Officer for the City of Fairbury; City

of Fairbury, a Body Politic and Corporate of the State of

Nebraska; Lewis J. Mason, in his Official Capacity as City

Councilman of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Marvin Engel,

in his Official Capacity as City Councilman of the City of

Fairbury, Nebraska; Joe Jelinek, in his Official Capacity

as City Councilman of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Gene

Siefford, in his Official Capacity as City Councilman of the

City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Dan Stanton, in his Official

Capacity as City Councilman of the City of Fairbury,

Nebraska; Harley Brown, in his Official Capacity as City

Councilman of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Marvin

Moerer, in his Official Capacity as City Councilman of the

City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Chris Goeking, in his Official

Capacity as City Councilman of the City of Fairbury,

Nebraska; Deb Klaus, in her Official Capacity as City

Councilwoman of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Douglas G.

Rosener, in his Official Capacity as City Attorney of the

City of Fairbury, Nebraska, Defendants-Appellees.

David J. KOHL, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Joseph M. CASSON, Individually, and in his Official Capacity

as County Attorney of Jefferson County, Nebraska,

Defendant-Appellant,

County of Jefferson, a Body Politic and Corporate of the

State of Nebraska, Defendant,

Mitch Siebe, Individually and in his Official Capacity as

Police Officer for the City of Fairbury, Defendant-Appellant,

City of Fairbury, a Body Politic and Corporate of the State

of Nebraska; Lewis J. Mason, in his Official Capacity as

City Councilman of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Marvin

Engel, in his Official Capacity as City Councilman of the

City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Joe Jelinek, in his Official

Capacity as City Councilman of the City of Fairbury,

Nebraska; Gene Siefford, in his Official Capacity as City

Councilman of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Dan Stanton,

in his Official Capacity as City Councilman of the City of

Fairbury, Nebraska; Harley Brown, in his Official Capacity

as City Councilman of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska;

Marvin Moerer, in his Official Capacity as City Councilman

of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska; Chris Goeking, in his

Official Capacity as City Councilman of the City of

Fairbury, Nebraska; Deb Klaus, in her Official Capacity as

City Councilwoman of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska;

Douglas G. Rosener, in his Official Capacity as City

Attorney of the City of Fairbury, Nebraska, Defendants.

Nos. 92-3366, 92-3458.

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit.

Submitted May 10, 1993.

Decided Sept. 28, 1993.

William J. Panec, Fairbury, NE, argued, for plaintiff-appellant.

Randall L. Goyette, Lincoln, NE, argued (Brenda S. Spilker, on brief), for defendants-appellees.

Before BOWMAN, WOLLMAN, and MAGILL, Circuit Judges.

WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge.

David J. Kohl filed this lawsuit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 against the city of Fairbury, Nebraska; the county of Jefferson, Nebraska; various city officers in their official capacities; Jefferson County Attorney Joseph Casson in both his official and individual capacities; and Fairbury police officer Mitch Siebe in both his official and individual capacities. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss. The district court granted the motion with respect to the city, the county, and all other defendants in their official capacities, but denied the motion to dismiss with respect to the claims against Casson and Siebe individually. Kohl appeals from the dismissal of the city, the county, and the other defendants in their official capacities. Casson and Siebe cross-appeal from the denial of their motion to dismiss the claims against them in their individual capacities. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.

I.

Kohl's complaint alleged the following facts, which we must accept as true when analyzing whether the district court ruled correctly on the defendants' motion to dismiss. Patterson v. Von Riesen, 999 F.2d 1235, 1237 (8th Cir.1993).

At approximately 1:41 a.m. on February 22, 1990, Duane Juhl, owner of Tooley's bar, reported to the Fairbury Police Department that a gym bag containing some checks and approximately $3,000 in cash had been stolen from his van while the van was parked outside The Stable restaurant, where Juhl had gone to eat after closing his bar for the night.

Around the time of the theft, there were approximately twelve people (customers and staff) in The Stable, which is the only restaurant in Fairbury that is open at that hour of the morning. Juhl told the police that he remembered one customer leaving the restaurant while he was there. That person had been a customer in Juhl's tavern earlier in the evening, was staying at the Holiday Motel in Fairbury, and was driving a brown van with Kansas license plates.

Later that morning, Fairbury police officer Mitch Siebe went to the Holiday Motel, where he learned that a David Kohl had been registered. Siebe discovered that Kohl was driving a brown 1977 Ford van with Kansas license plates, Kohl's lodging for two nights had been paid by a Tamra Esslinger, and no one had slept in the bed in Kohl's room during the previous night. Siebe then issued a bulletin to any law enforcement agency that might observe Kohl's van to contact the Fairbury Police Department.

During this time, Kohl travelled to Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska, looking for work as a carpet layer. After finding no work, Kohl drove to Cedar Falls, Iowa. Officers from the Cedar Falls Police Department discovered that Kohl was staying at a Cedar Falls hotel. They investigated, and informed Siebe that Kohl had checked in on February 23, paying for two nights' lodging with cash. They also told Siebe that Kohl had subsequently paid for another night with cash from "a large roll of bills."

Based on the preceding information, Siebe conferred with County Attorney Casson, obtaining advice on the affidavit for Kohl's arrest warrant on the charge of stealing the $3,000 from Juhl's van. Siebe then prepared and signed the affidavit, which Kohl has incorporated by reference in his complaint. Siebe, accompanied by Casson, took the warrant to the Jefferson County Clerk-Magistrate, who issued a warrant for Kohl's arrest.

Pursuant to the arrest warrant, Cedar Falls police officers arrested Kohl on February 26. At the time of the arrest, the police took control of $1,998.87 in cash that Kohl had on his person, in addition to Kohl's van and some other personal belongings. Siebe transferred Kohl back to the Jefferson County, Nebraska, jail and retained the money and other property on Casson's advice. Because Kohl could not gain access to the $1,998.87, he could not post bond and thus remained in the Jefferson County jail.

Casson filed a felony theft charge against Kohl in the County Court for Jefferson County, Nebraska. After a preliminary hearing on April 4, the county court ruled that the state had failed to show that there was probable cause that Kohl had committed the Juhl theft. Casson then refiled the same theft charge in the District Court of Jefferson County. After a preliminary hearing on May 2, the district court ruled on May 7 that the state had failed to establish probable cause and ordered that Kohl be released. The district court also ordered that Kohl's money and property be returned to him.

During the time between the preliminary hearings in the county court and the district court, Kohl was involved in a scuffle with another incarcerated person. As a result of this incident, Casson filed a charge against Kohl alleging felony assault by a confined person. Kohl's complaint characterizes the incident as a "minor altercation [that] was immediately stopped with no one receiving any injury."

Because of the pending assault charge, Kohl could not obtain his release following the district court's dismissal of the theft charge until he posted bail. Kohl requested his money from Siebe in order to post bail. Siebe refused to release the money, relying upon Casson's advice not to release the money to Kohl immediately. Later that day, however, Casson told Siebe to give the money to Kohl. Siebe then released the money, which Kohl used to post bail.

On August 31, 1990, the district court quashed the information on the charge of assault by a confined person, ruling that because probable cause did not exist to arrest Kohl for the Juhl theft, he was not being lawfully confined at the time of the scuffle.

Pointing to state court findings of no probable cause, Kohl then instituted this section 1983 action in federal district court, alleging that Siebe and Casson had violated his constitutional right not to be seized and detained without probable cause. Kohl also alleged that Casson and Siebe's actions in causing his improper arrest and imprisonment were the product of the city and county's failure to train Fairbury police officers regarding the necessity for probable cause to support an arrest. Finally, Kohl's complaint included pendent state law claims for violations of the Nebraska Civil Rights Act; for common law false arrest, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution; for negligent training policies on the city and county's part; and for deprivation of procedural due process rights under the Nebraska Constitution.

The district court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss with respect to the city, the county, and all other defendants in their official capacities. The court held that Kohl had failed to allege in his section 1983 municipal liability claims that there had been a pattern of similar incidents of unlawful arrests or that the city and county had notice of prior acts of police and...