Rowe v. Trenary et al

Filing 6

ORDER DECLINING TO SERVE COMPLAINT AND GRANTING PLAINTIFF LEAVE TO AMEND by Hon. Mary Alice Theiler. (cc: plaintiff with Amended 1983 Prisoner Civil Rights Complaint form)(ST)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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MICHAEL C. ROWE,
Plaintiff,

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Case No. C17-0805-RAJ-MAT

v.
SHERIFF TY TRENARY, et al.,

ORDER DECLINING TO SERVE
COMPLAINT AND GRANTING
PLAINTIFF LEAVE TO AMEND

Defendants.

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Plaintiff Michael Rowe has submitted to this Court for filing a civil rights complaint under

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42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Court, having reviewed plaintiff’s complaint, hereby finds and ORDERS

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as follows:

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(1)

Plaintiff is currently confined at the Snohomish County Jail in Everett, Washington.

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(See Dkt. 1-1 at 2.) The claims asserted by plaintiff in this action arise out of his arrest on March

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6, 2017 on bench warrants which had been quashed by the Snohomish County Superior Court

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earlier that same day. According to plaintiff, he went to court on March 6, 2017 and had two

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outstanding bench warrants quashed but approximately eight hours later, following a traffic stop,

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he was arrested on those same warrants. (Dkt. 1-1 at 3.) Plaintiff asserts that the Clerk of the

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Snohomish County Superior Court caused his “false arrest and false imprisonment” by failing to
ORDER DECLINING TO SERVE COMPLAINT AND
GRANTING PLAINTIFF LEAVE TO AMEND - 1

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timely enter the information regarding the quashed warrants into the NCIC computer. (Id.)

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Plaintiff further asserts that the police officer who effectuated the traffic stop which

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resulted in his arrest failed to review the court papers in plaintiff’s possession showing that the

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warrants had been quashed, and took plaintiff to jail. (Id.) Plaintiff alleges that the police officer’s

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actions constituted a false arrest and resulted in plaintiff’s false imprisonment. (Id.) Finally,

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plaintiff asserts that for approximately one day, no one at the Snohomish County Jail would listen

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to his explanation about the warrants having been quashed, but that once he found an officer who

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would listen to his explanation a court appearance was scheduled and he was released later that

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same day. (Id.) Plaintiff alleges that he was held in jail past the time when they knew he didn’t

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actually have any warrants, and that this constituted false imprisonment. (Id.)

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Plaintiff identifies Snohomish County Sheriff Ty Trenary, Snohomish County Superior

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Court Clerk Sonya Kraski, and Bothell Police Officer Briels as defendants in this action. (See id.

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at 2-3.) Plaintiff seeks monetary relief, and an order directing the Snohomish County Superior

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Court to enter information regarding new and quashed warrants into its computer system in a more

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timely fashion. (Id. at 4.)

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(2)

In order to sustain a cause of action under §1983 a plaintiff must show (1) that he

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suffered a violation of rights protected by the Constitution or created by federal statute, and (2)

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that the violation was proximately caused by a person acting under color of state or federal law.

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See Crumpton v. Gates, 947 F.2d 1418, 1420 (9th Cir. 1991). To satisfy the second prong, a

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plaintiff must allege facts showing how individually named defendants caused or personally

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participated in causing the harm alleged in the complaint. See Arnold v. IBM, 637 F.2d 1350, 1355

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(9th Cir. 1981). A defendant cannot be held liable solely on the basis of supervisory responsibility

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or position. Monell v. Department of Social Servs., of City of New York, 436 U.S. 658, 691-694
ORDER DECLINING TO SERVE COMPLAINT AND
GRANTING PLAINTIFF LEAVE TO AMEND - 2

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(1978). Rather, a plaintiff must allege that a defendant’s own conduct violated his civil rights.

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City of Canton, Ohio v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378, 385-90 (1989).

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(3)

The Court declines to order that plaintiff’s complaint be served on defendants

because the complaint is deficient in the following respects:
(a)

While plaintiff alleges in his complaint that the defendants’ actions resulted in his

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false arrest and false imprisonment, he fails to specifically allege that defendants violated a federal

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constitutional right. Moreover, the facts thus far alleged by plaintiff do not appear to implicate

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federal constitutional concerns. Plaintiff is advised that mere negligence does not give rise to a

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cause of action under § 1983. If plaintiff wishes to proceed with this action, he must identify the

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federal constitutional right which he believes was violated by the conduct of each defendant, and

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he must allege facts demonstrating that he suffered some harm of federal constitutional dimension.

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(b)

Plaintiff identifies Snohomish County Sheriff Ty Trenary as a defendant in this

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action, but he fails to allege any specific claim against this defendant in the body of his complaint.

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It appears that plaintiff may be seeking to have Sheriff Trenary held liable for the actions of

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employees at the Snohomish County Jail based solely on his supervisory position. As noted above,

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this is not permissible in an action brought under § 1983.

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(c)

Plaintiff identifies the Clerk of the Snohomish County Superior Court as a

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defendant in this civil rights action, but he fails to demonstrate that this defendant is subject to suit

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under § 1983. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has held that “[c]ourt

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clerks have absolute quasi-judicial immunity from damages for civil rights violations when they

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perform tasks that are an integral part of the judicial process.” Mullis v. United States Bankruptcy

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Court, 828 F.2d 1385, 1390 (9th Cir. 1987). The processing of court orders, such as those quashing

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warrants, would appear to be a task that is “an integral part of the judicial process.” If plaintiff
ORDER DECLINING TO SERVE COMPLAINT AND
GRANTING PLAINTIFF LEAVE TO AMEND - 3

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wishes to proceed against the Clerk of the Snohomish County Superior Court, he must not only

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identify a viable constitutional claim, he must demonstrate that this individual is not entitled to

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immunity in this action.

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(4)

Plaintiff may file an amended complaint curing the above noted deficiencies within

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thirty (30) days of the date on which this Order is signed. The amended complaint must carry the

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same case number as this one. If no amended complaint is timely filed, the Court will recommend

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that this action be dismissed under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) for failure to state a claim upon

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which relief may be granted.

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Plaintiff is advised that an amended pleading operates as a complete substitute for an

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original pleading. See Ferdik v. Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258, 1262 (9th Cir.) (citing Hal Roach

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Studios, Inc. v. Richard Feiner & Co., Inc., 896 F.2d 1542, 1546 (9th Cir. 1990) (as amended),

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cert. denied, 506 U.S. 915 (1992). Thus, any amended complaint must clearly identify the

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defendant(s), the constitutional claim(s) asserted, the specific facts which plaintiff believes support

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each claim, and the specific relief requested.

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(5)

The Clerk is directed to send plaintiff the appropriate forms so that he may file an

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amended complaint. The Clerk is further directed to send copies of this Order to plaintiff and to

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the Honorable Richard A. Jones.

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DATED this 8th day of June, 2017.

A

Mary Alice Theiler
United States Magistrate Judge

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ORDER DECLINING TO SERVE COMPLAINT AND
GRANTING PLAINTIFF LEAVE TO AMEND - 4