Williams v. Holmes et al

Filing 7

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING 2 MOTION for Leave to Proceed In Forma Pauperis. In an abundance of caution, the Court grants the plaintiff's motions to amend (docs. 5 & 6) and will address, in this Order, her claims against the defen dants included in those amendments. The Court DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE as a matter of law the plaintiff's causes of action relating to any federal or state crimes because criminal statutes do not create a private right of action in a private cit izen to file criminal charges. The Court DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE as a matter of law all claims against the defendant Probate Judge Billy Atkinson in his official capacity, based on judicial immunity. The Court DISMISSES WITHOUT PREJUDICE all claims against the Talladega Police Department and Talladega County Sheriffs Department for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Court DISMISSES WITHOUT PREJUDICE all § 1983 claims against the Alaba ma Department of Mental Health (ADMH) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The Court DISMISSES WITHOUT PREJUDICE all claims against defendants Officers Eric Dean, Jason Freeman, Jason Busby, Glen Nabors, and David Sparks for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The Court DISMISSES WITHOUT PREJUDICE all § 1983 claims against defendants Doris Holmes, Johnny A. Scales, Adrienne F. Scales Smith, Dr. Armand Schachter, Margaret Key Scales, Russell A lan Hamlin, Cinthia Darlene Hamlin, Brookwood Hospital, the Estate of Helen M. Scales, and Todd H. Barksdale for failure to state any plausible federal cause of action upon which relief can be granted. The court DISSMISSES WITHOUT PREJUDICE any remai ning state law claims against all defendants because no diversity or federal question jurisdiction exists for the court to decide any state law claims. Based on the rulings above, no defendants or claims remain in this case. CASE DISMISSED. Signed by Chief Judge Karon O Bowdre on 9/5/2017. (JLC)

FILED
2017 Sep-05 PM 03:47
U.S. DISTRICT COURT
N.D. OF ALABAMA

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
EASTERN DIVISION
THRESA LYNN WILLIAMS,

)
)
PLANITIFF,
)
)
v.
)
)
)
DORIS HOLMES,
)
ALABAMA DEPT. OF MENTAL HEALTH )
et al.,
)
)
DEFENDANTS.
)
)

1:17-CV-00799-KOB

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
This matter is before the court on plaintiff’s motion for leave to proceed in forma
pauperis. (Doc. 2). Having reviewed the plaintiff’s in forma pauperis affidavit (doc. 2), this
court finds that the plaintiff qualifies as a pauper and GRANTS plaintiff’s motion to proceed
without payment of the filing fee.
The court has an obligation to review sua sponte the merits of in forma pauperis matters.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B), a court must dismiss a case at any time, notwithstanding filing
fees, if “the action or appeal is frivolous or malicious; fails to state a claim on which relief may
be granted; or seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief.” A
frivolous claim “lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact… [and] embraces not only the
inarguable legal conclusion, but also the fanciful factual allegation.” Neitzke v. Williams, 490
U.S. 319, 325 (1989).

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Although the court is required to show leniency to a pro se plaintiff’s pleadings, her
complaint is still “subject to the relevant law and rules of court, including the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure.” Moon v. Newsome, 863 F.2d 835, 837 (11th Cir. 1989). Pro se complaints must
“comply with the procedural rules that govern pleadings.” Beckwith v. Bellsouth Telecomms.
Inc., 146 Fed. Appx. 368, 371 (11th Cir. 2005). Under Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure, a plaintiff must plead more “than labels and conclusions… Factual allegations must
be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly,
550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007).
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(iii), a court must dismiss a claim by a plaintiff
proceeding in forma pauperis if the complaint fails to state a claim on which relief may be
granted or if the complaint seek monetary relief from an immune party.
In an abundance of caution, the court grants the plaintiff’s motions to amend (docs. 5 &
6) and will address, in this order, her claims against the defendants included in those
amendments. In this case, the pro se complaints consist of 41 pages of allegations against 19
defendants. After carefully reviewing the complaint, the court ORDERS as follows:
1.

The court DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE as a matter of law the plaintiff’s

causes of action relating to any federal or state crimes because criminal statutes do not
create a private right of action in a private citizen to file criminal charges. See, e.g.,
Adventure Outdoors, Inc. v. Bloomberg, 552 F.3d 1290, 1303 (11th Cir. 2008) (rejecting
notion that Congress authorized “a federal private right of action any time a civil plaintiff
invokes a federal criminal statute”).
2.

The court DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE as a matter of law all claims against

the defendant Probate Judge Billy Atkinson in his official capacity, based on judicial

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immunity. As alleged in the Complaint, Judge Atkinson was acting within his judicial
capacity; the acts of which the plaintiff complains constituted judicial functions involving
cases pending before him. See Sibley v. Lando, 437 F.3d 1067, 1070-71 (11th Cir. 2005)
(explaining that judges involved in normal judicial functions involving cases pending
before them are entitled to judicial immunity absent a “clear absence of jurisdiction”).
The plaintiff failed to allege a claim upon which relief can be granted against this
defendant because she makes no claim that the defendant acted outside of his judicial
capacity.
3.

The court DISMISSES WITHOUT PREJUDICE all claims against the Talladega

Police Department and Talladega County Sheriff’s Department for failure to state a claim
upon which relief can be granted under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The plaintiff alleges that the
defendants violated her Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights when they unlawfully
incarcerated her, arrested her without a warrant, and failed to give her bail. However, the
plaintiff offers these allegations as mere conclusions with no supporting facts and fails to
sufficiently allege that the municipality or the police department had a wide-spread
custom or practice that constitutes deliberate indifference to constitutional rights. See
McDowell v. Brown, 392 F.3d 1283, 1289 (11th Cir. 2004) (“To impose § 1983 liability
on a municipality, a plaintiff must show… that the municipality had a custom or policy
that constituted deliberate indifference to that constitutional right… and… that the policy
or custom caused the violation.”) (emphasis added).
4.

The court DISMISSES WITHOUT PREJUDICE all § 1983 claims against the

Alabama Department of Mental Health (ADMH) for failure to state a claim upon which
relief can be granted. The plaintiff seeks to hold ADMH responsible for the actions of

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Doris Holmes, an employee of the department, for defamation and slander because of the
plaintiff’s involuntary commitment to a mental institution. The plaintiff also alleges that
ADMH built property on her grandfather’s land, and wants the “truth to be ascertained.”
These allegations by the plaintiff against ADMH under § 1983 involve no cognizable
deprivation of federal statutory or constitutional rights. Therefore, no federal cause of
action § 1983 exists for this allegation against ADMH.
5.

The court DISMISSES WITHOUT PREJUDICE all claims against defendants

Officers Eric Dean, Jason Freeman, Jason Busby, Glen Nabors, and David Sparks for
failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The plaintiff alleges that these
defendants violated § 1983 by infringing on her Fourth, Eighth, and Fourteenth
Amendment rights, because they refused to take her statement, did not show her an arrest
warrant, and jailed her for 72 hours without the chance to post bail.
The allegations by the plaintiff against these defendants under § 1983 involve no
cognizable deprivation of federal statutory or constitutional rights. The Eighth
Amendment does not grant a specific right to bail but only disallows excessive bail. See
United States v. James, 674 F.2d 886, 896 (11th Cir. 1982). Moreover, officers are
entitled to qualified immunity if an arrest is made with arguable probable cause. See
Jones v. Cannon, 174 F.3d 1271, 1283 (11th Cir.1999).
Here, the claimant does not have a right to bail, and based on the plaintiff’s facts
in the complaint, the arresting officers had arguable probable cause to arrest her for
domestic violence, so they are immune from suit. Therefore, no federal cause of action
exists for this § 1983 allegation against these defendants.

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6.

The court DISMISSES WITHOUT PREJUDICE all § 1983 claims against

defendants Doris Holmes, Johnny A. Scales, Adrienne F. Scales Smith, Dr. Armand
Schachter, Margaret Key Scales, Russell Alan Hamlin, Cinthia Darlene Hamlin,
Brookwood Hospital, the Estate of Helen M. Scales, and Todd H. Barksdale for failure to
state any plausible federal cause of action upon which relief can be granted. Section 1983
requires that a state actor under color of state law commit the conduct of which the
plaintiff complains. See Flagg Brothers, Inc. v. Brooks, 436 U.S. 149, 156-57 (1978).
These defendants are not state actors, and thus, no federal cause of action exists under §
1983 against these defendants.
The court notes that the plaintiff has a parallel state action in Talladega County
Circuit Court, Williams v. Holmes, CV-2016-000181.00, 1 which substantially involves
the same issues. Although the state court dismissed the claims against the Alabama
Department of Mental Health, the claims against all other defendants remain pending in
state court.
7.

The court DISSMISSES WITHOUT PREJUDICE any remaining state law claims

against all defendants because no diversity or federal question jurisdiction exists for the
court to decide any state law claims.
Based on the rulings above, no defendants or claims remain in this case.
DONE and ORDERED this 5th day of September, 2017.

____________________________________
KARON OWEN BOWDRE
CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
1

The state case Williams v. Holmes involves the following defendants from this federal action: Doris Holmes,
Alabama Department of Mental Health, Jason Freeman, Jason Busby, Eric Dean, Glen Nabors, David Sparks,
Talladega Police Department, Talladega County Police Department, Probate Judge Billy Atkinson, Dr. Armand
Schachter, Brookwood Hospital, Adrienne F. Scales, and Johnny A. Scales.

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