Ross v. State of Alabama

Decision Date22 July 1998
Docket NumberCivil Action No. 95-D-622-S.
Citation15 F.Supp.2d 1173
PartiesGeorge ROSS, et al., Plaintiffs, v. STATE OF ALABAMA, et al., Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama

Kenneth C. Sheets, Jr., Dothan, AL, Kathleen R. Hennessey, New Orleans, LA, for Plaintiff.

Gary Clayborn Sherrer, Dothan, AL, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

DE MENT, District Judge.

Before the court is a "Motion to Dismiss, For Judgment on the Pleadings, or in the Alternative for Full or Partial Summary Judgment," and Memorandum Brief in Support Thereof ("Defs.' Mem.Br."), submitted by Defendants Houston County Department of Human Resources, Lucia B. Parsons, and Donna Jones Bowman on October 6, 1995. Plaintiffs filed a Memorandum in Opposition ("Pls.' Mem. in Opp.") on December 12, 1995, wherein Plaintiffs also request partial summary judgment against Defendant Jones [Bowman] for her liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Defendants filed a Reply to Plaintiffs' Memorandum in Opposition ("Defs.' Reply") on January 12, 1996. After carefully considering the arguments of counsel, the relevant law and the record as a whole, the court finds that Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is due to be denied in part and granted in part, Plaintiffs' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment is due to be denied, and Defendants' remaining Motions are due to be denied as moot.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs, who are Native American residents of Houston County, Alabama, commenced this action on May 11, 1995, by filing a Complaint against numerous Defendants, including law enforcement officials in Houston County, the Houston County Commission, the Houston County Department of Human Resources ("Houston County DHR"), and Lucia Parsons and Donna Jones Bowman1, who at all times relevant to this action were employees of Houston County DHR. Lucia Parsons was at all times relevant to this action the County Director of the Houston County Department of Human Resources. Plaintiffs' original Complaint asserted claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1982 and 1983 and the laws and Constitution of the State of Alabama.

On July 7, 1995, in response to a June 13, 1995 Motion to Dismiss by Defendants Houston County DHR, Parsons, and Bowman, this court entered a Memorandum Opinion and Order dismissing with prejudice: (1) Plaintiffs' claims against Houston County DHR and Defendants Bowman and Parsons in their official capacities; (2) Plaintiffs' supplemental state law and Alabama Constitutional monetary damages claims against the Houston County DHR and Defendants Bowman and Parsons in their official capacities. The court dismissed Plaintiffs remaining § 1983 claims without prejudice and granted Plaintiffs' leave to file an amended complaint in conformity with the Memorandum Opinion and Order. Further, the court reserved ruling on Defendants' qualified immunity and substantive immunity defenses pending a response by Plaintiffs to the court's Order that they "show cause" why Defendants Bowman and Parsons in their individual capacities are not entitled to qualified and substantive immunity for the § 1983 and state claims. Finally, the court Ordered the Plaintiffs to provide the court with authority that would allow the court to hear a claim for state constitutional violations asserted against Bowman and Parsons in their individual capacities and to identify the specific sections and subsections of the Alabama Constitution forming the basis of Plaintiffs' Alabama State Constitutional claims. Ross v. State of Ala., 893 F.Supp. 1545, 1556 (M.D.Ala.1995).

On September 6, 1995, Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint, wherein Plaintiffs allege claims against the various Defendants pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1982, 1983, 1985(3), and 1988, as well as Article I, Sections 1, 6, and 22 of the Alabama State Constitution, and other state law.

The factual basis of Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint stems from events occurring on or about May 11, 1993. Plaintiffs allege that at on that date, Defendant Jerry Hunt, an officer of the Houston County, Alabama Sheriff's Department, unlawfully entered the Plaintiffs' residence without consent, a search warrant or probable cause that an offense had been committed. Plaintiffs further aver that later the same day Hunt and Defendant Leroy Wood, also an officer of the Houston County Sheriff's Department, and Defendant Bowman: (1) entered Plaintiffs' residence knowing that voluntary permission to enter had not been granted (Amend.Compl. ¶ 32); (2) detained Plaintiff Jennifer Ross and the minor children Jessica Ross, Selina Ross and Jarred Paul Dakota Son of Two Nations Banta (Amend.Compl. ¶ 32); (3) informed Plaintiff Jennifer Ross that the minor children would be removed from the home and taken into custody (Amend.Compl.¶ 34); and (4) required that a relative, Plaintiff Debbie Woods, take the minor children into her physical custody and remove them to the State of Florida, knowing that no court order or order granting temporary protective custody for the State of Alabama existed. (Amend.Compl.¶¶ 37, 38.) Plaintiffs further allege that the Plaintiff minor children remained in Woods' physical custody in the state of Florida for approximately one to two months, where after the Plaintiff adults moved to the State of Georgia and the Plaintiff minor children returned to their parents. (Amend.Compl.¶ 40.)

Plaintiffs allege that none of the requirements of Alabama Code § 26-14-1, et seq., nor DHR regulations and procedures were complied with prior to the Plaintiff minor children being taken into the custody of Plaintiff Debbie Woods. (Amend Compl. ¶ 44.) Specifically, Plaintiffs contend, inter alia: (1) they never received notice, either verbal or written, that a complaint of child neglect had been lodged against them, (Compl. ¶ 43); (2) no written investigative report was completed, (Compl. ¶ 46); and (3) DHR conducted no home study regarding the placement of the children into the physical custody of Debbie Woods. (Amend. Compl. ¶ 49.)2

Plaintiffs contend that Defendant Parsons, the County Director of the Houston County DHR, assigned Plaintiffs' case to Defendant Bowman, a caseworker within DHR. (Amend. Compl.¶ 42.) According to Plaintiffs, Defendant Parsons was aware of Defendant Bowman's failure to follow the relevant Alabama Code provisions and DHR regulations, and nevertheless failed to take corrective measures, provide adequate training or take disciplinary action against Bowman. (Amend. Compl.¶¶ 52, 53.)

The Complaint alleges that the Houston County DHR, Bowman and Parsons, among others, deprived Plaintiffs of various constitutional rights. Specifically, the Amended Complaint alleges that Bowman and Parsons violated Plaintiffs' rights to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments (Amend.Compl.¶ 59a); Plaintiffs' rights to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against them, pursuant to the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments (Amend. Compl.¶ 59b); Plaintiffs' rights not to be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, and the right to equal protection of the laws, pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment (Amend.Compl.¶ 59c); Plaintiffs' rights to privacy in their home, pursuant to the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment and Article 1, Section 5 of the Alabama Constitution (Amend.Compl.¶ 59d); Plaintiffs' rights to be free from invasion of the familial right to privacy between parents and their children as secured by the Fourteenth Amendment (Amend.Compl.¶ 59e); and minor Plaintiffs' rights to be free from the state's restraint of their individual liberty without providing for their basic human needs, e.g., food, clothing, shelter, medical care, and reasonable safety, as secured for them under the Eighth Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment. (Amend.Compl.¶ 59f). Plaintiffs further allege that Defendants conspired to deprive Plaintiffs of said Constitutional rights, because Plaintiffs were American Indians, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3). (Amend. Compl.¶ 60.). Additionally, plaintiffs allege various state tort claims, including outrage, negligence, assault, and false imprisonment, as well as violations of various provisions of the Alabama Constitution.

Defendants Houston County DHR, Parsons, and Bowman request that the court dismiss or grant summary judgment on all of Plaintiffs' claims against them. Plaintiffs request that the court grant partial summary judgment against Defendant Bowman.

MOTION TO DISMISS STANDARD

When ruling on a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, the court must assume that the factual allegations in the complaint are true. Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 109 S.Ct. 1827, 104 L.Ed.2d 338 (1989); Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Assuming that the facts are true, a complaint may be dismissed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) only "if it is clear that no relief could be granted" under any set of facts that could be proved consistent with the allegations.3 Hishon v. King & Spalding, 467 U.S. 69, 73, 104 S.Ct. 2229, 81 L.Ed.2d 59 (1984). On a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, the movant "sustains a very high burden." Jackam v. Hospital Corp. of America Mideast, Ltd., 800 F.2d 1577, 1579 (11th Cir.1986) (citing Currie v. Cayman Resources Corp., 595 F.Supp. 1364, 1376 (N.D.Ga.1984)). The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has held that "motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim should be denied unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of its claims." Jackam, 800 F.2d at 1579 (quoting Bracewell v. Nicholson Air Servs., Inc., 680 F.2d 103, 104 (11th Cir.1982)).

DISCUSSION
I. Defendant Houston County DHR

Defendant Houston County DHR urges the court to dismiss all of Plaintiffs' claims against it, on grounds that ...

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