Scott v. Hern
| Decision Date | 06 June 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. 98-1320,98-1320 |
| Citation | 216 F.3d 897 |
| Parties | (10th Cir. 2000) KENNETH TYLER SCOTT, Plaintiff Appellant, v. WARREN HERN, M.D., acting in his official and individual capacities; C. JAN RUNDUS, acting in her official capacity on behalf of the State of Colorado; DAVID GRAYBILL, M.D., acting individually and in his official capacity on behalf of the State of Colorado; MICHAEL NEWELL, individually and as agent for Warren Hern, M.D.; GREGORY IDLER, a police officer acting in his official capacity for the City of Boulder and John and Jane Does 1 through 100, individually and acting individually and in an official capacity on behalf of the State of Colorado and political subdivisions thereof, Defendants - Appellees. AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION FOUNDATION OF COLORADO, INC. , Amicus Curiae |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Colorado (D.C. No. 96-Z-2919) [Copyrighted Material Omitted]
[Copyrighted Material Omitted]
[Copyrighted Material Omitted]
[Copyrighted Material Omitted] John Fogerty Winston (Andrew B. Reid with him on the briefs), Denver, Colorado, for the appellant.
Howard Bittman, Boulder, Colorado, for the appellee Warren Hern.
Andrew Ringel (Pamela Skelton on the brief) of Hall & Evans, L.L.C., Denver, Colorado, for the appellee David Graybill, M.D.
Jennifer L. Veiga (Dennis A. Hanson with her on the brief), of Wood, Ris & Hames, P.C., Denver, Colorado, for the appellee Michael Newell.
Theodore S. Halaby and Jon A. Halaby of Halaby, Cross & Schluter, Denver, Colorado, filed a brief for appellee Gregory Idler.
Marc F. Colin, and R. Stephen Hall of Bruno, Bruno & Colin, P.C., Denver, Colorado, filed a brief for appellee C. Jan Rundus.
Lori Potter of Kelly, Haglund, Garnsey & Kahn, LLC, Denver, Colorado, filed a brief for Amicus Curiae ACLU Foundation of Colorado.
Before HENRY, LUCERO and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.
Plaintiff-appellant Kenneth Scott filed suit against individuals who participated in his involuntarily commitment to a mental institution, alleging a dizzying array of violations of 42 U.S.C. 1983 and related violations of state law. His appeal from the dismissal of those claims raises three important issues. We first reject the proposition that the state action requirement of a 1983 claim is satisfied when a licensed physician submits an affidavit to law enforcement officials in support of involuntary commitment. We also address whether a county attorney has absolute immunity from a 1983 claim arising from her role in civil commitment proceedings, and conclude she does. Finally, we review the district court's conclusion that the First Amendment right to petition affords immunity from liability for claims of abuse of process and false imprisonment based on the submission of a petition for involuntary commitment. Applying our recent decision in Cardtoons v. Major League Baseball Players Association, 208 F.3d 885 (10th Cir. 2000) (en banc), we conclude that the First Amendment does not impose any additional limits on those tort claims because, as construed by the Colorado courts and as applied to the facts of this case, they do not impose liability for the petitioning activity at issue. We affirm the remaining aspects of the district court's judgment.
Scott is an anti-abortion activist who frequently demonstrated in front of an abortion clinic in Boulder, Colorado, operated by defendant-appellee Dr. Warren Hern. On December 18, 1995, Hern prepared a sworn affidavit with the assistance of defendant-appellee C. Jan Rundus, Assistant Boulder County Attorney, stating that he had "become increasingly concerned with the recent behavior of a protestor named Kenneth T. Scott." (Appellant's App. at 107.) He then set forth the following reasons for his concern: Scott had been arrested at least twenty-one times in the past seven years, often in relation to his anti-abortion activities and at least once for felony assault; Scott had been imprisoned for violating a restraining order obtained by the Denver Planned Parenthood clinic; Scott had made numerous threatening statements directed towards Hern, including (id.); Scott was a survivalist and expert marksman who, according to his wife, owned numerous guns; a mental health report dated October 7, 1991, diagnosed Scott with narcissistic personality disorder and noted that Scott had been hospitalized at least four times for psychiatric reasons; a second mental health report dated May 4, 1994, diagnosed Scott with bi-polar disorder depressed with psychotic features, albeit in remission; a "Behavioral Profile and Threat Analysis" dated February 7, 1995, stated that Scott (id.); a report by defendant-appellee Detective Greg Idler of the Boulder Police Department described an incident in which Scott became "instantly enraged" and started yelling "in a strange tongue," (id. at 109); and Scott succeeded in locating and placing anti-abortion posters near Hern's mountain cabin in Gilpin County. Hern concluded by stating, (Id. at 110.) Hern obtained the two mental health reports and the behavioral profile and threat analysis from unnamed "law enforcement officials," identified in Scott's complaint as John and Jane Does 1-100. (Id. at 108.) Hern also employed a private investigator, defendant-appellee Michael Newell, who furnished Hern with some of the information contained in the affidavit.
Rundus filed a petition and Hern's affidavit with the Boulder County District Court on December 18, 1995. The petition requested the court to order that Scott be taken into custody for a seventy-two-hour treatment and evaluation pursuant to Colo. Rev. Stat. 27-10-105(1)(b). The court issued the requested order the same day.
On December 20, 1995, Idler, acting pursuant to the court's order, took Scott into custody. Following an initial evaluation at the Boulder Mental Health Facility, Scott was transferred to the Colorado Mental Health Institute ("CMHI") at Fort Logan, Colorado. Upon admission, Dr. Qwick diagnosed Scott as "[b]ipolar, hypomanic-homicidal" and estimated that he would need to remain in treatment for two to four weeks. (II J. Supp. App. at 518.) The following day, Dr. Levy made a tentative diagnosis of bipolar illness and hypomania but noted that more data was necessary to determine if Scott was dangerous. Based on the foregoing information as well as a separate interview, on December 22, 1995, defendant-appellee Dr. David Graybill found that Scott was a danger to himself and others and gravely disabled and certified Scott for short-term (not to exceed three months) involuntary treatment pursuant to Colo. Rev. Stat. 27-10-107. Seven days later, Scott's attorney requested that the court review the certification for short-term treatment. See Colo. Rev. Stat. 27-10-107(6). On January 30, 1996, forty-one days after his commitment and before the review hearing, Dr. Graybill determined that Scott no longer met the criteria for continued involuntary treatment and authorized his release.
On the same day he submitted his affidavit to the Boulder County Attorney, Hern sought and obtained a temporary restraining order ("TRO") from the Gilpin County Court. The TRO prohibited Scott from, inter alia, interfering with Hern and excluded Scott from Hern's primary residence, Hern's mountain cabin, and Hern's clinic. A hearing to determine whether the TRO should be made permanent was set for January 2, 1996. Scott's attorney entered a written appearance and filed a motion for continuance, but he did not appear on January 2. At the hearing, the court denied the motion for continuance, heard additional evidence, and in conclusion issued a permanent restraining order. Scott's subsequent challenges to the permanent restraining order were unsuccessful.
Scott initiated the present action in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado on December 17, 1996. Scott raised numerous federal and state law claims, all of which were dismissed under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) or resolved on summary judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 56. On appeal, Scott seeks to have this court reinstate numerous claims: (1) violations of 42 U.S.C. 1983 against Hern, Newell, Rundus, Graybill, Idler, and John and Jane Does; (2) outrageous conduct against Hern, Rundus, and Graybill; (3) false imprisonment against Hern, Rundus, and Graybill; (4) abuse of process against Hern; and (5) invasion of privacy against Hern and Newell.
We first address Scott's 1983 claims against Hern, Newell, Rundus, Graybill, Idler, and certain unnamed police officers. In his complaint, Scott alleged that each of these individuals violated his constitutional rights to be free from unreasonable search and seizures, freedom of speech, liberty, equal protection of the laws, and/or due process of the law by their participation in the civil commitment proceedings. He also alleged that Hern, Newell, and Idler deprived him of due process of law in relation to the restraining order proceedings.
Holding that Hern and Newell did not act under color of state law, the district court dismissed the 1983 claims against them under Fed. R. Civ. P. 56 and 12(b)(6), respectively.1 The district court also denied Scott's motion to amend those claims because the proffered amended complaint failed to cure the deficiencies. We review de...
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