Mecey v. City of Farmington
| Decision Date | 05 November 2020 |
| Docket Number | No. 4:19-CV-1526 RLW,4:19-CV-1526 RLW |
| Parties | ROBIN MECEY, et al., Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF FARMINGTON, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | United States District Courts. 8th Circuit. United States District Court (Eastern District of Missouri) |
This matter is before the Court on Defendants City of Farmington, Gregory Beavers, Susie Miller, Ryan Miller, Eric Spiker, Clifford Bone, Theresa Bohn, Jerrod Mahurin, the City of Park Hills, and Mike Kurtz (collectively the "Municipal and County Defendants") motion for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(c), or in the alternative, motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Defendants Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services ("DHSS"), Jason Garner, and Gary Oliver (collectively the "DHSS Defendants") also move to dismiss all claims against them. For the following reasons, the Court grants the Municipal and County Defendants' and the DHSS Defendants' motions to dismiss.
Plaintiffs Robin and David Mecey, husband and wife, are proceeding in this matter pro se. The Amended Complaint is a 38-page pleading with 17 counts against 13 defendants. In first paragraph, entitled "Jurisdictional Statement," Plaintiffs assert they are bringing their claims against "[m]unicipalities, their officers and individuals acting under color of law," and are challenging "the constitutionality of their acts." (ECF No. 17 at 1). The Amended Complaint states "[a]t all times, Defendants City of Farmington, City of Park Hills, Gregory Beavers, Susie Miller, Ryan Millar, Eric Spiker, Clifford Bone, Teresa Bohn, Jerrod Mahurin, Jason Garner, Gary Oliver, and Mike Kurtz were acting as State officials employed, compensated, enriched and rewarded by the state and are being sued in their official capacity and as individuals." (ECF No. 17 at 2-3).
Plaintiffs characterize their case as being about the kidnapping of Robin Mecey, and "the extent the defendants conspired to cover up the felony crime using their power under the color of law to silence her as a victim." (ECF No. 31 at 1). The events outlined in the Amended Complaint span many years and concern seemingly unconnected events, but Plaintiffs contend they all relate back to an encounter on March 24, 2014, that took place in a J.C. Penney store where Robin Mecey worked.
According to the Amended Complaint, J.C. Penney employees conspired to have Robin Mecey fired, and in the process they committed several crimes, including fabricating evidence, perjury, making a false affidavit, filing a false report, and felony kidnapping, and the defendants in this suit have spent years conspiring to cover-up these crimes. Plaintiffs allege on March 24, 2014, a J.C. Penney Loss Prevention Agent was sent to the J.C. Penney store in Farmington, Missouri, to investigate shortages in cash registers throughout the store. Plaintiffs allege "Robin Mecey was singled out with no probable cause," and she was "lured from her workstation under false pretenses" into a backroom of the store, where she was held "against her will and over her objections and threatened with the use of false accusations, physical violence, and terrorized for over 2 hours [ ] for the purpose of forcing Robin Mecey to sign their fabricated confession." (ECF No. 17 at 4-5). According to the Amended Complaint, the police were eventually called, and Defendant Ryan Miller arrested Plaintiff, without probably cause.
According to the Amended Complaint, Plaintiff Robin Mecey was charged by the City of Farmington, and a trial was held on July 24, 2014, at which she was convicted of shoplifting. Plaintiffs allege the charges were based on a false affidavit created by a non-party and J.C. Penney employee, Victoria Bollman, and filed by the Farmington City Police Department's notary, Defendant Teresa Bohn. There are numerous allegations in the Amended Complaint about the trial that took place on July 24, 2014, which Plaintiffs maintain was a sham. Plaintiffs also allege that during the trial, the presiding judge had Plaintiff David Mecey removed from the courtroom and detained for passing notes to Robin Mecey.
Plaintiffs allege that prior to the trial, on March 24-25, 2014, they attempted to file complaints with the Farmington Police Department, but they were refused access to the public complaint process. They also allege that on January 27, 2015, they again attempted to file a complaint at the Farmington Police Department regarding the crimes committed against Robin Mecey. Plaintiffs were eventually allowed to file the complaint, but the complaint was not sent to a prosecutor and no charges were ever brought against J.C. Penney employees or any officer for kidnapping, felonious restraint, perjury, or any other crime.
The allegations in pages 25-38 of the Amended Complaint involve an entirely separate series of events, which started in July 2017. Plaintiffs acknowledge that these events appear to be unrelated to prior events, but according to Plaintiffs, they are all connected to the incident at the J.C. Penney and Robin Mecey's treatment in the criminal justice system. Plaintiffs maintain all the events alleged were done in retaliation and to cover up the original crimes against Robin Mecey.
According to the Amended Complaint, both David and Robin Mecey were working at the Café Redux L.L.C. in Park Hill, Missouri in the summer of 2017. David Mecey had a workspaceat the café, where he kept paperwork for a civil case he had filed against Defendant Jerrod Mahurin, the former prosecutor of St. Francois County, and others.1 Plaintiffs allege new employee, Nancy Boevingloh, was hired by the café manager at the urging of L.L.C. member Gary Robinson. Plaintiffs maintain, on July 12, 2017, Ms. Boevingloh robbed the café after hours and stole all the paperwork related to David Mecey's federal lawsuit against Jerrod Mahurin. According to the Amended Complaint, the paperwork was taken to Mr. Robinson. Plaintiffs allege Jerrod Mahurin conspired with Ms. Boevingloh and Mr. Robinson to steal the paperwork. Neither Ms. Boevingloh nor Mr. Robinson are parties to this suit.
Plaintiffs also allege that on October 23, 2017, due to disagreements between the partners and poor business practices, Café Redux L.L.C. closed for business. Mr. Robinson asked David Mecey to help wind down the business. Plaintiffs accuse Mr. Robinson of refusing to return their personal property, specifically "a public address system with 2 power amps used for karaoke." (ECF No. 17 at 29). Plaintiffs allege David Mecey threatened to file a police report, and Mr. Robinson filed for an order of protection against David Mecey, accusing him of soliciting money and stating that he feared for his safety.
According to the Amended Complaint, David Mecey did file a police report with the Park Hills Police Department on November 1, 2017. The Park Hill Police Department, however, never retrieved Plaintiffs' stolen property.
In the final count of the Amended Complaint, Plaintiffs allege that on June 28, 2018, Defendant Jerrod Mahurin, at the time the county prosecutor for St. Francois County, conspiredwith other defendants to fabricate evidence and charges against David and Robin Mecey to imprison them for 15 years. According to the Amended Complaint, on June 28, 2018, Defendants Jason Garner and Jerrod Mahurin applied for arrest warrants for David and Robin Mecey for exploitation of the elderly, a class B felony. Plaintiffs allege a misleading affidavit was filed with the St. Francois County prosecutor's office to obtain arrest warrants. According to the Amended Complaint, David and Robin Mecey turned themselves into the St. Francois County Jail, after being informed of the warrants, and they were released on $25,000 bond. These charges have been dismissed, but Plaintiffs contend they were brought in order to punish Plaintiffs. (ECF No. 17 at 35).
For damages, Plaintiffs state that they "suffered expenses of over 60 months '5 years' of judicial abuse with over 2500 miles traveled and the time to respond pro se with dozens of motions answers and briefs"; that Robin and David Mecey have suffered "mental anguish," and their "standing in the community has been damaged beyond repair" from the aforementioned events; that Robin Mecey suffers "IBS" and has nightmares; and they have had to pay court fine and costs, plus $5000.00 for bail. (ECF No. 17 at 35-36). For relief Plaintiffs seek "to get the conflicting policies and the malice for rule of law in the acts of the City of Farmington in treating complainants [sic] as adversaries changed," plus "damages for time, co[]st and reputation," duress, and pain and suffering. And David Mecey "seeks to get Park Hills to follow procedure on the stolen items reported from 11/01/2017." (ECF No. 17 at 36).
The Municipal and County Defendants move to dismiss on a number of grounds including: the statute of limitations has expired, qualified immunity, prosecutorial immunity, lack of Monell liability, the Rooker-Feldman Doctrine, sovereign immunity, and failure to state a claim. TheDHSS Defendants also move to dismiss the counts against them on the grounds of official immunity, sovereign immunity, and failure to state a claim.
To survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, "a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.'" Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). A claim is facially plausible "where the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Blomker v. Jewell, 831 F.3d 1051, 1055 (8th Cir. 2016) (quotation omitted). The facts alleged must "raise a right to relief above the speculative level." Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. A complaint must offer more than "'labels and conclusions' or 'a formulaic...
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