Copeland v. Northwestern Memorial Hospital

984 F. Supp. 1182, 1997 WL 746892
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Copeland v. Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Read the opinion of the Court — 964 F. Supp. 1225
District Court, N.D. Illinois·Decided December 2, 1997·No. No. 96 C 1270·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ALE SI A, District Judge.

Before the court are three motions to dismiss plaintiff Clyde J. Copeland’s amended complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). The first motion is on behalf of defendant Northwestern Memorial Hospital; the second is on behalf of defendant City of Chicago; and the third is on behalf of defendants Lee Harbaugh and Abel Pena. For the reasons that follow, the court grants all three motions to dismiss.

I. BACKGROUND

On March 4,1996, plaintiff Clyde Copeland (“Copeland”) filed a six-count complaint in this court, alleging various claims against defendants Northwestern Memorial Hospital (“Northwestern”), the City of Chicago (“the City”), Abel Pena (“Pena”), Lee Harbaugh (“Harbaugh”), and other unknown defendants. On May 30,1997, the court dismissed the complaint in its entirety. Copeland v. Northwestern Mem’l Hosp., 964 F.Supp. 1225 (N.D.Ill.1997).

[1184]*1184In response to the court’s order, Copeland filed an amended complaint, naming Northwestern, the City, Harbaugh and Pena as defendants. The facts of the amended complaint are substantially similar to those in the original complaint; thus, to avoid unnecessary repetition, the court refers the reader to Copeland, 964 F.Supp. at 1229-32. To the extent that the facts alleged in the amended complaint are different from those in the original, the discussion below reflects that difference. The amended complaint contains nine counts, eight federal claims and one state law claim. The court has subject matter jurisdiction over the case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1367.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Standard for deciding Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss

When deciding a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), the court must accept all factual allegations in the complaint as true and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff. Cromley v. Board of Educ. of Lockport, 699 F.Supp. 1283, 1285 (N.D.Ill. 1988). If, when viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, the court must dismiss the case. See Fed. R. Crv. P. 12(b)(6); Gomez v. Illinois State Bd. of Educ., 811 F.2d 1030, 1039 (7th Cir.1987). However, the court may dismiss the complaint only if it appears beyond a doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim that would entitle him to relief. Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 101-02, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). Finally, when reviewing a pro se complaint, the court must employ standards less stringent than if the complaint had been drafted by counsel. Donald v. Cook County Sheriffs Dept., 95 F.3d 548, 555 (7th Cir. 1996).

B. Federal question claims

1. Counts One, Two, Three, and Four— claims against Northwestern for constitutional violations

Counts One, Two, and Three allege that Northwestern violated various constitutional rights of Copeland. Northwestern is a private, not state, actor; therefore, in essence, Counts One, Two, and Three must be section 1983 claims against Northwestern. See Serfecz v. Gallitano, No. 95 C 5140, 1995 WL 680829, at *3 (N.D.Ill. Nov.14, 1995). Count Four is a section 1983 claim against Northwestern (and also the City) for the same constitutional violations alleged in Counts One, Two, and Three.

To state a claim under section 1983, a plaintiff must allege that the defendant acted under color of state law; thus, section 1983 claims generally do not reach a private individual’s conduct. Copeland, 964 F.Supp. at 1238. However, a private individual might be subject to liability under section 1983 under either a joint action or a conspiracy theory. Id.; Bowman v. City of Franklin, 980 F.2d 1104, 1107 (7th Cir.1992).

As with his original complaint, however, Copeland’s amended complaint does not allege sufficiently either a joint action or a conspiracy theory as a basis for subjecting Northwestern to section 1983 liability. Copeland, 964 F.Supp. at 1238. Therefore, because Copeland’s amended complaint fails to allege that Northwestern or any of its employees or agents acted under color of state law in any way, the court dismisses Count One in its entirety (because Northwestern is the only defendant named in Count One) and Counts Two, Three, and Four as against Northwestern.

2. Count Two—Fourth Amendment claims

Count Two is a Fourth Amendment claim against all defendants for arrest without probable cause.1 The court has álready dis[1185]*1185missed the claim as against Northwestern. The issue is whether the complaint states such a claim against the City, Harbaugh, or Pena.

Before determining whether any defendant can be liable for such a violation, the court must determine whether Copeland has sufficiently alleged a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. To state a claim for arrest without probable cause, the plaintiff must allege that probable cause did not support the arrest. See Schertz v. Waupaca County, 875 F.2d 578, 581-82 (7th Cir.1989); Adrian v. Skokie Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass’n, 730 F.Supp. 189, 190 (N.D.Ill.1990).

In the case at bar, Copeland’s allegation that he was arrested without probable cause is purely a legal conclusion. He has failed to allege any facts concerning his arrest from which the court can reasonably infer that he was arrested without probable cause. In fact, the factual allegations contained in the amended complaint as well as the factual allegations contained in his original complaint indicate that there was probable cause for the arrest. See Gutierrez v. Peters, 111 F.3d 1364, 1367 n. 2 (7th Cir. 1997); Palda v. General Dynamics Corp., 47 F.3d 872 (7th Cir.1995). Thus, because Copeland has failed to allege that he was arrested without probable cause, the court dismisses Count Two in its entirety.

3.Count Three—Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment claims

Count Three alleges that all four defendants violated Copeland’s due process and equal protection rights by arresting Copeland without probable cause and causing him to be subjected to a physical assault.

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Copeland v. Northwestern Memorial Hospital, 984 F. Supp. 1182, 1997 WL 746892 (N.D. Ill. 1997).

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