Pryer v. Gardner

• Decision Date: 17 May 2018
• Docket Number: NO. 2017–CP–00723–SCT,2017–CP–00723–SCT
• Citation: 247 So.3d 1245
• Parties: Timothy Gene PRYER v. Thomas GARDNER, III
• Court: Mississippi Supreme Court

247 So.3d 1245

Timothy Gene PRYER

v.Thomas GARDNER, III

NO. 2017–CP–00723–SCT

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

May 17, 2018

Rehearing Denied August 2, 2018

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: TIMOTHY GENE PRYER (PRO SE)

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL BY: JUSTIN L. MATHENY, JACKSON

BEFORE KITCHENS, P.J., BEAM AND CHAMBERLIN, JJ.

KITCHENS, PRESIDING JUSTICE, FOR THE COURT:

¶ 1. A prisoner, Timothy Gene Pryer, filed an action in chancery court against the Itawamba County Sheriff's Department and the Itawamba County Circuit Clerk. Pryer claimed that the defendants wrongfully had denied him access to public records under the Mississippi Public Records Act, entitling him to civil damages. See Miss. Code Ann. § 25–61–15 (Rev. 2010). More than three years after filing the complaint, Pryer filed a motion for leave to amend it to add a Public Records Act claim against Circuit Judge Thomas Gardner, III. Pryer alleged that, in deeming his public records request a motion for post-conviction relief, and then denying it, Judge Gardner had violated the Public Records Act, entitling Pryer to civil damages. The Chancery Court of Itawamba County granted Judge Gardner's motion to dismiss, and Pryer appeals. Because Pryer's claim against Judge Gardner is barred by the doctrine of judicial immunity, we affirm the dismissal of his amended complaint.

FACTS

¶ 2. This cause of action arises from a request Pryer filed in the Circuit Court of Itawamba County for "the Order givin[g] Carol Gates the Office of Judge de facto or pro tempore and the order givin[g] Carol Gates authority to appoint indigent counsel for December 2, 2004 [hearing] and the names of the 40 plus souls and their addresses according to the record." Pryer v. State , 139 So.3d 713, 713–14 (Miss. 2014). According to Pryer's allegations in a subsequent Motion to Show Cause, the circuit court entered an order on June 6, 2011, that denied his request and construed it as a motion for post-conviction relief.¹

Id. at 714. In his show cause motion, Pryer alleged that, in the absence of the circuit judge, the Circuit Clerk of Itawamba County, Carol Gates, presided over arraignments and appointed counsel for some or all of the "forty (40) plus souls." Id. Pryer filed a petition for mandamus in this Court, requesting that we compel the circuit court to rule on his Motion to Show Cause. Id. We granted the petition; and, on February 1, 2012, the circuit court entered an order that denied the motion. Pryer v. State , 139 So.3d 719, 720 (Miss. Ct. App. 2013). Although the record now before the Court does not contain that order, the Court of Appeals quoted from it as follows:

This cause comes before this [c]ourt on [Pryer's] pro se [m]otion to [s]how [c]ause. [Pryer] requests this [c]ourt to order the Itawamba County Circuit Clerk to forward [Pryer] a free copy of the documents not contained within the [c]ircuit [c]lerk's file. This motion contains the exact same requests as the previously filed motions. In addition, the [m]otion to [s]how [c]ause contains completely unfounded and slanderous allegations against several court offices. The [m]otion to [s]how [c]ause has no legal merit and shall be DENIED.

Id. at 721.

¶ 3. Pryer appealed from the order of February 1, 2012, and this Court assigned his appeal to the Court of Appeals, which affirmed. Id. at 721. The Court of Appeals found that "we have no reason to believe that any such documents do exist," and deemed Pryer's filings a "fishing expedition." Pryer , 139 So.3d at 721. This Court granted Pryer's petition for certiorari . Pryer , 139 So.3d at 713. On certiorari , Pryer complained that, because he had filed a public records request, the circuit court had lacked jurisdiction to treat the request as a motion for post-conviction relief. Id. at 714. This Court found that Pryer had filed a motion to show cause in circuit court rather than following the statutory procedure set forth by the Public Records Act, which provides for the institution of a suit in chancery court by "any person denied the right granted by Section 25–61–5 to inspect or copy public records." Id. at 715–16 (citing Miss. Code Ann. § 25–61–13(1)(a) (Rev. 2010) ). We held that the circuit court had jurisdiction to rule on Pryer's motion and that nothing in the circuit court's order indicated that it had treated Pryer's motion as one for post-conviction relief. Id. at 716.We found that the Court of Appeals had been incorrect to assume that the circuit court had considered the motion as a motion for post-conviction relief; but we agreed with the Court of Appeals' finding that there was no reason to believe the documents Pryer sought actually existed. Id. Therefore, we affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals that affirmed the Circuit Court of Itawamba County's denial of the public records request. Id. In our decision, we did recognize that

If Pryer so desires, he may, pursuant to the statute, institute a suit in the Chancery Court of Itawamba County. Nothing in the Court of Appeals decision or in the order of the circuit court prevents his doing so, and this Court's ruling today does not impede Pryer's statutory right to file such an action, should he choose to do so.

Id.

¶ 4. During the pendency of his appellate litigation, on July 3, 2013, Pryer filed the instant action in the Chancery Court of Itawamba County against the Itawamba County Sheriff's Department and the Itawamba County Circuit Clerk. He claimed that these entities were liable for civil penalties for failing to respond to his public records requests made on May 18, 2011; July 5, 2011; August 2, 2012; and September 13, 2012, asking for copies of capiases served on December 2, 2004. Pryer claimed that, because the defendants had ignored his public records requests on four occasions, he was entitled to damages of $400, plus reasonable expenses, pursuant to Mississippi Code Section 25–61–15, which provides:

Any person who shall deny to any person access to any public record which is not exempt from the provisions of this chapter or who charges an unreasonable fee for providing a public record may be liable civilly in his personal capacity in a sum not to exceed One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) per violation, plus all reasonable expenses incurred by such person bringing the proceeding.

Miss. Code Ann. § 25–61–15 (Supp. 2017).

¶ 5. Despite his efforts at achieving proper service, Pryer never served the defendants with his complaint. On June 23, 2014, he filed a motion to amend his complaint to add Judge Gardner as a defendant. On October 13, 2016, the chancellor entered an order granting the motion to amend, finding that no responsive pleading had been filed and that amendment would not be prejudicial to adverse parties. Pryer filed his amended complaint on November 1, 2016. In the amended complaint, Pryer made the following allegations against Judge Gardner:

Defendant Thomas J. Gardner is Circuit Court Judge in Itawamba County. After receiving the request for Public Records addressed to Defendant Gates, Gardner held the request to be a Post–Conviction Relief Petition, and den[ied] those records to Pryer on June 3, 2011. On June 15, 2011 A.D. Pryer filed a Motion to Show Cause in the Circuit Court asking why he was being denied access to Public Records by the Circuit Court even after offering payment for said records. On December 19, 2011 A.D., Pryer filed a Petition for Writ of Mandamus with the Supreme Court of Mississippi to compel Defendant Gardner to answer Pryer[']s Motion to Show Cause. Defendant Gardner was ordered to respond and on January 20, 2012 denied Pryer Public Records citing "no free documents." Defendant Gardner has denied Pryer access to Public Records twice in violation of MCA § 25–61–5.

He claimed that Judge Gardner's two alleged violations of the Public Records Act entitled him to an additional $200 in damages.

¶ 6. Pryer served Judge Gardner with process. On January 12, 2017, Judge Gardner moved to dismiss Pryer's claim against him under Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) on the basis of judicial immunity or, alternatively, because the statute of limitations had expired. On March 30, 2017, the chancellor granted Judge Gardner's motion to dismiss. The chancellor found that Pryer's complaint was against a judge in his judicial capacity and that judicial immunity shielded Judge Gardner from liability. The chancellor also held that the action against Judge Gardner was time barred because the amended complaint was filed outside the limitations period. Finding no just reason for delay, the chancellor directed the entry of a final judgment in favor of Judge Gardner pursuant to Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b). The chancellor denied Pryer's motion for reconsideration. Pryer has appealed.²

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 7. On review of the disposition of a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, this Court does not defer to the trial court's ruling. Jourdan River Estates, LLC v. Favre , 212 So.3d 800, 803 (Miss. 2015). Rather, the issue presents a question of law, which is reviewed de novo . Id. A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim tests the legal sufficiency of the complaint. Lagniappe Logistics, Inc. v. Buras , 199 So.3d 675, 677 (Miss. 2016). The Court limits its review to the face of the complaint, accepting all allegations therein as true. City of Meridian v. $104,960.00 U.S. Currency , 231 So.3d 972, 974 (Miss. 2017). A Rule 12(b)(6) motion should not be granted unless "it appears beyond a reasonable doubt that the plaintiff will be unable to prove any set of facts in support of the claim." Id. (citing Rose v. Tullos , 994 So.2d 734, 737 (Miss. 2008) ).

DISCUSSION

THE CHANCELLOR PROPERLY DISMISSED PRYER's AMENDED COMPLAINT AGAINST JUDGE GARDNER BECAUSE IT WAS BARRED BY THE DOCTRINE OF JUDICIAL IMMUNITY.

¶ 8. The doctrine of judicial immunity long has been recognized in Mississippi. Newsome v. Shoemake , 234 So.3d 1215, 1223 (Miss. 2017). "[T]he best interests of the...