Lee v. Cline

• Decision Date: 13 December 2004
• Docket Number: No. 8,8
• Citation: 863 A.2d 297,384 Md. 245
• Parties: Keith A. LEE v. Gary CLINE.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

863 A.2d 297

384 Md. 245

Keith A. LEE v. Gary CLINE.

No. 8, September Term, 2003.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

December 13, 2004.

Willie J. Mahone, Frederick (Kathleen A. Ellis, Piper Rudnick LLP, Baltimore, on brief), for petitioner.

Kevin Karpinski (Victoria M. Shearer, Allen, Karski, Bryant & Karp, Baltimore, on brief), for respondents.

Ralph S. Tyler, Elizabeth F. Harris, Tonya M. Osborne, Hogan & Hartson, LLP, Baltimore, for American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Maryland and Public Justice Center.

David R. Rocah, Deborah A. Jeon, Baltimore, of counsel.

J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Atty. Gen., Laura C. McWeeney, Asst. Atty. Gen., Edward H. Hammond, Jr., County Atty., A. Frank Carven, III, County Atty., Philip S. Roberts, Asst. County Atty., Mark G. Spurrier, General Counsel, for respondents

Argued before BELL, C.J.,¹ ELDRIDGE, RAKER, WILNER, CATHELL, HARRELL and BATTAGLIA, JJ.

ELDRIDGE, J.

The issues in this case are (1) whether the Maryland Tort Claims Act, Maryland Code (1984, 2004 Repl.Vol.), §§ 12-101 et seq. of the State Government Article, provides qualified immunity to state personnel for tort actions based upon violations of the Maryland Constitution, (2) whether the Maryland Tort Claims Act provides qualified immunity to state personnel for tort actions based upon certain common law "intentional" torts, and (3), if the Act does grant such qualified immunity, whether the plaintiff's evidence of malice was sufficient to generate a triable issue as to whether the immunity was defeated.

I.

As this case was resolved by a grant of the defendant Cline's motion for summary judgment, "[w]e review the record in the light most favorable to the non-moving party [here the plaintiff] and construe any reasonable inferences which may be drawn from the facts against the movant." Walk v. Hartford Casualty, 382 Md. 1, 14, 852 A.2d 98, 106 (2004). See, e.g., Jurgensen v. New Phoenix, 380 Md. 106, 114, 843 A.2d 865, 869 (2004)

; Sadler v. Dimensions Healthcare Corp., 378 Md. 509, 533, 836 A.2d 655, 669 (2003); Remsburg v. Montgomery, 376 Md. 568, 579-580, 831 A.2d 18, 24 (2003); Rite Aid v. Hagley, 374 Md. 665, 684, 824 A.2d 107, 118 (2003); Lovelace v. Anderson, 366 Md. 690, 695, 785 A.2d 726, 728 (2001), and cases there cited.

Keith Lee is an African-American Maryland resident. He left his home on the outskirts of Frederick, Maryland, on the morning of Saturday, March 12, 1994, to run various errands in his BMW automobile. Lee made several stops, one of which was at a car wash at a gas station. Sometime later he noticed that his car's front license plate was missing. He correctly surmised that the plate had come off at the car wash, and he returned to the gas station to retrieve it. Lee found that the license plate was mangled so that he was unable to re-attach it to his car. He placed the plate on the rear floor of the automobile behind the driver's seat, and resumed his errands.

At about 3:00 p.m. on March 12th, while Lee was still running errands, he observed a police car, with overhead lights activated, following his car. When he pulled over, Frederick County Deputy Sheriff Gary Cline approached Lee's car and asked Lee to present his driver's license and automobile registration card. Lee did so, and asked Cline the reason for the stop. When Cline responded that the front license plate was not on Lee's automobile, Lee explained that the plate had fallen off at the car wash and showed Cline the mangled plate.

Deputy Sheriff Cline then asked Lee if he would consent to Cline searching the vehicle for illegal narcotics and weapons. Lee refused to consent to the search, and Cline retorted:

"I don't need your permission to search the car. I can get dogs in here and search it without your permission."

Lee still refused to consent to the search.

Next, Cline took Lee's driver's license and registration card, returned to his police car, and contacted by radio the Frederick County Emergency Communications Center. Cline provided the radio dispatcher with Lee's license plate number in order to check its status. According to the radio dispatch tape of the incident, this initial call from Cline to the dispatcher was at 3:11 p.m. About two minutes later, the dispatcher called Cline and informed Cline that the license plate was valid and would not expire until later in the year.

About a minute after being told that the license plate was valid, Cline again called the dispatcher and requested that the dispatcher "locate a canine [unit] and start him my way." The dispatcher replied that no canine units were available to send to that location. Two minutes later, however, at 3:16 p.m., the dispatcher contacted Cline and informed the deputy sheriff that a State Police canine unit was nearby and available. Cline requested that the canine unit be sent to his location, stating (emphasis supplied):

"I've got a suspect not being too cooperative. Already told me there's no way he's going to give me consent to search. Go ahead and start this way please."

Cline also asked the dispatcher about Lee's driving record and arrest warrant status. At 3:17 p.m., the dispatcher informed Cline that Lee's driver's license was valid, that Lee had no points, that Lee was not wanted by the police, and that he had never been involved with the criminal justice system.

The radio dispatch tape discloses that, at 3:22 p.m., a second deputy sheriff, Officer Henry, reported to the dispatcher "that he was on the scene as backup." Shortly thereafter, while Officers Cline and Henry were engaged in a conversation at the side of Cline's police car, Lee got out of his vehicle and stood by the front of his vehicle. According to Lee's deposition, he "had been sitting there [in the vehicle] for a good while. [His] legs were getting ... tired." Lee continued: "Then, after about 30 seconds, Officer Cline yelled, get back in your car," and Lee got back into the car.

A Maryland State Police trooper arrived on the scene at 3:30 p.m., with a dog. The trooper asked Lee if he had any drugs in the car, and Lee replied that he did not. The State trooper then circled Lee's car with the trooper's dog and indicated that there was no sign of drugs. The trooper then put the dog back in the State police vehicle and left. Following the departure of the State trooper, Cline gave Lee two warning tickets, which Lee signed. Cline returned Lee's driver's license and registration card, and Lee left the scene.

The radio dispatch tape shows that Cline reported the stop "cleared" at 3:42 p.m.

II.

Lee filed a complaint in the Circuit Court for Frederick County against Deputy Sheriff Gary Cline, Frederick County Sheriff James W. Hagy, the Maryland State Police, Maryland State Police trooper Eric Fogle, and the County Commissioners of Frederick County. Lee alleged "that he was detained and searched because of a Frederick County Sheriff's Department practice which targets African-American males driving expensive cars. Such drivers allegedly fit the Department's drug courier `profile.'" The complaint went on to state that "[a]t no time did defendants... Cline or ... Fogle have probable cause, reasonable ... suspicion or any ground, to believe that a crime had been committed or that the Plaintiff was carrying drugs [of] any kind." Lee claimed that Cline and Fogle were guilty of an unreasonable search and seizure, that the police officers unlawfully detained and imprisoned him, and that the officers "intentionally discriminated against Plaintiff on the basis of race and failed to afford him equal protection of the law." Lee asserted that the Frederick County Commissioners were

"aware of the Frederick County Sheriff's Department policy of utilizing a race-based drug courier profile and a policy of stereo-typing African-American males in late model luxury automobiles as `suspicious' and criminal and these Defendants provide manpower and other resources in support of the Frederick County Sheriff's race-based policy."

Lee further alleged that the violations of his rights were knowing and "intentional, extreme, outrageous, and intolerable and offend[ed] generally accepted standards of decency, morality and fairness, and ... caused Plaintiff to suffer embarrassment, mental anguish and emotional distress."

Count I of Lee's original complaint charged a violation of his civil rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; he asserted that the stop violated his rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. In the next count, Lee alleged that the defendants' actions violated his rights under the Maryland Declaration of Rights. The remaining counts in the original complaint were non-constitutional common law claims of false imprisonment, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Lee filed in the Circuit Court two amended complaints, adding a count sounding in negligence and a count charging a "Violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964," 42 U.S.C. § 2000d and 28 C.F.R. § 42.104(b)(2). He also asserted that the "Defendants' acts were done with malice [and] deliberate indifference to and in knowing violation of Plaintiffs' legal and constitutional rights...." In addition, Lee alleged that the Maryland State Police officer's canine was a "large ferocious looking canine [which] caused Plaintiff to believe that he was not free to leave."

Following a ruling by the Circuit Court that, for several reasons, there was no basis for the asserted causes of action against Maryland State Police trooper Fogle and the Maryland State Police, Lee's second amended complaint abandoned his claims against those two defendants. Finally, Lee sought compensatory and punitive damages, as well as declaratory and injunctive relief.

Next, the remaining defendants removed the case from the Circuit Court for Frederick County to the United States District Court for the District of Maryland. Following discovery, various motions, other pleadings, and...