Mayrides v. Delaware County Com'Rs, Case No. 2:08-CV-535.

• Decision Date: 24 September 2009
• Docket Number: Case No. 2:08-CV-535.
• Citation: 666 F.Supp.2d 861
• Parties: Gabriela MAYRIDES, Plaintiff, v. DELAWARE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Ohio

666 F.Supp.2d 861

Gabriela MAYRIDES, Plaintiff, v. DELAWARE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 2:08-CV-535.

United States District Court, S.D. Ohio, Eastern Division.

September 24, 2009.

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David Charles Watson, Jr., Columbus, OH, for Plaintiff.

Michael M. Heimlich, Aric Ingram Hochstettler, Delaware, OH, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

ALGENON L. MARBLEY, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter is before the Court on the Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings (Dkt. 27) of Defendants Delaware County Board of Commissioners ("Board"), Delaware County, Al Myers ("Myers"), Al Davis ("Davis"), Nathan Andrew Evans ("Evans"), Deputy Fletcher ("Fletcher"), Sergeant Dore ("Dore"), A. Banfield ("Banfield"), Timothy M. Schambs ("Schambs"), J. Elverson ("Elverson"), Mark Hickman ("Hickman"), Kari Dotson ("Dotson"), and John or Jane Doe(s) (collectively, the "Delaware Defendants").¹ For the reasons set forth below, this Court GRANTS the Delaware Defendants' Motion.

II. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

Plaintiff Gabriela Mayrides ("Mayrides") is the duly appointed Administrator of the Estate of Gabriel M. Mayrides, deceased. The Delaware Defendants are individuals who are alleged to have been involved in the investigation of the death of Gabriel Mayrides ("Decedent").

1. The 911 Calls

Decedent was involved in a romantic relationship with Darcie Dodd ("Dodd"). During the course of their relationship certain disputes arose between the Decedent and Dodd that led to the making of 911 telephone calls and subsequent police involvement.

The first telephone call took place on December 23, 2005, and was made to 911 from 8927 Oak Village Boulevard, Lewis Center, Ohio, the residence of the Decedent. The 911 call was recorded as a "Hang Up/Open Misdial" and was not investigated by the Delaware County Sheriff. The incident record associated with the call notes that no report was taken.

On February 10, 2006, a second call was made to 911 by the Decedent. During the call, the Decedent complained about Dodd, indicating that she would not leave his apartment. The incident record associated with the call notes that no report was taken.

On April 19, 2006, another 911 call was made. Speaking to the 911 operator, the Decedent complained of being assaulted and hit in the face by Dodd. The 911 operator told the Decedent not to yell at her and complained about the Decedent's language. The 911 operator then hung up on the Decedent. A few minutes later, Dodd called 911 and reported a domestic dispute. As a result, the Delaware County Sheriff investigated disorderly conduct, profane language, a 911 hang-up, and an argument at the residence of the Decedent. The incident record associated with the investigation notes that an offense may have occurred.

On April 23, 2006, Dodd called 911 claiming she found a note in which the Decedent had written that he was going to kill himself. As a result of this 911 telephone call, Dodd signed a statement, given to the Delaware County Sheriff's Department, claiming that the Decedent had previously made suicidal threats.

On April 30, 2006, The Delaware County Sheriff's Department was told by the Decedent that he had "no desire to kill himself." (Am. Comp. ¶ 41.)

On May 2, 2006, a neighbor of the Decedent telephoned 911 to report domestic violence involving the Decedent and Dodd. The neighbor, Simone Lilac, reported that Dodd was lying facedown in front of the Decedent's apartment after being thrown down on the concrete.

2. Gabriel Mayrides' Death

In the early morning of May 6, 2006, Delaware County officials were dispatched to the residence of the Decedent to investigate a 911 emergency call and a report of a suicide attempt by gunshot. Evans was the first officer present at the scene and discovered Gabriel Mayrides lying on his bed with a semi-automatic pistol in his right hand. Evans and other investigators took photographs of the scene. Medics 361 and 362 arrived at the Decedent's residence. They checked for vital signs and, finding none, pronounced the Decedent dead at 00:29 hours on May 6, 2006.

Dodd was also present at the Decedent's residence and was reported to be hysterical by Evans and Schambs. Dodd told the police officers present that the Decedent had shot himself. Dodd was then transported to St. Ann's Hospital.

The Delaware Defendants participated in conducting an investigation into the death of the Decedent. All persons involved in the investigation concluded that the Decedent committed suicide. In reaching this determination the Delaware Defendants relied upon, among other things, a positive gunpowder residue test that had been conducted on the hand of the Decedent and statements made by Dodd.

B. Procedural Background

On May 5, 2008, Mayrides initiated a lawsuit against the Delaware Defendants in the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County, Ohio. On June 3, 2008, the Delaware Defendants removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Mayrides filed an Amended Complaint on October 29, 2008 alleging five counts: three state claims for negligence, obstruction of justice and wrongful death, under Ohio law, and two federal § 1983 claims for substantive due process and equal protection violations by the Delaware Defendants. The Delaware Defendants filed a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c), arguing that Mayrides lacks standing, that she has failed to establish a constitutional violation, and that they are entitled to qualified immunity.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A motion for judgment on the pleadings may be made "[a]fter the pleadings are closed but within such time as not to delay the trial." Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c). A motion for judgment on the pleadings under Rule 12(c) attacks the sufficiency of the pleadings and is reviewed under the same standard applicable to a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6). Ziegler v. IBP Hog Mkt., 249 F.3d 509, 511-12 (6th Cir.2001). A "motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim is a test of the plaintiff's cause of action as stated in the complaint, not a challenge to the plaintiff's factual allegations." Golden v. City of Columbus, 404 F.3d 950, 958-59 (6th Cir.2005). Consequently, the Court must construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, accept all factual allegations as true, and make reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party. Total Benefits Planning Agency, Inc. v. Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield, 552 F.3d 430, 434 (6th Cir.2008); Murphy v. Sofamor Danek Group, Inc., 123 F.3d 394, 400 (6th Cir.1997).

Although liberal, this standard requires more than the bare assertion of legal conclusions. Allard v. Weitzman, 991 F.2d 1236, 1240 (6th Cir.1993). Under the federal pleading requirements, a plaintiff's complaint must include "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." See Fed. R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2). The complaint must "give the defendant fair notice of what the claim is, and the grounds upon which it rests." Nader v. Blackwell, 545 F.3d 459, 470 (6th Cir.2008) (quoting Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 2200, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007) (internal quotations omitted)). While a complaint need not contain "detailed factual allegations," its "factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). A Rule 12(c) motion is granted only if there is an absence of law to support a claim of the type made or of facts sufficient to make a valid claim, or if on the face of the complaint there is an insurmountable bar to relief indicating that the plaintiff does not have a claim. Cmty. Mental Health Serv. v. Mental Health & Recovery Bd., 395 F.Supp.2d 644, 649 (S.D.Ohio 2004).

IV. LAW AND ANALYSIS

A. § 1983 Claims

Mayrides alleges the Delaware Defendants violated the Decedent's rights: (1) to life and liberty protected under the substantive component of the due process clause; and (2) to the equal protection of the laws. (Pl. Resp. ¶ 12.) The Delaware Defendants assert that Mayrides' claims lack standing, are not predicated on a constitutional right, and are barred under the doctrine of qualified immunity.

To establish a cause of action under § 1983, Mayrides must establish two elements: (1) deprivation of a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States; and (2) caused by a person acting under color of state law. McQueen v. Beecher Cmmt'y Sch., 433 F.3d 460, 463 (6th Cir.2006).

1. Standing

The Delaware Defendants argue that Mayrides lacks standing to bring a claim under § 1983. The question of standing is a threshold inquiry to be determined by this Court prior to exercising jurisdiction. Allstate Insur. Co. v. Wayne County, 760 F.2d 689, 693 (6th Cir.1985). The Supreme Court has set forth the requirements for standing as a three-part test. Valley Forge Christian Coll. v. Ams. United for Separation of Church & State, Inc., 454 U.S. 464, 102 S.Ct. 752, 70 L.Ed.2d 700 (1982). An individual has standing if she: (1) suffers an injury in fact that; (2) is fairly traceable to the alleged misconduct; and (3) is redressible by the relief sought. Id. at 475, 102 S.Ct. 752. The Sixth Circuit has interpreted the second prong to mean that "the injury is indeed fairly traceable to the defendant's acts or omissions." United States v. Perry, 360 F.3d 519, 527-28 (6th Cir.2004). Additionally, the Sixth Circuit has described the redressibility requirement as "the causal connection between the injury and the relief sought." Id.

Where the injured party is deceased, the Supreme Court has recognized that "the law of the forum is the reference point in determining the survival of civil rights actions, subject to the important...