Lescs v. City of Winchester
| Decision Date | 30 November 2020 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 5:19-cv-00061-EKD |
| Court | United States District Courts. 4th Circuit. United States District Court (Western District of Virginia) |
| Parties | CECILE M. LESCS, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF WINCHESTER, KEVIN SANZENBACHER, LTN BAUSERMAN, ANIMAL WARDEN LIANG, ANIMAL WARDEN SLONAKER, MR. HESS, PRIOR FIRE CHIEF JOHN DOE, DETECTIVE LISA HYDE, MR. GRISDALE, JOHN WILLINGHAM, EDEN FREEMAN, JOHN DOE POLICE OFFICERS, JOHN DOE VAGRANTS, JOHN DOE NEIGHBORS, AND DANNY MOWREY, Defendants. |
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Pro se plaintiff Cecile M. Lescs alleges that on August 24, 2017, she was detained, handcuffed, and then transported to a hospital for purposes of a mental health commitment in violation of the Fourth Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In addition to these claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Lescs brings state law claims for gross negligence, abuse of process, fraud, false pretenses, and trespass. Lescs further alleges conspiracy, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985, to commit spoliation regarding a state Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to facilitate the cover-up the facts of the August 24, 2017 incident. She also includes claims for "crimes against humanity" in violation of the Geneva Convention and the United States War Crimes Act. Finally, Lescs's complaint includes a "motion" to declare the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) unconstitutional and a motion to declare the Virginia law governing mental health commitments unconstitutional.
It is unclear against whom Lescs brings some of her claims. She has also asserted unrelated claims concerning: efforts over the years to cause her bodily injury through accidents; vagrants and neighbors who have, throughout the years, allegedly been reporting her as agents of the City and who have vandalized her home; many citations regarding her house; and her reports of crimes by vagrants that are disregarded.
In two separate motions, most of the defendants move to dismiss the complaint, and defendant Hyde also moves, in the alternative, for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, the City's motion to dismiss will be granted in part and denied in part, the individual defendants' motion to dismiss will be granted in part and denied in part, and defendant Hyde's motion for summary judgment will be granted as to Lescs's seizure for purposes of a mental health evaluation. The case will go forward on Lescs's Fourth Amendment claims against Animal Warden Chaz M. Niang and Animal Warden Slonaker for allegedly detaining and handcuffing plaintiff without cause, Lescs's Fourth Amendment claim against Detective Lisa M. Hyde for alleged excessive use of force by continuing to leave her handcuffed in her front yard, and Lescs's state law claims against Niang, Slonaker, Hyde, and the City.1
Defendants in this action, with their positions as alleged in the complaint, are the City of Winchester, Kevin Sanzenbacher (former Winchester Police Department (WPD) Chief), Lt. Bauserman (WPD and interim director of the same), Animal Warden Liang (whose proper name is Chaz M. Niang and will be referenced a Niang herein) (WPD), Animal Warden Slonaker (WPD),Mr. Hess (Senior Inspector of Winchester Department of Zoning and Inspections (WZD)), Former Winchester Fire Chief John Doe (plaintiff attempted to serve as Allen Baldwin), Detective Lisa Hyde (WPD), Mr. Grisdale (Director of WZD), John Willingham (Winchester City Council member and former Council President), Eden Freeman (Winchester City Manager), Danny Mowrey (WPD and WZD employee and employee of the Winchester Fire and Rescue Department), John Doe Police Officers, John Doe Vagrants, John Doe Neighbors, and Dale Imans. The City of Winchester filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. The individual defendants (except for Dale Imans2 and the John Doe Vagrants3 and Neighbors4) filed a separate a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. Hyde also moved for summary judgment. Because this case is before the court on motions to dismiss and an alternative motion for summary judgment, the court will set forth plaintiff's allegations and facts asserted in her affidavit separate from the facts asserted in the affidavits filed on behalf of defendant Hyde's alternative motion for summary judgment.
Lescs filed her complaint with an affidavit.5 The court will look at both to consider the alleged claims.
Lescs alleges that on August 24, 2017, defendants concocted a scheme to have her committed, involuntarily, to the psychiatric ward of the Winchester Medical Center (WMC). (Compl. ¶ 23, Dkt. No. 2.) Defendants were also planning to take Lescs's home on the ground that she was "under a disability" pursuant to a Virginia statute. (Id. ¶ 24.) Lescs claims that her cats were taken away without probable cause and eventually euthanized, but she admits she gave up custody of the cats. (Id. ¶¶ 25-26; Lescs Aff. ¶ 12, Dkt. No. 2.)
According to Lescs, two women, who are not defendants and are informants paid by defendant Mowrey, falsely reported "most likely" that she had "dead cats" and was "mentally sick," which led to the events of August 24, 2017. (Lescs Aff. ¶¶ 10-12). On that day, she was in her car cleaning it, behind her house, when she was handcuffed by defendants Niang and Slonaker without an arrest warrant and transported in a police car to the front of her house. (Id. ¶ 13.) While seated at the front of her house in handcuffs, she was quiet and behaving in a controlled manner. (Compl. ¶ 26.) In total, Lescs alleges that she was "restrain[ed] through physical force and handcuffs for one hour and forty-five minutes." (Id. ¶ 39.) Lescs was told by the animal warden that he would kick in Lescs's front door if she did not give him the combination to her front door locks. Lescs gave him the combination, and the door was opened. (Lescs Aff. ¶ 14.) Mr. Hess told Lescs that he would take photos of the interior of the house from the open front door. The Fire Marshal (identified as Mr. Luttrell, who is not a defendant in this case) would then enter the house and take photos of the rest of the house. This resulted in Lescs's house being condemned due to the presenceof combustibles (fabrics, shoes, books, and sheets) that were strewn about. Lescs claims that these items were strewn about by persons entering her home to ransack it. (Id. ¶ 15.) Lescs did not give permission to enter her house. (Id. ¶ 16.) According to Lescs, a Northwestern Regional Mental Health Worker who was at the scene stated to Detective Hyde, "I think there is something there."
Lescs was transported to the WMC emergency department where a room had been prepared for her. Outside the room was an armed police officer. Inside the room was an unidentified social worker, Detective Hyde, and emergency room staff. A physician examined Lescs and asked her whether she heard voices and if she knew why she was at the hospital. Lescs denied hearing voices and said she "would like to know more" about why she was there. (Compl. ¶ 27.)
Hours later, a senior psychologist arrived and interviewed Lescs for forty-five minutes. The psychologist determined that Lescs would not be committed because she was not mentally ill. The psychologist stated that Lescs took care of her health and medical needs and that she "looked pretty good." (Id. ¶ 28.)
Lescs's complaint also discusses a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for records regarding plaintiff, her house, her cats, and the events of August 24, 2017. The Winchester Police Department (WPD), Winchester Social Services Department, and the Virginia Health Department all responded that no such records existed. (Id. ¶ 29.) Lescs maintains that this was a fabrication, and the records were "obviously" concealed or destroyed. (Id. ¶¶ 30-32.) The FOIA issue was apparently the subject of a state court petition that was denied with prejudice. (Exhibit to Brief in Support of Individual Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, Dkt. No. 13.)
Additionally, Lescs alleges that there have been numerous attempts to cause her serious bodily injury and/or death over the course of several years. On one occasion, Lescs was hit on the passenger side rear bumper by a tractor trailer while she was driving to work on Interstate 81. Virginia State police charged her with causing the accident, but she was found not guilty at trial. Lescs complains that she has not been able to recover from the other driver's insurance company and her car is still damaged. (Id. ¶ 33.)
Lescs's house has been cited an "extraordinary" number of times by defendant Mr. Hess and the Winchester Zoning and Inspections Department. (Id.) The "current" citation is for a failure to sign a vacant house registry. Lescs's house has also been subject to numerous break-ins. Her house has been ransacked, and two cats were poisoned and died. During one instance, Lescs's dog Nora was attacked. (Id. ¶ 34.) Lescs complains that WPD refused to do anything about the break-ins. (Id. ¶ 35.)6 Instead, the response of WPD was that Lescs was "paranoid" and thought people were "after" her. (Lescs Aff. ¶ 26.) Lescs stopped sleeping in her house because of the break-ins. (Id. ¶¶ 33-34.) Instead of sleeping in her home, Lescs would sleep in her car in a Walmart parking lot. (Id. ¶ 47.)
Detective Hyde, as noted above, moved for summary judgment,7 and her motion is supported by several affidavits. (Summ. J. Br., Affidavits of Lisa Hyde (Hyde Aff.), DonnaJeane C.Trillio (Trillio Aff.), Katlynn Slonaker (Slonaker Aff.), Chaz N. Niang (Niang Aff.), Dkt. No. 15.) The affidavits provide further detail about the incident that occurred on August 24, 2017.
On that date, Animal Control Officer Niang and WPD...
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