Carter v. Illinois State Police Department

CourtDistrict Court, C.D. Illinois
DecidedJuly 25, 2023
Docket1:22-cv-01089
StatusUnknown

This text of Carter v. Illinois State Police Department (Carter v. Illinois State Police Department) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carter v. Illinois State Police Department, (C.D. Ill. 2023).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS PEORIA DIVISION

PAIGE CARTER, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Case No. 1:22-cv-01089-SLD-JEH ) ILLINOIS STATE POLICE ) DEPARTMENT; DARREN GREEN, JR. in ) his individual and official capacity; and ) JACOB DURO in his individual and official ) capacity, ) ) Defendants. )

ORDER

Before the Court is Defendants Illinois State Police Department (“ISP”), Darren Green, Jr., and Jacob Duro’s motion to dismiss, ECF No. 10. For the following reasons, the motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. BACKGROUND1 On March 25, 2021, Plaintiff Paige Carter was riding in a vehicle driven by her significant other, Randy Lindsey. At that time, the ISP was engaged in an investigation into criminal activity by Lindsey; Plaintiff was not aware of any such criminal activity or of the investigation. The ISP initiated a traffic stop of the vehicle pursuant to the investigation, and Lindsey was arrested for driving on a suspended license and for unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Plaintiff was temporarily detained, put in handcuffs, and questioned regarding Lindsey’s drug-related activity, but she was not charged

1 At the motion to dismiss stage, the court “accept[s] as true all well-pleaded facts in the complaint, and draw[s] all reasonable inferences in [the plaintiff’s] favor.” Pierce v. Zoetis, Inc., 818 F.3d 274, 277 (7th Cir. 2016). Thus, the factual background is drawn from the complaint, ECF No. 1. with a crime. During her interrogation, Carter interacted with several ISP officers, including Duro and an Officer Zook. The following day, Duro contacted Plaintiff via a text message to her personal cell phone. He offered to assist her in retrieving the vehicle that Lindsey had been driving when he was arrested, which had been impounded. They met at the location of the impound, but Duro was

unable to retrieve the vehicle. He “instructed [Plaintiff’s] previous ride to leave,” gave her a ride home, and “began making advances upon [her] . . . that were flirtatious and sexual in nature.” Compl. 6, ECF No. 1. He stated that he needed to enter her apartment to see how his employees had raided it and to help her clean it. While in the apartment, Duro “again made advances and comments of a sexual nature” to Plaintiff and “made unauthorized and unwanted contact with Plaintiff . . . by hugging and grabbing her body parts.” Id. He also told Plaintiff that he wanted to see her again and that he lived close by. Duro was in his ISP uniform throughout the time he and Plaintiff were together that day. From March 26, 2021 onward, Duro sent a series of unwanted text messages to Plaintiff.

He texted the following messages to her, among others: • “[T]his was her opportunity to move on.” Id. • “Good morning, by the way this is my personal cell.” Id. ● “Hello Hot stuff.” Id. ● “LOL! I thought you liked the other guy more.” Id. at 7.2 ● “[M]aybe your beauty softened me up over time.” Id. ● “[Y]ou are a gorgeous woman, just sayin [sic].” Id. ● “[W]hat you got going on today.” Id.

2 This was a reference to Officer Zook. ● “Randy isn’t a high level dealer whose incarceration is going to bring violence, He is very low level [sic]. I can honestly say you are overthinking this. I’m saying that, not to be rude towards Randy, but to take anxiety away from you.” Id. ● “It will all be fine.” Id.

● “[D]o you have plans after work?” Id. ● “Let me know if you want to hang out or need help with the car.” Id. Duro also had conversations with Plaintiff about how he could help or hurt Lindsey’s case and any further investigation into Plaintiff’s involvement with Lindsey’s actions. Duro subsequently contacted Plaintiff and instructed her to delete all previous text conversations between them. Due to Duro’s unwanted advances, Carter began to fear for her safety and suffered severe emotional distress. She worried that she would lose her license as a health care provider and would no longer be able to provide for her children, which caused her mental anguish. On March 23, 2022, Plaintiff initiated this suit against the ISP, Green in his individual

capacity and official capacity as director of the ISP, and Duro in his individual capacity and official capacity as an employee of the ISP. Id. at 1. She brings a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim against Duro under the Fourteenth Amendment for sexual harassment (Count I), a § 1983 claim against the ISP under the Fourteenth Amendment based on Duro’s sexual harassment of Plaintiff (Count II), a state law claim for international infliction of emotional distress (“IIED”) against all Defendants (Count III), a state law claim for negligent or willful and wanton conduct against all Defendants (Count IV), a respondeat superior claim against the ISP and Green (Count V), and a state law claim for indemnification (Count VI). Id. at 8–12. The instant motion followed. DISCUSSION Defendants move to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). They argue that Counts II, III, IV, V, and VI must be dismissed against the ISP and Green as its director3 under the doctrine of sovereign immunity, Mot. Dismiss 3–6; that Count I should be dismissed against Duro because he was not acting under the color of state

law, id. at 6–8; that Count III should be dismissed against Duro because Plaintiff has failed to plead extreme and outrageous conduct, id. at 8–9; and that Count IV should be dismissed against Duro because Plaintiff has failed to allege the duty element of the negligence claim, id. at 10–11. Plaintiff agrees that the case should be dismissed against the ISP and Green and accordingly asks the Court to grant the motion to dismiss as to the claims against them and permit her leave to amend her complaint to reflect their dismissal from the suit. See Resp. Mot. Dismiss 2–3, ECF No. 12. The Court grants Plaintiff leave to amend the complaint. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2) (providing that a party may amend her pleading with the court’s leave and that “[t]he court should freely give leave when justice so requires”). The Clerk is directed to terminate the ISP

and Green as parties. Plaintiff contends that she has plausibly stated claims against Duro in Counts I, III, and IV, Resp. Mot. Dismiss 2, so the Court will address Defendants’ motion to dismiss those claims in greater detail. I. Legal Standard A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). At the motion to dismiss stage, the key inquiry is whether the complaint is “sufficient to provide the defendant with ‘fair notice’ of the plaintiff’s claim and its basis.” Indep. Tr. Corp. v. Stewart Info. Servs. Corp., 665 F.3d 930, 934

3 Defendants dispute that Green was the ISP director during the time period indicated in the complaint but “respond to the [c]omplaint on behalf of . . . Green as if he was the Director for efficiency purposes.” Mot. Dismiss 2 n.2. (7th Cir. 2012) (quoting Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93 (2007)). While “detailed factual allegations are unnecessary, the complaint must have ‘enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Pierce v.

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Carter v. Illinois State Police Department, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carter-v-illinois-state-police-department-ilcd-2023.