Stone Mountain Game Ranch, Inc. v. Hunt

• Decision Date: 01 July 1983
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. C82-2745A.
• Citation: 570 F. Supp. 238
• Parties: STONE MOUNTAIN GAME RANCH, INC., Plaintiff, v. George M.D. (John) HUNT, III, and George J. Willis, and Stone Mountain Memorial Association, d/b/a Stone Mountain Park, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia

570 F. Supp. 238

STONE MOUNTAIN GAME RANCH, INC., Plaintiff, v. George M.D. (John) HUNT, III, and George J. Willis, and Stone Mountain Memorial Association, d/b/a Stone Mountain Park, Defendants.

Civ. A. No. C82-2745A.

United States District Court, N.D. Georgia, Atlanta Division.

July 1, 1983.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Archer D. Smith, III, Harmon, Smith & Bridges, Atlanta, Ga., for plaintiff.

Royce F. Morris, Asst. Atty. Gen., State Law Dept., Atlanta, Ga., for defendants.

ORDER

FORRESTER, District Judge.

This action is brought under the Civil Rights Act of 1871, ch. 22, § 1, 17 Stat. 13, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1976), for the deprivation of rights guaranteed the plaintiff under the fourteenth amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 1, section 1 of the Georgia Constitution. Generally speaking, plaintiff alleges that defendants, under color of state law, have damaged and converted the property rights of plaintiff in its business operation known as "The Stone Mountain Game Ranch," located in Stone Mountain Park, DeKalb County, by tortious acts and fraudulent misrepresentations and interfered with its freedom of association. See Complaint ¶ 1 (filed December 3, 1982). Jurisdiction is predicated on 28 U.S.C. § 1343(3). Before the court are plaintiff's motion for leave to amend the complaint and defendants' motion to dismiss.

I.

Before specifically outlining the facts pertinent to decide defendants' motion to dismiss, this court must initially determine exactly what facts are to be considered, and, therefore, plaintiff's motion for leave to amend requires initial consideration. Rule 15(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure states in pertinent part that "a party may amend his pleading ... by leave of court ... and leave shall be freely given when justice so requires." Fed.R. Civ.P. 15(a). The aim of this Rule is to reinforce one of the basic policies of the Federal Rules that pleadings are not an end in themselves but are only a means to assist in the presentation of a case to enable it to be decided on the merits. 6 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1487, at 376 (1971) hereinafter cited as "Federal Practice and Procedure". Here, plaintiff's actions exhibit neither undue delay, bad faith, nor a dilatory motive. See Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182, 83 S.Ct. 227, 230, 9 L.Ed.2d 222 (1962). Furthermore, defendants do not adequately present a showing of undue prejudice, such that they would be put to added expense and be subject to the burden of a more complicated or lengthy trial. Indeed, the proposed amendment apparently seeks to clarify and is not remote from the issues of the case. See 6 Federal Practice and Procedure, supra, § 1487.

Despite defendants' argument to the contrary, a proper evaluation of the motion to dismiss requires that plaintiff's motion to amend be considered prior to a ruling on defendants' motion to dismiss. First, typically, a plaintiff will not be precluded from amending a defective complaint in order to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. 6 Federal Practice and Procedure, supra, § 1487, at 431. Second, the question presented in a Rule 12(b) motion is whether the allegations constitute a claim under Rule 8(a). 5 Federal Practice and Procedure, supra, § 1357, at 594.

Accordingly, plaintiff's motion for leave to amend the complaint is granted. Specifically, the following is ALLOWED: (1) by amending ¶ 8 of the original complaint by adding new subparagraphs (I) and (J), (2) by amending ¶ 16 by addition, (3) by amending ¶ 25 by addition, (4) by amending ¶ 46 by striking it in its entirety and substitution, and (5) by amending ¶ 73 by striking it in its entirety and substitution.

With the amended complaint now before it, the court shall now consider defendants' motion to dismiss. As such, this court is mindful of the well accepted rule that in appraising the sufficiency of this complaint, the standard is to determine whether it appears beyond a 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, 78 S.Ct. 99, 101, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957).

The factual allegations are as follows. Plaintiff, a Georgia corporation, maintained and operated the Stone Mountain Game Ranch at the Stone Mountain Park, Atlanta, Georgia. It was a tenant of defendant Stone Mountain Memorial Association ("Association"). Complaint ¶ 2. Defendant Association is a non-profit, public corporation, and is an instrumentality of the State of Georgia. Id. ¶ 5. Plaintiff has leased this business location from defendant Association under a lease agreement dated December 19, 1961, and which expired under its terms on December 31, 1982. Id. ¶ 2. Pursuant to this lease agreement, plaintiff was authorized to develop and operate its business of operating an animal game ranch. Id. ¶ 10. Around October of 1981, plaintiff approached defendants for the purpose of negotiating a renewal of the lease agreement. Id. ¶ 13. From November, 1981, through June 24, 1982, plaintiff received representations that its lease would be renewed. Id. ¶ 8. Evidently, these representations were expressed by or through defendant George M.D. (John) Hunt, III ("Hunt"), Chairman of the Board of defendant Association, id. ¶ 3, and defendant George J. Willis ("Willis"), defendant Association's appointed negotiator. On June 24, 1982, defendant Association informed plaintiff of its intent to purchase plaintiff's business operation and not to lease to plaintiff. This action was by and through formal resolution. Id. ¶¶ 8E, 22. At this time, defendants represented that plaintiff would receive a fair market value for its business. Id. ¶ 8G. On December 1, 1982, defendant Willis offered to purchase plaintiff's business for $78,000.00. On December 2, 1982, this offer was increased to $100,000.00 "for not only the tangible assets, but also the good will and other intangible assets of the Game Ranch." Id. ¶ 25.

Plaintiff contends that the representations of the defendants were false and were made knowingly by the defendants. Furthermore, plaintiff argues that defendants Hunt and Willis, through "their control of" defendant Association, entered a tortious conspiracy to unlawfully deprive plaintiff of its property, while acting under color of state law. Id. ¶ 8. Plaintiff represents that it reasonably relied upon the representations made by defendants that they would negotiate a renewal of the lease and that following defendant Association's disclosure of an intent to purchase, that they would negotiate and make an offer to purchase plaintiff's business operation for a fair market value. Id. ¶ 31. Finally, plaintiff alleges that as a result of the intentional misrepresentations, plaintiff has been compelled to remove its business operation, trade fixtures, animals, and inventory "in an unreasonably short period of time," thereby resulting in plaintiff's sustaining damages "solely as a result of the misconduct, bad faith, fraud and deceit of Defendants." Id. ¶ 37. See also id. ¶¶ 16, 8F, 8G.

In addition, plaintiff alleges that defendants Hunt and Willis conspired to interfere with its contract rights. Specifically, plaintiff argues that these two defendants attempted to "cover up" state law violations by interfering with plaintiff's contract negotiations with the Association for the purchase of plaintiff's business by the Association. Id. ¶ 49. It appears that the acts which were sought to be "covered up" are enumerated in paragraphs 49A through 49L of the complaint, which include a public official's selling of a tractor to the Association with the consent and authority of defendants and the purchase of an automobile by the direction of the defendants, without bid, from defendant Hunt's father-in-law.

Finally, plaintiff alleges that defendants Hunt and Willis' acts were motivated by their desire to intimidate or harass the plaintiff for his association with Eugene I. Peterson ("Peterson"), Senior Assistant General Manager and Treasurer of the Association, id. ¶ 52, in violation of plaintiff's first amendment rights of association and free speech. Id. ¶ 51.¹

As a result of these alleged violations, plaintiff asserts that it has been damaged in the amount of $800,000.00. Moreover, as to each count — (I) fraud and deceit and (II) conspiracy to interfere with plaintiff's contract rights — plaintiff prays for attorneys fees and exemplary damages.

II.

This court's initial task is to determine whether this case falls within the subject matter jurisdiction of this court. Procedurally speaking, a functional analysis between Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) and Fed.R. Civ.P. 12(b)(6) is necessitated, as Bell v. Hood, 327 U.S. 678, 66 S.Ct. 773, 90 L.Ed. 939 (1946) displays. Suthoff v. Yazoo County Industrial Development Corp., 637 F.2d 337 (5th Cir.), reh'g denied, 642 F.2d 822 (5th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 1157, 102 S.Ct. 1032, 71 L.Ed.2d 316 (1982). In Bell, a suit was brought in federal district court alleging that agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who imprisoned individuals violated these individuals' constitutional right to be free from deprivation of their liberty without due process of law and subjected their premises to be searched and their possessions to be seized in violation of their constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, thereby causing damages in excess of $3,000.00. The complaint alleged that jurisdiction was founded upon federal questions arising under the Fourth and Fifth amendments. The federal district court, on its motion, dismissed the suit for want of jurisdiction. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed. The Court, in noting that "before deciding that there is no jurisdiction, the District Court must look to the way the complaint is drawn to see if it is drawn so as to claim a right to recover under the Constitution and laws of the United States," 327...