North Florida Educational Dev. Corp. v. Woodham, 4:96CV81-MMP.

• Decision Date: 20 May 1996
• Docket Number: No. 4:96CV81-MMP.,4:96CV81-MMP.
• Citation: 942 F.Supp. 542
• Parties: NORTH FLORIDA EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION and Carolyn Ford, etc., Plaintiffs, v. William A. WOODHAM, etc., et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Florida

942 F.Supp. 542

NORTH FLORIDA EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION and Carolyn Ford, etc., Plaintiffs, v. William A. WOODHAM, etc., et al., Defendants.

No. 4:96CV81-MMP.

United States District Court, N.D. Florida, Tallahassee Division.

May 20, 1996.

Larry K. White, Larry K. White, P.A., Tallahassee, FL, and Jack L. McLean, Jr., Williams, Haygood & McLean, Atlanta, GA, for plaintiffs.

Keith C. Tischler, Powers Quaschnick Tischler & Evans, Tallahassee, FL, John C. Cooper, James E. Messer, Jr., Cooper, Coppins & Monroe, Tallahassee, FL, Craig A. Dennis, J. Bruce Bowman, and John Alan Grant, Dennis & Bowman, Tallahassee, FL, for defendants.

ORDER OF DISMISSAL

PAUL, Chief Judge.

This cause comes before the Court on a number of pre-trial motions, including:

(1) Motion to dismiss by Defendants GRISWOLD and JOYNER (Doc. 10) — to which Plaintiffs have responded (Doc. 25);

(2) Motion to strike claims for punitive, consequential, and incidental damages by Defendants GRISSWOLD and JOYNER (Doc. 11) — to which Plaintiffs have responded (Doc. 26);

(3) Defendant WOODHAM's motion to dismiss (Doc. 15) — to which Plaintiffs have failed to file a timely response;

(4) Defendant WOODHAM's motion to strike Plaintiffs' demand for punitive damages (Doc. 18) — to which Plaintiffs have responded (Doc. 26); and

(5) Amended motion to dismiss by Defendants GRISSWOLD and JOYNER (Doc. 24) — to which Plaintiffs have responded (Doc. 25).

For the reasons outlined below, Defendants' motions to dismiss (Docs. 10, 15 & 24) are GRANTED, thereby MOOTING the remaining motions.

BACKGROUND:

This is a civil rights suit arising from the allegedly unconstitutional closure of a Department of Corrections ("DOC") sponsored youthful offender transition program in Quincy, Florida. Plaintiffs include the North Florida Educational Development Corporation ("NFEDC"), which ran the program in question, and Carolyn Ford ("Ford"), in her official capacity as the executive director of NFEDC. Defendants include the following individuals named individually and in their official capacities: William Woodham ("Woodham"), the Gadsden County Sheriff; Roger Griswold ("Griswold"), Chief of Police for the City of Quincy; Robert Joyner ("Joyner"), Fire Chief for the City of Quincy; and Jud Allen ("Allen"), a building inspector for the City of Quincy.

According to the complaint, NFEDC is a "not for profit organization organized to empower families and individuals to become self-sufficient and self-directed, through community organizing, education, training, and economic development." Compl. at ¶ 4. Pursuant to its organizational goals, NFEDC submitted an unsolicited grant proposal to the DOC in January, 1995 to sponsor DOC's community residential transition program for youthful offenders in Gadsden County, Florida. In anticipation that DOC would award it the requested grant, NFEDC incurred certain expenses including the purchase of a mini farm, renovations to that farm, a two year lease of property called the Douglas House at the rate of $400.00 per month, and renovations to the Douglas House. In June 1995, DOC and NFEDC entered into a contract that would allow NFEDC to provide the youthful offender services in Gadsden County, at the rate of $39.00 per youth, per day. During the week of September 11, 1995, DOC and the State Fire Marshall approved the use of the renovated Douglas House for the transition program.

While Plaintiffs were preparing the Douglas House for the transition program, Ford allegedly elicited support from various local agencies, community representatives, and neighbors. Ford also purportedly contacted Inspector Allen about applying for an exemption to the local zoning ordinance, who assured her that NFEDC could begin operating the transition program as soon as he received a copy of a Chapter 419 zoning exemption application¹. At the end of August, 1995, NFEDC applied to the State Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services for the Chapter 419 exemption, supplying Inspector Allen with a copy of that application. In reliance upon Inspector Allen's assurance that its application for a zoning exemption would be granted, NFEDC incurred additional expenses including furnishings and equipment for the Douglas House and staff salaries. However, Plaintiffs do not allege that NFEDC was actually ever granted the exemption.

On September 19, 1995, NFEDC had its inaugural opening for the transition program at the Douglas House. Three DOC officials, including the Chief of the Bureau of Youthful Offender Program Services, were present for the ceremony. Plaintiffs allege that during the ceremony, Defendants Griswold, Allen, and Joyner unexpectedly entered the Douglas House property, and Allen

in a hostile and frightening tone, insisted that he was going to shut down the transition program; angrily questioned the DOC representatives why "DOC wants to ram something down our throats"; and threatened to turn off the electricity if the program did not cease operating within 24 hours.

Compl. at ¶ 44. Ford allegedly asked Allen for 72 hours to resolve the matter, but Allen refused. Plaintiffs maintain that "Allen's 24 hour termination of NFEDC's business operations was not supported by a building code, zoning code, or law enforcement emergency, which may justify the coercive powers of the government without due process, nor was the 24 hour cessation order justified under any law or ordinance of the City of Quincy." Compl. at ¶ 47. Instead, Plaintiffs contend that Inspector Allen's actions were designed to impair NFEDC's business operations in Quincy, including present and future business opportunities with DOC.

Although Defendants Griswold, Joyner, and Woodham apparently did not order the closure of the Douglas House or take any actions against Plaintiffs such as issuing citations or otherwise directly executing Inspector Allen's allegedly unlawful order, Plaintiffs nevertheless maintain that they played an active role in depriving Plaintiffs of their civil rights. Plaintiffs allege that all the Defendants conspired with one another to violate the Quincy code and the United States Constitution by terminating NFEDC's transition program. Furthermore, Police Chief Griswold's presence at the ceremony purportedly legitimized Inspector Allen's verbal termination order and ensured that everyone present would comply with it. In addition, Fire Chief Joyner's presence allegedly created the perception of fire code violations in the Douglas House, further legitimizing Allen's order and ensuring compliance. While Sheriff Woodham was not present at the opening, Plaintiffs assert that he made phone calls to certain city law enforcement personnel and other city officials "encouraging, instigating and inciting the blatant, bold, and outrageous activities of the Defendants." Compl. at ¶ 62. Plaintiffs conclude that as a result of Defendants' actions, DOC canceled the contract between NFEDC and DOC for the transition program.

Plaintiffs responded by filing a three count civil rights complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Count I is a procedural due process claim for the alleged deprivation of Plaintiffs' property interest in the use of the Douglas House for the transition program. Count II is a procedural due process claim for the alleged deprivation of Plaintiffs' liberty interest in their freedom to contract, and their reputation with DOC and the community. Count III is a substantive due process claim for the alleged deprivation of Plaintiffs' "fundamental right to use the Douglas House property to fulfill its contract with DOC." Compl. at ¶ 88.

DISCUSSION:

Defendants now move to dismiss Plaintiffs' claims pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6), Fed.R.Civ.P., on the grounds that the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction and Plaintiffs have failed to state claims upon which relief may be granted. Specifically, Defendants Woodham, Griswold, and Joyner seek dismissal on the following grounds: (1) Plaintiff Ford lacks standing; (2) no substantive due process rights created by the United States Constitution were infringed by Defendants; (3) Plaintiffs' failure to seek available state court remedies before bringing the instant action deprives this Court of jurisdiction and precludes Plaintiffs from stating their procedural due process claims; (4) Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity in their individual capacities; (5) Plaintiffs' failure to plead the violation of a policy, custom, or practice precludes the claims against Defendants in their official capacities; (6) Plaintiffs have failed to sufficiently allege claims against Defendant Woodham by showing his personal involvement, authority or control over the other Defendants in their decisions to act, or that he otherwise caused the alleged constitutional deprivation; and (7) Plaintiffs have failed to allege that Defendant Woodham possessed any authority or ability to provide them with the procedural due process which they demanded. These grounds for dismissal are addressed below.

As an initial matter, it is worth noting that a complaint is not to be dismissed "unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief." Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 102, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). "[I]n reviewing the sufficiency of a complaint in the context of a motion to dismiss [the panel must] ... treat all of the well-pleaded allegations of the complaint as true," Miree v. DeKalb County, Ga., 433 U.S. 25, 27 n. 2, 97 S.Ct. 2490, 2492 n. 2, 53 L.Ed.2d 557 (1977), and must draw all inferences from those facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, e.g., Duke v. Cleland, 5 F.3d 1399, 1402 (11th Cir.1993).

I. Plaintiff Ford's Standing:

Defendants Griswold and Joyner assert that Plaintiff Ford lacks standing to bring the instant action. According to Defendants, all the allegations contained in the complaint pertain to the...