Van Stelton v. Jerry Van Stelton, Donna Van Stelton, Eugene Van Stelton, Gary Christians, Doug Weber, Scott Gries, Nate Krikke, Robert E. Hansen, Daniel Dekoter, Osceola Cnty., Iowa, & Dekoter, Thole & Dawson, P. L.C.
| Decision Date | 15 January 2014 |
| Docket Number | No. C11–4045–MWB.,C11–4045–MWB. |
| Parties | Virgil VAN STELTON, Carol Van Stelton, and Alvin Van Stelton, Plaintiffs, v. Jerry VAN STELTON, Donna Van Stelton, Eugene Van Stelton, Gary Christians, Doug Weber, Scott Gries, Nate Krikke, Robert E. Hansen, Daniel Dekoter, Osceola County, Iowa, and Dekoter, Thole and Dawson, P.L.C., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Thomas P. Frerichs, Frerichs Law Office PC, Waterloo, IA, Wendy Alison Nora, Access Legal Services, Minneapolis, MN, for Plaintiffs.
Ronald J. Shea, Smith, Grigg, Shea & Klinker, PC, Primghar, IA, Scot L. Bauermeister, Fitzgibbons Bros Law Office, Estherville, IA, Andrea Michelle Smook, Stephen F. Avery, Cornwall, Avery, Bjornstad & Scott, Spencer, IA, Deena Ann Townley, Douglas L. Phillips, Klasslaw Firm, L.L.P., James W. Redmond, Peter J. Leo, Heidman Law Firm, L.L.P., Sioux City, IA, for Defendants.
B.
B.
| 1. |
Requirements for abuse of process claim
Sufficiency of the County defendants' pleadings
| III. |
On May 11, 2011, plaintiffs filed their initial pro se Complaint. The Complaint contained the following claims: (1) civil rights violation claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by all plaintiffs; (2) claims by Virgil Van Stelton for false arrest, malicious prosecution, and loss of consortium; (3) claims by Virgil Van Stelton and Alvin Van Stelton for intentional infliction of emotional distress, slander, and “interference with Right to Petition for Redress of Grievances.”
On January 6, 2012, plaintiffs filed their Amended Complaint. The Amended Complaint added Carol Van Stelton's claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress, loss of consortium, and slander. After plaintiffs retained counsel, plaintiffs sought and were granted leave to file a Second Amended Complaint on November 9, 2012, 904 F.Supp.2d 965 (N.D.Iowa 2012). The Second Amended Complaint contained additional factual allegations and added the City of Sibley as a defendant. The Second Amended Complaint contained the following claims: (1) civil rights violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (2) violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), 18 U.S.C. § 1961 et seq.; (3) pendent state law claims for false arrest, malicious prosecution, slander and libel, tortious interference with prospective economic advantage, and declaratory judgment and injunctive relief.
Defendants Doug Weber, Scott Gries, Nate Krikke, Robert E. Hansen, and Osceola County's (collectively, “the County defendants”) filed a motion to dismiss portions of the Second Amended Complaint. In response, plaintiffs sought and were granted leave to file their Third Amended Complaint. The Third Amended Complaint contained more factual detail and added a law firm as named defendants. Plaintiffs also added claims under Iowa's Ongoing Criminal Conduct statute (“OCC”), seeIowa Code ch. 706A, to their RICO claims in Count 2. The County defendants then amended their motion to dismiss.
I granted the County defendants' motion to dismiss and, at the conclusion of my ruling, I provided the following summary of the outcome with regard to claims against the County defendants:
1. The County defendants' motion to dismiss is granted, and the following claims against the County defendants are dismissed:
a. the RICO claim;
b. the First Amendment right to petition claim;
c. Carol Van Stelton's slander and libel claim;
d. the tortious interference with prospective business relations claim;
e. the Iowa Ongoing Criminal Conduct (OCC) claim.
Memorandum Opinion and Order at 55. Following my order, the County defendants filed their answer to the Third Amended Complaint, along with a counterclaim for abuse of process against plaintiffs. Plaintiffs have now moved to dismiss the County defendants' counterclaim. Plaintiffs contend that the County defendants' counterclaim for abuse of process fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted under Iowa law. Specifically, they assert that “[t]here is no cause of action against a party proceeding in the same action for filing a ‘frivolous' claim which may be brought as a Counterclaim.” Plaintiffs' Br. at 3. Thus, plaintiffs contend that the pleading of the abuse of process counterclaim is insufficient on its face, because the required element of use of legal process for an improper purpose cannot be shown. Plaintiffs further argue that the County defendants' “only proper remedy” against them for bringing frivolous claims is under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11. The County defendants dispute plaintiffs' contentions and argue that they have adequately pleaded the elements of their abuse of process counterclaim.
When ruling on a motion to dismiss, “a judge must accept as true all of the factual allegations contained in the complaint.” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007) (citing Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555–56, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). The County defendants are all residents of Osceola County, Iowa. Weber is the Osceola County Sheriff and Hansen is the Osceola County Attorney. Gries and Krikke are employed by Osceola County as deputy sheriffs. The County defendants assert, inter alia, that:
Plaintiffs intentionally filed their Third Amended Complaint, knowing that there was no factual basis for the foregoing claims, and seeking to gain an advantage that they had not been able to acquire by any legitimate means during the many years of their ongoing dispute with family members over ownership and control of the family farm land.
The County defendants' counterclaim at ¶ 4. As a result, the County defendants further assert that they have been damaged.
Plaintiffs seek dismissal of the County defendants' counterclaim, pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which authorizes a motion to dismiss for “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). As the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has explained,
We review de novo the district court's grant of a motion to dismiss, accepting as true all factual allegations in the complaint and drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party. See Palmer v. Ill. Farmers Ins. Co., 666 F.3d 1081, 1083 (8th Cir.2012); see alsoFed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). “To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (internal quotation omitted). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id.
Richter v. Advance Auto Parts, Inc., 686 F.3d 847, 850 (8th Cir.2012); accord Freitas v. Wells Fargo Home Mortg., Inc., 703 F.3d 436, 438 (8th Cir.2013) (quoting Richter, 686 F.3d at 850); Whitney v. Guys, Inc., 700 F.3d 1118, 1128 (8th Cir.2012) ().
Courts consider “plausibility” under this Twom-bal standard 1 by “ ‘draw[ing] on [their own] judicial experience and common sense.’ ” Whitney, 700 F.3d at 1128 (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937). Also, courts must “ ‘review the plausibility of the plaintiff's claim as a whole, not the plausibility of each individual allegation.’ ” Id. (quoting Zoltek Corp. v. Structural Polymer Grp., 592 F.3d 893, 896 n. 4 (8th Cir.2010)). The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has refused, at the pleading stage, “to incorporate some general and formal level of evidentiary proof into the ‘plausibility’ requirement of Iqbal and Twombly.” Id. Nevertheless, the question “is not whether [the pleader] might at some later stage be able to prove [facts alleged]; the question is whether [it] has adequately asserted facts (as contrasted with naked legal conclusions) to support [its] claims.” Id. at 1129. Thus,
[w]hile this court must “accept as true all facts pleaded by the non-moving party and grant all reasonable inferences from the pleadings in favor of the non-moving party,” United States v. Any & All Radio Station Transmission Equip., 207 F.3d 458, 462 (8th Cir.2000), “[a] pleading that offers ‘labels and conclusions' or ‘a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.’ ” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (quoting [Bell Atl. Corp. v.] Twombly, 550 U.S. [544,] 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 [167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ] ).
Gallagher v. City of Clayton, 699 F.3d 1013, 1016 (8th Cir.2012); Whitney, 700 F.3d at 1128 ().
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