Miller v. Compton

• Decision Date: 12 August 1997
• Docket Number: No. 96-3125,96-3125
• Citation: 122 F.3d 1094
• Parties: Robert MILLER, III, Appellant, v. Pat COMPTON, individually and as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Union County, Arkansas; Caren Harp, individually and as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Union County, Arkansas, Defendants, Cathleen Compton, individually and as agent for the Union County Prosecuting Attorney; Lieutenant Byron Sartor, individually and in his official capacity as a Police Officer of the El Dorado Police Department; Jackie R. Wiley, in his official capacity as Chief of Police, Appellees, Tom Wynne, Prosecuting Attorney for the Thirteenth Judicial District, Defendant, City of El Dorado, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 1094

122 F.3d 1094

Robert MILLER, III, Appellant, v. Pat COMPTON, individually and as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Union County, Arkansas; Caren Harp individually and as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Union County Arkansas, Defendants Cathleen Compton, individually and as agent for the Union County Prosecuting Attorney; Lieutenant Byron Sartor individually and in his official capacity as a Police Officer of the El Dorado Police Department; Jackie R. Wiley, in his official capacity as Chief of Police, Appellees, Tom Wynne, Prosecuting Attorney for the Thirteenth Judicial District, Defendant, City of El Dorado, Appellee.

No. 96-3125.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted April 14, 1997.

Decided Aug. 12, 1997.

Brian Miller, Memphis, TN, argued, for Robert Miller, III.

Cathleen V. Compton, El Dorado, AR, pro se.

Henry Kinslow, El Dorado, AR, argued, for City of El Dorado.

Before LOKEN, Circuit Judge, JOHN R. GIBSON, and MAGILL, Senior Circuit Judges.

MAGILL, Senior Circuit Judge.

Robert Miller III brought suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the city of El Dorado, Arkansas, El Dorado police officer Byron Sartor, El Dorado police chief Jackie Wiley, and private attorney Cathleen Compton for allegedly violating Miller's constitutional rights. The district court ¹ granted the defendants' motions for summary judgment, and Miller now appeals. We affirm.

I.

Robert and Deneen Miller did not have an ideal relationship. The couple married in 1988 and had one child together. Miller and Deneen divorced in 1990, but had a second child out of wedlock in 1992. Miller initially refused to acknowledge his paternity of this second child.

Deneen has, at various times, accused Miller of physically assaulting her, including an episode when Miller allegedly choked Deneen. Miller denies that he ever physically assaulted Deneen. Despite her version of their history together, Deneen allowed Miller to move into her apartment when Deneen moved to El Dorado in June 1992.

During Thanksgiving of 1992, Deneen and Miller argued, and Miller threatened to move out of the apartment. Deneen contacted the El Dorado police because she believed that Miller was going to remove appliances and furniture from the apartment. Miller did not move out and did not remove anything from the apartment. Within the next six weeks, Deneen and Miller continued to argue, and Deneen asked Miller to leave the apartment.

The El Dorado apartment, which was managed by Moore Realty and leased on a month-to-month basis, was originally leased in both Deneen's and Miller's names. On January 8, 1993, Deneen spoke with the manager of the property and entered into a new lease in her name only. Deneen took this action because she did not believe that Miller, who was then unemployed, was contributing sufficient financial support for the rent and household expenses. Deneen did not tell Miller that his name was no longer on the lease.

On January 11, 1993, Deneen spoke with private attorney Cathleen Compton regarding Miller's failure to pay child support, Miller's failure to pay certain medical expenses, and Miller's unacknowledged paternity of Deneen and Miller's second child. Compton filed a paternity petition and a citation for contempt against Miller, but was unable to serve the petition or citation against him. Subsequently, Miller acknowledged his paternity of the second child, and Deneen instructed Compton to drop all actions against Miller.

During her January 11 meeting with Deneen, Compton learned that Deneen and Miller had a history of domestic violence. Deneen also told Compton that Deneen wanted Miller to leave her home. Compton recommended that Deneen contact the Union County Victim/Witness Assistance Program for help.

Deneen acted on this recommendation, and on January 11 spoke with Judy Hughes in the Victim/Witness Assistance Program. Deneen told Hughes that Deneen and Miller were divorced, that Miller had been physically abusive and verbally abusive towards Deneen, that Miller was not listed on the apartment lease, and that Deneen wished Miller to leave the apartment. Hughes called Moore Realty and confirmed that Miller was not listed on the apartment lease. Hughes then contacted Captain Ellis of the El Dorado police, and explained that there was an unwanted person staying at Deneen's apartment, and that Deneen wanted the person removed.

Officers Blake and Stigall of the El Dorado police met Deneen at Deneen's apartment shortly before noon on January 11. Deneen invited the officers into the apartment, and the officers spoke with Miller. Miller showed the officers a lease which contained his name, and Officer Stigall spoke with someone from Moore Realty on the phone. The Moore Realty representative explained that "at first she had told Ms. Miller that the lease could be changed over to her name only but after talking to someone else in the office that lease couldn't be changed over only into Ms. Miller's name." Report by Officer Blake (Jan. 11, 1993) at 2, reprinted in Appellant's App. at 20. The officers left the apartment, telling Deneen that they could not force Miller to leave. Officer Blake reported that Deneen and Miller "were agitated at each other," id., and that Deneen stated "that she was afraid of Mr. Miller." Id. Deneen denies that she made this statement.

Deneen then spoke with Caren Harp at the Union County Prosecutor's office. Deneen repeated her allegations of abuse and showed Harp a copy of the apartment lease that listed only Deneen's name. Deneen was extremely upset and was crying during the meeting with Harp. Harp contacted Jim Moore of Moore Realty and confirmed that Miller was not on the current lease to the apartment. Harp also contacted Compton to get additional background information on Deneen and Miller's situation. Harp then contacted Captain Ellis of the El Dorado police and informed him that Miller was not on the current lease to the apartment. ²

Captain Ellis sent El Dorado police officers Ward and Sartor to Deneen's apartment at 4:30 on the afternoon of January 11. Although Deneen was at the apartment complex, she did not enter the apartment with the officers. Miller invited the officers into the apartment. While Officer Sartor contends that he merely asked Miller to leave the apartment and Miller complied, Miller contends that Officer Sartor ordered him to leave. Miller alleges that Officer Sartor did not give him a chance to explain that Miller's name was listed on the lease, and that Officer Sartor threatened to arrest him if Miller did not leave. Miller left the apartment. ³

Miller spent several days away from El Dorado. After three days, Deneen allowed Miller to return to the apartment. Deneen and Miller were remarried on July 3, 1993.

Miller brought this lawsuit on January 24, 1994, against several Union County prosecutors, Officer Sartor, El Dorado police chief Jackie Wiley, the city of El Dorado, and Compton. In his suit, Miller sought relief for alleged violations of the First, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985, and 1988, as well as Arkansas state tort claims for false arrest, false imprisonment, seizure of pension, tortious interference with a contractual relationship, slander, invasion of privacy, public disclosure of private facts, infliction of emotional distress, and unlawful ejection. Miller did not bring suit against Deneen, and Deneen has not been joined as a party in this action.

During discovery, Compton sought admissions from Miller. When Miller failed to respond to the request for admissions within the thirty-day time limit prescribed by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 36, Compton moved the district court to deem the requested admissions admitted. The district court denied this motion, and set a later deadline for Miller to respond to the request for admissions. Miller failed to meet this second deadline. Miller responded to the request for admissions several days after the expiration of the second deadline. Compton had also served Miller with interrogatories at the same time that she had requested admissions, and Miller never responded to the interrogatories.

Following discovery, the district court granted summary judgment to all defendants. The district court held that the prosecutors were absolutely immune from Miller's civil rights claims against them. See Mem. Op. at 13, reprinted in Appellant's Add. at 14. The district court dismissed Miller's civil rights complaint against Compton both because she was not a state actor, see id. at 11, reprinted in Appellant's Add. at 12, and because Miller, who failed to respond in a timely manner to Compton's request for admissions, was deemed to have admitted that he had no valid cause of action against Compton. Id. at 11-12, reprinted in Appellant's Add. at 12-13. Finally, the district court dismissed Miller's civil rights claims against Chief Wiley, Officer Sartor, and the city of El Dorado. The district court held that Officer Sartor was entitled to qualified immunity from Miller's suit, see id. at 14-15, reprinted in Appellant's Add. at 15-16, and that the city of El Dorado and Chief Wiley had not established an unconstitutional policy and could not be liable under a theory of respondeat superior. See id. at 15, reprinted in Appellant's Add. at 16.

The district court held that Miller's claims in tort were barred either by Arkansas's one-year statute of limitations, see Mem. Op. at 15, reprinted in Appellant's Add. at 16 (citing Ark.Code Ann. 16-56-104), or by Miller's failure to allege sufficient facts to sustain these actions in tort. See id. at 15-18, reprinted in Appellant's Add. at 16-19.

Miller now appeals. During the pendency of this appeal, Miller dismissed the prosecutors from this action. Accordingly, we need only consider Miller's claims against Compton, Officer Sartor, Chief Wiley, and the city of El Dorado.

II.

We review the district court's grant of summary...