Perales et al v. Heard et al

Filing 38

ORDER granting 20 Defendant's (Martin County Sheriff's Office) Motion to Dismiss. Signed by Judge Robin L. Rosenberg on 2/16/2016. (dzs)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
CASE NO. 2:15-cv-14381-ROSENBERG/LYNCH
MIGUEL R. PERALES, PATRICIA HETZEL-PERALES,
MIGUEL PERALES, JR., and LORI WOOD MARKUT,
Plaintiffs,
v.
JENNIFER DALE HEARD, WILLIAM D. SNYDER,
and MARTIN COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT,
Defendants.
/
ORDER DISMISSING THE MARTIN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
THIS CAUSE is before the Court on Defendant’s (Martin County Sheriff’s Office)
Motion to Dismiss [DE 20]. The Sheriff’s Office argues that the claims against it should be
dismissed because the Sheriff’s Office is not sui juris and, “[t]o the extent that a governmental
entity is liable for the conduct as alleged, such suit is properly brought against the named office
holder, in his official capacity.” DE 20 at 4.
“Sheriff's departments and police departments are not usually considered legal entities
subject to suit . . . , but ‘capacity to sue or be sued shall be determined by the law of the state in
which the district court is held.’” Dean v. Barber, 951 F.2d 1210, 1214 (11th Cir. 1992) (quoting
Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(b)). “Florida law has not established Sheriff's offices as separate legal entities
with the capacity to be sued.” Faulkner v. Monroe Cty. Sheriff's Dep't, 523 F. App'x 696, 701
(11th Cir. 2013); see also Jones v. Collier Cty. Sheriff’s Dep’t, No. 95-232-CIV-FTM-17D, 1996
WL 172989, at *2 (M.D. Fla. Apr. 9, 1996) (dismissing claims against Collier County Sheriff’s
Office with prejudice because it “is merely the vehicle by which Collier County fulfills its
policing function”); Fla. City Police Dep’t v. Corcoran, 661 So. 2d 409, 410 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App.
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1995) (“Where a police department is an integral part of the city government as the vehicle
through which the city government fulfills its policing functions, it is not an entity subject to
suit.”). Thus, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office is not a proper defendant. However, Plaintiffs’
official-capacity claims against the current officeholder, Sheriff William D. Snyder, may
proceed. See DE 1 at 2 ¶ 9 (Plaintiffs’ Complaint, alleging that “Defendant, William D. Snyder .
. . acted both in his individual capacity and in his official capacity as Sheriff[.]”); see generally
Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 165 (1985) (“Personal-capacity suits seek to impose personal
liability upon a government official for actions he takes under color of state law. . . . Officialcapacity suits, in contrast, ‘generally represent only another way of pleading an action against an
entity of which an officer is an agent.’”).
Accordingly, Defendant’s (Martin County Sheriff’s Office) Motion to Dismiss [DE 20] is
GRANTED and Defendant Martin County Sheriff’s Office is DISMISSED.
DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers, Fort Pierce, Florida, this 16th day of February,
2016.
_______________________________
ROBIN L. ROSENBERG
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Copies furnished to:
Counsel of record

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