Cross v. Bates-Anderson et al
Filing
17
ORDER granting 15 Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim. Party Tenee Felix (In her official capacity of Xavier attorney of Louisiana Center for Children's Rights) dismissed. Signed by Judge Jay C. Zainey. (jrc)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
DAPHNE CROSS
CIVIL ACTION
VERSUS
NO: 16-11626
CANDICE BATES-ANDERSON, ET AL.
SECTION: "A" (4)
ORDER AND REASONS
The following motion is before the Court: Motion to Dismiss (Rec. Doc. 15) filed
by defendant Tenee Felix. Plaintiff Daphne Cross (pro se), mother of X.F., has not filed an
opposition to the motion. The motion, noticed for submission on November 2, 2016, is
before the Court on the briefs without oral argument.
Plaintiff Daphne Cross has filed this § 1983 complaint pro se on behalf of her son
X.F. According to her complaint, Juvenile Court Judge Candice Bates-Anderson (a
defendant herein) presided over X.F.’s case wherein he was placed in the custody of the
Bridge City Center for Youth at the age of 15. Plaintiff complains that notwithstanding some
prior abuse at Bridge City Center that X.F. had endured in September 2014, the judge
decided to keep him there. On June 25, 2015, X.F. was attacked by some other youths and
had to be rushed to Children’s Hospital to have his ear sewn back on.
Defendant Cody Smith was an employee of Bridge City and the Court gleans from the
complaint that Plaintiff believes that Smith lied in Court about X.F.’s case. Defendant
Lemoyne Reine was X.F.’s probation officer, and defendant Daphne Johnson was Reine’s
supervisor. Plaintiff alleges generally that her son’s federal constitutional rights were
violated by the defendants acting together. Plaintiff has also sued the movant herein, Ms.
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Tenee Felix, who had been X.F.’s attorney.
Felix now moves to dismiss all claims against her. Several arguments that Felix
makes in support of her motion have merit. First, Felix is not amenable to suit as a state
actor under § 1983. Felix, a staff attorney at the Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights, was
appointed by the court to serve as X.F.’s attorney. Public defenders exercising their
independent professional judgment in criminal proceedings do not act under color of state
law for purposes of § 1983. See Polk County v. Dodson, 454 U.S. 312, 453 (1981). The
minimal allegations that Plaintiff makes against Felix fall squarely within the realm of the
exercise of her professional judgment.
As to any state law claim for legal malpractice, Felix points out that the allegations in
the complaint are insufficient to state a claim for negligence. Moreover, Felix raises a point
that no other defendant has raised thus far: It seems that X.F. reached the age of majority
shortly before his mother filed this lawsuit. If this assertion is correct, then Plaintiff did not
have procedural capacity to sue on X.F.’s behalf when the complaint was filed. None of the
allegations in the complaint suggest that any of the causes of action belonged to Plaintiff
herself.
Accordingly, and for the foregoing reasons;
IT IS ORDERED that the Motion to Dismiss (Rec. Doc. 15) filed by defendant
Tenee Felix is GRANTED. The Complaint is DISMISSED in its entirety as to this
defendant.
November 9, 2016
JAY C. ZAINEY
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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