Cordero v. Pack

368 F. Supp. 3d 137
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedMarch 19, 2019
DocketCivil Action No. 18-30031-MGM
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 368 F. Supp. 3d 137 (Cordero v. Pack) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cordero v. Pack, 368 F. Supp. 3d 137 (D.D.C. 2019).

Opinion

MARK G. MASTROIANNI, United States District Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff, acting pro se, filed his complaint on February 20, 2018, asserting claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and for the torts of false imprisonment, battery, trespass to chattel, negligence, and negligence for failure to adequately train against the Pittsfield Police, the City of Pittsfield, the Massachusetts State Police, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and ten members of either the Massachusetts State Police or the Pittsfield Police (including two unnamed individuals), all sued in their individual and official capacities. With respect to all claims and all defendants, Plaintiff seeks monetary damages, both compensatory and punitive. Plaintiff's claims stem from his detention following a routine traffic stop on the evening of February 19, 2015 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In the course of his detention, illegal drugs were found in his vehicle and he was charged in state court with various drug-trafficking crimes. A superior court judge denied *144Plaintiff's motion to suppress the evidence obtained the evening of the traffic stop. On interlocutory appeal, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ("SJC") reversed, ruling that officers did not have reasonable suspicion of criminal activity at the time they completed their investigation of civil traffic violations, did not have a legitimate basis to detain Plaintiff past that point, and all evidence seized thereafter must be suppressed. Commonwealth v. Cordero , 477 Mass. 237, 74 N.E.3d 1282 (2017) (hereinafter " Cordero" or "the SJC opinion").

Defendants have filed three separate motions to dismiss, one on behalf of Chief Wynn, Officer Steven Haecker, the Pittsfield Police Department, and the City of Pittsfield (Dkt. No. 24); one on behalf of Colonel Kerry Gilpin, Major Michael Habel, the Massachusetts State Police, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Dkt. No. 37); and one on behalf of Trooper David Buell (Dkt. No. 39). Trooper Noah Pack has filed an answer and jury demand. (Dkt. No. 53). Plaintiff has filed a single opposition to all pending motions and has moved to file an amended complaint to provide more detail to support his claims related to inadequate training. (Dkt. No. 44). The defendants who have moved to dismiss have also opposed Plaintiff's Motion to Amend. (Dkt. Nos. 45, 46, & 47.)

II. SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS APPLICABLE TO COMPLAINTS FILED BY PRO SE PLAINTIFFS 1

"Our judicial system zealously guards the attempts of pro se litigants on their own behalf." Ahmed v. Rosenblatt , 118 F.3d 886, 890 (1st Cir. 1997). Recognizing the difficulties pro se plaintiffs face, the courts construe pro se complaints liberally. Foley v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. , 772 F.3d 63, 75 (1st Cir. 2014). "However, pro se status does not insulate a party from complying with procedural and substantive law." Ahmed , 118 F.3d at 890. Like other plaintiffs, "even a pro se plaintiff is required 'to set forth factual allegations, either direct or inferential, respecting each material element necessary to sustain recovery under some actionable legal theory.' " Adams v. Stephenson , 116 F.3d 464 (1st Cir. 1997) (unpublished table decision) (quoting Gooley v. Mobil Oil Corp. , 851 F.2d 513, 515 (1st Cir. 1988) ). Holding all plaintiffs, including pro se plaintiffs, to this standard is necessary to ensure every defendant is "afforded both adequate notice of any claims asserted against him and a meaningful opportunity to mount a defense." Díaz-Rivera v. Rivera-Rodríguez , 377 F.3d 119, 123 (1st Cir. 2004).

III. MOTION TO DISMISS STANDARD

At this stage in the litigation, the court accepts as true the factual allegations-those setting out who did or said what, to whom, and when-contained in the complaint, or, in this case, the SJC's opinion, and draws all reasonable inferences based on those factual allegations. Evergreen Partnering Grp. Inc. v. Pactiv Corp. , 720 F.3d 33, 36 (1st Cir. 2013). "As a general proposition, a complaint must contain no more than 'a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.' " S.E.C. v. Tambone , 597 F.3d 436, 442 (1st Cir. 2010) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2) ). However, this simple formulation obscures the full weight of the burden that falls on plaintiffs seeking to show that they are entitled to relief. Plaintiff's "short and plain" statement must state the plaintiff's claims and the facts on which they are based clearly enough to *145allow the defendant to mount a defense. Díaz-Rivera , 377 F.3d at 123. The court may consider additional facts, but only in narrow circumstances, such as facts contained in documents of undisputed authenticity and sufficiently central to claims in the complaint. See Watterson v. Page , 987 F.2d 1, 3 (1st Cir. 1993) ; see also Fudge v. Penthouse Int'l, Ltd. , 840 F.2d 1012, 1015 (1st Cir. 1988).

To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, a complaint must allege facts that "raise a right to relief above the speculative level." Bell Atl. Corp. v.

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Bluebook (online)
368 F. Supp. 3d 137, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cordero-v-pack-dcd-2019.