Arnold v. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department - Board of Police Commissioners et al

Filing 5

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's motion to proceed in forma pauperis [Doc. # 2 ] is GRANTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk shall issue process or cause process to issue on the complaint as to plaintiff' s Title VII claims against defendants St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Board of Police Commissioners and Board of Police Commissioners Bettye Battle-Turner, Richard Gray, Michael L. Gerdine, and Francis G. Slay. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk shall not issue process or cause process to issue on the complaint as to plaintiffs defamation claims against defendants St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Board of Police Commissioners and Board of Police Commissioners Bettye Battle-Tur ner, Richard Gray, Michael L. Gerdine, and Francis G. Slay, because these allegations are legally frivolous and fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, as to defendants D aniel Isom, Antoinette Filla, Reggie Harris, Steven Mueller, Mary Warnecke, and William Swiderski, the Clerk shall not issue process or cause process to issue upon the complaint, because the complaint is legally frivolous and fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). Signed by Honorable Catherine D. Perry on July 27, 2011. (BRP)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
HENRIETTA ARNOLD,
Plaintiff,
vs.
ST. LOUIS METROPOLITAN POLICE
DEPARTMENT BOARD OF
POLICE COMMISSIONERS, et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No. 4:11-CV-1155-CDP

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court upon the application of Henrietta Arnold for leave to
commence this action without payment of the required filing fee. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a).
Upon consideration of the financial information provided with the application, the Court finds
that plaintiff is financially unable to pay any portion of the filing fee. Therefore, plaintiff will be
granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a).
28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B), the Court may dismiss a complaint filed in forma
pauperis at any time if the action is frivolous, malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief
can be granted, or seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief. An
action fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted if it does not plead “enough facts to
state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S.
544,570 (2007).
In reviewing a pro se complaint under § 1915(e)(2)(B), the Court must give the complaint
the benefit of a liberal construction. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972). The Court

must also weigh all factual allegations in favor of the plaintiff, unless the facts alleged are clearly
baseless. Denton v. Hernandez, 504 U.S. 25, 32 (1992).
The Complaint
Plaintiff seeks monetary and injunctive relief in this 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5 (“Title VII”)
action against defendants St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Board of Police
Commissioners and Board of Police Commissioners Bettye Battle-Turner, Richard Gray,
Michael L. Gerdine, and Francis G. Slay, as well as her supervisors Daniel Isom, Antoinette
Filla, Reggie Harris, Steven Mueller, Mary Warnecke, and William Swiderski. Plaintiff alleges
that while she was employed by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, defendants
harassed her, created a hostile work environment, and retaliated and discriminated against her on
the basis of her race and gender. In addition, plaintiff asserts a pendent state-law claim for
“defamation of character and emotional stress.”
Discussion
A. Title VII Claims
Title VII imposes liability on an employer who engages in certain discriminatory
practices. As such, plaintiff's Title VII claims against defendants St. Louis Metropolitan Police
Department Board of Police Commissioners and Board of Police Commissioners Bettye BattleTurner, Richard Gray, Michael L. Gerdine, and Francis G. Slay are sufficient to proceed at this
time.
The complaint is, however, legally frivolous as to plaintiff’s Title VII claims against her
supervisors, Daniel Isom, Antoinette Filla, Reggie Harris, Steven Mueller, Mary Warnecke, and
William Swiderski. An individual holding a supervisory position over a Title VII plaintiff cannot
be held liable under Title VII in his or her individual capacity. Bales v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.,

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143 F.3d 1103, 1111 (8th Cir. 1998). The Court will, therefore, dismiss plaintiff’s Title VII
claims against defendants Daniel Isom, Antoinette Filla, Reggie Harris, Steven Mueller, Mary
Warnecke, and William Swiderski.
B. “Defamation of Character and Emotional Stress” Claim
To establish a prima facie case for defamation under Missouri law, a claimant must
establish six elements: “‘1) publication, 2) of a defamatory statement, 3) that identifies the
[claimant], 4) that is false, 5) that is published with the requisite degree of fault, and 6) damages
the [claimant’s] reputation.’” Gray v. AT&T Corp., 357 F.3d 763, 765 (8th Cir. 2004)(quoting
Overcase v. Billings Mut. Ins. Co., 11 S.W.3d 62, 70 (Mo. 2000)(en banc)). Having carefully
reviewed plaintiff’s complaint, the Court finds that the allegations fail to state a claim for
defamation. As such, the Court will dismiss plaintiff’s defamation claims as to all defendants.
The Court will construe plaintiff’s assertion of “emotional stress” as a request for emotional
distress damages relative to her Title VII claims against defendants St. Louis Metropolitan Police
Department Board of Police Commissioners and Board of Police Commissioners Bettye BattleTurner, Richard Gray, Michael L. Gerdine, and Francis G. Slay.
In accordance with the above,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis [Doc.
#2] is GRANTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk shall issue process or cause process to
issue on the complaint as to plaintiff’s Title VII claims against defendants St. Louis Metropolitan
Police Department Board of Police Commissioners and Board of Police Commissioners Bettye
Battle-Turner, Richard Gray, Michael L. Gerdine, and Francis G. Slay.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk shall not issue process or cause process to
issue on the complaint as to plaintiff’s defamation claims against defendants St. Louis
Metropolitan Police Department Board of Police Commissioners and Board of Police
Commissioners Bettye Battle-Turner, Richard Gray, Michael L. Gerdine, and Francis G. Slay,
because these allegations are legally frivolous and fail to state a claim upon which relief may be
granted. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B).
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, as to defendants Daniel Isom, Antoinette Filla,
Reggie Harris, Steven Mueller, Mary Warnecke, and William Swiderski, the Clerk shall not issue
process or cause process to issue upon the complaint, because the complaint is legally frivolous
and fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B).
Dated this 27th day of July, 2011.

CATHERINE D. PERRY
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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