Bowers v. United States

931 F. Supp. 2d 358, 2013 WL 1087642, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35173
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedMarch 14, 2013
DocketCivil No. 3:12cv264 (JBA)
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 931 F. Supp. 2d 358 (Bowers v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bowers v. United States, 931 F. Supp. 2d 358, 2013 WL 1087642, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35173 (D. Conn. 2013).

Opinion

RULING ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS

JANET BOND ARTERTON, District Judge.

Plaintiffs Lonny and Lea Bowers filed suit against Defendants United States of America, Andrew Tingley in his official and individual capacity as the Supervisory Deputy United States Marshal for the District of Connecticut, and Deputy U.S. Marshals John Does 1-4 in their individual and official capacities,1 alleging violations of their Fourth Amendment rights to be free from unreasonable search and seizure pursuant to Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotics Agents, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971) (Count One), and violations of the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”), 28 U.S.C. § 1346 (Count Two). Under the FTCA, Plaintiffs claim false imprisonment/false arrest, trespass to chattels, conversion, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and negligent supervision.2 Defendants move [Doc. # 25] to dismiss Plaintiffs’ Complaint for failure to state a claim. For the reasons that follow, Defendants’ motion is granted.

I. Factual Allegations

Plaintiffs allege the following in their Complaint. Plaintiff Lonny and Lea Bowers reside and work in Connecticut. Mr. Bowers is an engineer who specializes in acoustics and professional sound, and was the president and a director of Wideband Solutions, Inc. (“Wideband”). (Compl. [Doc. # 1] ¶ 9.) Mr. Bowers and Wideband were defendants in several lawsuits filed by ClearOne Communications, Inc. (“ClearOne”), a Utah Corporation, in which ClearOne alleged misappropriation of trade secrets. (Id. ¶ 11.) In the course of that litigation, ClearOne sought, and the United States District Court for the District of Utah granted, a confidentiality order prohibiting the dissemination of various materials deemed by ClearOne to contain sensitive information regarding its trade secrets. (Id. ¶ 11.)

[364]*364On August 17, 2010, ClearOne filed an ex parte motion to enforce the confidentiality order, alleging that Mr. Bowers “might have certain documents and information in his possession in violation of the confidentiality order.” (Id. ¶ 12.) The motion was reviewed by a magistrate judge, and an order was issued on August 28, 2010. (Id. ¶¶ 13-14.)3 Defendant Tingley received a copy of the order, and reviewed it with the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut. The U.S. Attorney’s office “proposed an indemnification clause which compels ClearOne to indemnify the U.S. Marshals Service for any judgment arising from the execution of the order by the U.S. Marshals.” (Id. ¶ 14.) A revised order including a hold harmless clause was issued on September 1, 2010. (Compl. ¶ 14; see also Ex. C. to Def.’s Mot. [Doc. # 25] ¶ 5.)4

On September 2, 2010, Mr. Bowers was stopped by two Deputy U.S. Marshals as he was leaving his office. They blocked his car to prevent him from leaving, and “explained that lawyers would be coming and would explain the reason for the detainment.” (Id. ¶ 15.) Twenty minutes later, a lawyer arrived and provided Mr. Bowers with a redacted copy of the Order. (Id.) John Does 1 and 2 “compelled” Plaintiff to return to the building and “confined” him to a common area, “telling him he was not free to leave.” (Id. ¶ 16.) During this time, a lawyer, data recovery specialist, and two ClearOne agents entered his office “with the help and assent of John Does 1 and 2.” (Id.) The agents then “ransacked” his office and took computers, hard drives, data storage files, and documents, many of which Plaintiff alleges “were not ordered to be seized” in the Amended Rule 65 Order. (Id.)

At around the same time, two other U.S. Marshals, John Does 3 and 4, came to the Bowers residence and “confined Lea to the second floor of the house.” (Id. ¶¶ 17-18.) An attorney and another ClearOne agent entered the Bowers residence with the “knowledge and assent” of Does 3 and 4 and “took numerous items which were not authorized by the [Amended Rule 65 Order].” (Id. ¶ 18.)

Plaintiffs allege that the documents that were taken included “tax return documents, privileged communications between Bowers and his attorneys, research and development memoranda regarding technology being developed by Lonny Bowers and his associates, attorney work-product, financial records, stock certificates, and a memory stick containing personal photographs,” all of which were not authorized to be taken by the Amended Rule 65 Order. (Id. ¶ 19.)

The U.S. Marshals are alleged to have acted without a warrant or writ of attachment authorizing them to enter and search the premises of the Bowers’ office or home. (Id. ¶20.) The Marshals did not [365]*365“actually supervise[ ]” the ClearOne agents present at either location. {Id. ¶ 21.)

Plaintiffs allege that as a result of Defendants’ conduct, ClearOne has “manufactured and sold a product .... which utilizes a headset interface technology co-developed by Lonny Bowers and described in research documents wrongfully seized and appropriated by ClearOne.” {Id. ¶ 23.) Mr. Bowers has been deprived of “any and all copies of proprietary acoustic calculation software which he developed personally and used in his business prior to the seizure.” {Id. ¶ 24.) Plaintiffs claim lost revenue, misappropriation of trade secrets, false imprisonment, trespass, and severe emotional distress on account of Defendants’ conduct.

II. Discussion5

Defendants have moved to dismiss Plaintiffs’ Complaint in its entirety, arguing that Plaintiffs have failed to state a valid Bivens claim against Defendant Tingley and Does 1-4, and that Defendants Tingley and Does 1-4 are entitled to quasi-judicial absolute immunity for their actions taken in enforcing a valid court order or, alternatively, are entitled to qualified immunity. Defendants also assert that Plaintiffs have failed to state any tort claim against the United States under the FTCA.

A. Count One: Violations of the Fourth Amendment

The issue of whether United States Marshals acting to execute a valid court order are immune from suit on the basis of quasi-judicial immunity appears to be one of first impression in the Second Circuit. Because of this, the Court will first address the allegations of Plaintiffs’ Fourth Amendment claim, which the Court concludes fail to state a plausible claim under Iqbal. However, as discussed below, even if the allegations were found to state a plausible Fourth Amendment claim, Defendants are entitled to either absolute quasi-judicial immunity or qualified immunity and Count One must be dismissed.

1. Bivens Claim

Plaintiffs allege that Tingley and Does 1-4

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Bluebook (online)
931 F. Supp. 2d 358, 2013 WL 1087642, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35173, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bowers-v-united-states-ctd-2013.