Sims v. Chatham-Sims, Case No. 3:17-cv-3203-L-BT

• Decision Date: 26 July 2019
• Docket Number: Case No. 3:17-cv-3203-L-BT
• Parties: STEVEN SHEROD SIMS, Plaintiff, v. ROSALINE CHATHAM-SIMS, et al., Defendants.
• Court: United States District Courts. 5th Circuit. United States District Courts. 5th Circuit. Northern District of Texas

STEVEN SHEROD SIMS, Plaintiff, v. ROSALINE CHATHAM-SIMS, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 3:17-cv-3203-L-BT

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS DALLAS DIVISION

July 26, 2019

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Before the Court are Defendant Dallas Fire-Rescue Department and Dallas Police Department's Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 54) and Defendant Dallas Police Officers Andrew Lehocky, Howard Leftwich, Andrew Fuka, and Lisette Rivera's Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 62). For the reasons stated, the District Court should GRANT Defendants' Motions to Dismiss and DISMISS Plaintiff's claims against them with prejudice.

Background

Plaintiff filed his original Complaint on November 22, 2017. Compl. (ECF No. 3). Less than a month later, he filed an Amended Complaint. Am. Compl. (ECF No. 6). Ten months after that, Plaintiff filed a Second Amended Complaint without leave of court, causing Defendants to file a motion for clarification regarding the state of the pleadings. Sec. Am. Compl. (ECF No. 38); see Order (ECF No. 53). As a result, the Court granted Plaintiff one final opportunity to amend his complaint and plead his case. Order (ECF No. 47). Plaintiff then filed his Third Amended Complaint, the live pleading in this case, on December 17, 2018, asserting more than 23 claims against 42 Defendants. Third Am. Compl. (ECF No. 49).

The District Court summarized the pleadings as set forth in Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint as follows:

Plaintiff originally filed this action on November 22, 2017, based solely on federal question jurisdiction. Plaintiff's Amended Complaint lists the following persons and entities as Defendants: Rosaline Chatham-Sims; the Garland Police Department; Dallas Police Department; Garland Independent School District ("Garland ISD"); John Doe; John Doe Business; Michael L. Sims; Thomas Williams; Catherine Ann Moses; Winfred Parnell; Jane Doe, Secretary for Garland Police Chief; Mitch Bates; W.S. Coffey; John Speara; Johnny Holiday; Justin Graham; Joe Tanguma; Darren Hemphill; Gradyne Brown; Kevin Brooks; Lieutenant NFN Holmes; Dallas Police Officer NFN Lehocky; Dallas Police Officer NFN Leftwich; Dallas Police Officer NFN Fuka; Dallas Police Officer NFN Rivera; Juana Saloma Acosta; Sam Martin; Dallas Fire Department Paramedic NFN NLN; Texas Ranger NFN NLN; Dwain Downing; Jack Downing; and Federal Agents NFN NLN. Because Plaintiff's Amended Complaint no longer includes the following persons or entities as Defendants, these Defendants are no longer parties to this action as of December 18, 2017: the United States; the Dallas County District Attorney's Office; Parkland Hospital; the City of Dallas; the Dallas Fire Department; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Dallas Field Office; the State of Texas, Texas Rangers Garland Office; and the State of Texas Child Support Division.

In his Amended Complaint, Plaintiff asserts a multitude of claims, including alleged constitutional violations of the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1983; violations of the Federal Torts Claim Act; fraud by nondisclosure, "personation," false records, false representations, false pretenses, falsification(obstructing justice), and fraudulent concealment; spoliation of evidence in connection with a summary judgment order entered in favor of Defendants on July 15, 2016, by the 14th District Court, Dallas County, Texas, which relates to cases pending in the 256th District Court, Dallas County, Texas; intentional infliction of emotional distress; abuse of powers; violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act ("HIPPA"); aggravated perjury with conspiracy; oppression and harassment; wrongful death of Plaintiff's biological parent; violation of Texas and federal wiretap statutes 18 U.S.C. § 2510¹ and Tex. Civ. Prac. Rem. Code Ann. § 123.001, et seq.; defamation; gross negligence; aiding and abetting; arson; and conspiracy. Plaintiff alleges that the foregoing claims were committed by Defendants "with conspiracy." Pl.'s Am. Compl. 26-40.

In support of these claims, Plaintiff alleges that, in January 2015, he caught his wife Rosaline Chatham-Sims responding to a personal e-mail on her work-issued computer and, therefore, believed that she was cheating on him. Plaintiff alleges that, in February 2015, the principal of Garland ISD refused to investigate his claim that his wife, who is employed by Garland ISD as a teacher, was having "workplace romance/sex"; that, after he sent a request for information about his wife's conduct, Garland ISD, the Dallas Police and Fire Departments, the Garland Police Department, and other unnamed federal agents, working under color of law or as members of a hate group, intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon him; deprived him, his family and friends of unspecified rights; tortured his mother to death; and caused him to be homeless from October 2016 to present. Id. at 10.

Plaintiff further alleges that in February 2015, his wife and other Defendants "conspired to cause [him] fright and shock by acting like the laser lights that suddenly appeared on his phone were someone coming after him." Id. at 11. Plaintiff alleges that he filed a complaint with the Texas Education Agency Review Board regarding this matter, and when he attempted to file a complaint on March 11, 2015, with the internal affairs division of the Garland Police Department, thelobby personnel at the Garland Police Department "called in a disturbance in the lobby," his wife was telephoned and lied about him suffering from mental disorders, and Garland Police Chief Mitch Bates, Garland Police Officer W.S. Coffey, and Garland Police Lieutenant Holmes made the decision to have Plaintiff transported to the Green Oaks Mental Hospital ("Green Oaks") and held for 72 hours of observation, even though Plaintiff advised that he was not "homicidal or suicidal." Id. at 11-12. Plaintiff alleges that he was forced to stay at Green Oaks until he complied with all staff orders, including taking medication against his wishes. Plaintiff alleges that, after taking medication on March 18, 2015, he was rushed to the emergency room of Medical City of Dallas and subsequently released because Green Oaks and the Garland Police Department could not produce the legal documentation needed to hold him any longer at Green Oaks. Plaintiff further alleges that, while at Green Oaks, he learned that an electronic device had been implanted inside him without his consent; that the device was implanted to make it appear that he was having a heart attack while at work; that his wife already knew about the device; and that she worked with other "Unnamed Defendant(s)" to hide it from him. Id. at 12.

Regarding other matters, Plaintiff alleges that Defendants made false statements and withheld evidence in a divorce hearing in the 256th District Court that, among other things, involved paternity testing and Plaintiff's claim of infidelity; prevented him from gathering information needed to complete an income tax return; caused his favorite supplement to be removed from the stores where he normally purchased it; told employees of the Dallas Life Foundation that he was a pedophile; wiretapped his computer, stole his inventions and ideas stored on the computer, and downloaded a virus that damaged the documents he was using to prepare for a lawsuit; instructed his health care provider to violate his HIPPA rights; told persons at the Bridge Homeless Shelter that he has AIDS; grabbed his private parts in public; attempted to commit him to a mental hospital; coerced his mother to be the target of a hit-and-run accident and compounded her injury when she had an aneurism; conspired to murder him and refused toinvestigate his claim of attempted murder; took actions to prevent him from obtaining information regarding the implanted device that caused him to fall down a flight of stairs and lose sleep; and sent him a fraudulent e-mail about a job and asked him to pay for a background check. Plaintiff also alleges that Dr. Carmichael, who is not a named Defendant in this case, was involved in the fire of his business and took him to court over a dispute regarding a riding lawnmower.

Regarding other matters, Plaintiff alleges that Defendants prevented him from gathering information needed to complete an income tax return; caused his favorite supplement to be removed from the stores where he normally purchased it; told employees of the Dallas Life Foundation that he was a pedophile; wiretapped his computer, stole his inventions and ideas stored on the computer, and downloaded a virus that damaged the documents he was using to prepare for a lawsuit; instructed his health care provider to violate his HIPPA rights; told persons at the Bridge Homeless Shelter that he has AIDS; grabbed his private parts in public; attempted to commit him to a mental hospital; coerced his mother to be the target of a hit-and-run accident and compounded her injury when she had an aneurism; conspired to murder him and refused to investigate his claim of attempted murder; took actions to prevent him from obtaining information regarding the implanted device that caused him to fall down a flight of stairs and lose sleep; and sent him a fraudulent e-mail about a job and asked him to pay for a background check. Plaintiff also alleges that Dr. Carmichael, who is not a named Defendant in this case, was involved in the fire of his business and took him to court over a dispute regarding a riding lawnmower.

Mem. Op. and Order 1-5 (ECF No. 29).

Plaintiff's Third Amended Complaint is largely the same as his First Amended Complaint. The Third Amended Complaint only differs materially in that it adds the City of Garland; Mark A. Prine; Dallas County; Dallas County LawLibrary; Dallas County Health and Human Services Department; the ...