Meeks v. Larsen
| Decision Date | 28 February 2014 |
| Docket Number | Civil No. 13–cv–11371. |
| Citation | 999 F.Supp.2d 968 |
| Parties | Eugene MEEKS, Sylvia Meeks, Gabrielle Neely, Michael Meeks, Thomas Piatek, David Stone, Jr., Plaintiffs, v. Sandra LARSEN, Leslie, Larsen, Stephen Haug, D. Christopher Allen, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan |
J. Nicholas Bostic, J. Nicholas Bostic, PLLC, Lansing, MI, for Plaintiffs.
Theresa M. Urbanic, U.S. Attorney's Office, Detroit, MI, for Defendants.
GERSHWIN A. DRAIN, District Judge.
Plaintiffs Eugene Meeks, Sylvia Meeks, Michael Meeks, Thomas Piatek (“Piatek”) and Gabrielle Neely initiated this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action on March 27, 2013, and filed an Amended Complaint with this Court on September 30, 2013. The Amended Complaint added Plaintiff David Stone, Jr. (“Stone”). Plaintiffs named Sandra Larsen (“S. Larsen”), Leslie Larsen (“L. Larsen”), Christopher Allen (“Allen”), and Steven Haug (“Haug”) as Defendants.1 See Dkt. # 23. Plaintiffs did not challenge the substitution. The instant matter stems from the investigation of a militia group calling themselves the “Hutaree” and the subsequent execution of four search warrants on the Plaintiffs' homes.
On March 27, 2010, federal agents executed a search warrant on Plaintiffs' Eugene Meeks, Sylvia Meeks, and Gabrielle Neely's home. Agents searched the home of Plaintiff Thomas Piatek (“Piatek”) on the same day. Agents searched the home of Michael Meeks on March 30, 2013. These searches were pursuant to warrants obtained as a result of the information of Defendant Steven Haug (“Haug”) gained in his capacity as an undercover officer. Haug conveyed this information to Defendant Leslie Larsen (“L. Larsen”). L. Larsen used this information in her warrant affidavits in order to obtain the warrants that authorized the searches in question. Defendant Sandra Larsen (“S. Larsen”) also used Haug's information to assist in obtaining the warrants. Defendant Christopher Allen (“Allen”) was the lead officer of the team of officers that executed the warrants.
In their Amended Complaint, Plaintiffs argue Haug's information was false and misleading, he deliberately provided this information to L. Larsen, and L Larsen and S. Larsen deliberately or with reckless disregard for the truth used this information to obtain a probable cause determination for the search warrants. The Plaintiffs allege Defendants violated their First, Second, Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights in the execution of the search warrants. Plaintiffs also allege various tort claims against Defendants. The individual Defendants have moved for dismissal for Plaintiff's failure to state a claim for which relief can be granted. The United States moves for dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim for which relief can be granted. The Court held a hearing on Defendants' Motions on Tuesday, February 18, 2014.
On March 23, 2010, a grand jury issued an indictment charging Plaintiffs David Stone, Jr. (“Stone”), Piatek, and Michael Meeks with various federal crimes. Defs.' Ex. 2. The indictment contained several counts. The most important count was Seditious Conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. § 2384.2 The indictment alleged Plaintiffs are part of an anti-government militia group called the Hutaree. Magistrate Judge Virginia Morgan issued a search warrant for the home of Eugene Meeks, Sylvia Meeks, and Gabrielle Neely on the same day the grand jury issued its indictment. Judge Morgan also issued search warrants for the homes of Piatek and Stone on March 27, 2010. On March 30, 2010, Magistrate Judge Donald Scheer issued the search warrant for Michael Meeks' home. S. Larsen's affidavit was used to secure each of these warrants. Defs.' Ex. 10. The affidavit chronicled information the government received from confidential informants. Id. S. Larsen declared that evidence of seditious conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. § 2384, would likely be found at the addresses of Stone, Michael Meeks, and Piatek. Id. The warrants gave agents executing the search warrants the authority to search “for any and all records, documents, and materials pertaining to” seditious conspiracy and the other offenses. The list included computers, books, firearms munitions, and explosive materials.3
Eugene Meeks, Sylvia Meeks, and Gabrielle Neely were not charged in the indictment. Eugene and Sylvia are Michael Meeks' parents. Defs.' Ex. 9. Gabrielle Neely was in Eugene and Sylvia's home at the time of the search. Michael Meeks, Stone, and Piatek were charged in a federal criminal case (“Criminal Case”) United States of America v. Stone, et al., No. 10–20123. In the Criminal Case, the United States charged them with Seditious Conspiracy, Conspiracy to Use Weapons of Mass Destruction, and various firearm offenses. According to S. Larsen's search warrant affidavit, Stone, Michael Meeks and Piatek planned to attack police officers with firearms and improvised explosive devises, also known as IEDs, in an effort to spark an uprising against the government. Defs.' Ex. 10. Defendants executed the warrants on March 27, 2010 and March 30, 2010.
During the Criminal Case, Piatek moved to quash the warrant that authorized the search of his home, challenging the existence of probable cause. Defs.' Ex. 11. Stone and Michael Meeks joined the Motion to Quash. Stone also filed a Motion to Suppress Evidence.4 Defs.' Ex. 13. Michael Meeks and Piatek joined Stone's Motion to Suppress as well.
Magistrate Judge Paul Komives issued a Report and Recommendation on the Motions. Defs.' Ex. 16. Magistrate Judge Komives recommended that the court conclude the “affidavit on its face establishes probable cause ...” Id. at 18. He also concluded Plaintiffs failed to show the need for a Franks hearing, and that the Motions to Suppress should be denied. Id. at 27. Judge Victoria Roberts adopted both recommendations after a de novo review. Defs.' Ex. 17. Judge Roberts held there was a “sufficient nexus between the places to be searched and the evidence of the crime to provide probable cause to issue the warrants.” Id. at 2. She also held that Plaintiffs had not established that the warrants contained deliberately or recklessly false material statements or omissions. Id. The Motions to Quash and Suppress were denied. The court in the Criminal case, however, issued an Order stating that statute of limitations for Plaintiff's Stone, Piatek, and Michael Meeks was tolled for the Purposes of the Federal Tort Claims Act.5 See Defs.' Ex. 17. In the Criminal Case, Plaintiffs successfully moved for a Judgment of Acquittal and the charges were dismissed. Pls.' Ex. 1.
Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allows the court to dismiss a complaint if it lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the claims therein. On a 12(b)(1) motion, the plaintiff has the burden of proving jurisdiction. Moir v. Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Auth., 895 F.2d 266, 269 (6th Cir.1990) ; Rogers v. Stratton Indus., Inc., 798 F.2d 913, 915 (6th Cir.1986). Motions under Rule 12(b)(1) are either facial attacks or factual attacks. United States v. Ritchie, 15 F.3d 592, 598 (6th Cir.1994). A facial attack challenges the pleading itself. When presented with a facial attack, the court takes all material allegations in the complaint as true and construes them in a light most favorable to the nonmovant. Id. The factual attack, however, challenges the factual existence of subject matter jurisdiction. Id. The court does not presume the truth of the complaint's allegations, and is free to “weigh the evidence and satisfy itself as to the existence of its power to hear the case.” Id. The United States' Motion is a factual attack.
Under Rule 8(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Although this standard does not require “detailed factual allegations,” it does require more than “labels and conclusions” or “a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allows the court to make an assessment as to whether the plaintiff has stated a claim upon which relief may be granted. Under the Supreme Court's articulation of the Rule 12(b)(6) standard in Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, the court must construe the complaint in favor of the plaintiff, accept the allegations of the complaint as true, and determine whether plaintiff's factual allegations present plausible claims. To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, plaintiff's pleading for relief must provide “more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Ass'n of Cleveland Fire Fighters v. City of Cleveland, 502 F.3d 545, 548 (6th Cir.2007). Even though the 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 of the allegations in the complaint are true.” Id. To survive a motion to dismiss, the plaintiff must allege facts that, if accepted as true, are sufficient “to raise a right to relief above the speculative level” and to “state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 667, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009).
When deciding a motion under Rule 12(b)(6), the court can take into account matters of public record, orders, items appearing in the record of the case, and exhibits attached to the complaint. Amini v. Oberlin College, 259 F.3d 493, 502 (6th Cir.2001). The court can properly treat documents the defendant attaches...
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