Demaree v. Arizona

CourtCourt of Appeals of Arizona
DecidedMarch 5, 2015
Docket1 CA-CV 13-0064
StatusUnpublished

This text of Demaree v. Arizona (Demaree v. Arizona) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Demaree v. Arizona, (Ark. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

NOTICE: NOT FOR PUBLICATION. UNDER ARIZ. R. SUP. CT. 111(c), THIS DECISION DOES NOT CREATE LEGAL PRECEDENT AND MAY NOT BE CITED EXCEPT AS AUTHORIZED.

IN THE ARIZONA COURT OF APPEALS DIVISION ONE

LISA and ANTHONY (“A.J.”) DEMAREE, wife and husband, on behalf of themselves, LISA and ANTHONY (“A.J.”) DEMAREE, as the natural guardians and guardians ad litem for their three minor children, J., M., and S.; JEANNE K. STUMP and LARRY STUMP, wife and husband, Plaintiffs/Appellants/Cross-Appellees,1

v.

STATE OF ARIZONA, a body politic, ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL, Defendants/Appellees/Cross-Appellants.

No. 1 CA-CV 13-0064 FILED 3-5-2015

Appeal from the Superior Court in Maricopa County Nos. CV2009-028094 and CV2009-029574 (Consolidated) The Honorable Dean M. Fink, Judge

AFFIRMED

COUNSEL

Treon & Aguirre, PLLC, Phoenix By Richard T. Treon Co-Counsel for Plaintiffs/Appellants/Cross-Appellees

1 We amend the caption by using the Children’s first initials to ensure the confidentiality of the Children. We also delete the City of Peoria for reasons stated within this decision. All future pleadings shall use the amended caption. Treon & Shook, P.L.L.C., Phoenix By Stephen E. Silverman Co-Counsel for Plaintiffs/Appellants/Cross-Appellees

Arizona Attorney General’s Office, Phoenix By Michael G. Gaughan Counsel for Defendants/Appellees/Cross-Appellants

MEMORANDUM DECISION

Presiding Judge Donn Kessler delivered the decision of the Court, in which Judge Patricia K. Norris and Judge Maurice Portley joined.

K E S S L E R, Presiding Judge:

¶1 Lisa and Anthony Demaree (“Parents”) and Jeanne K. and Larry Stump (“Grandparents”) (collectively “Appellants”) appeal from the dismissal of their eleven-count amended complaint against the State of Arizona, the Arizona Attorney General (collectively the “State”), and the City of Peoria (collectively “Defendants”). The Appellants and the City of Peoria have stipulated to and this Court has dismissed the city from the appeal. The State argues that we should dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. For the reasons that follow, we conclude we have jurisdiction of the appeal and affirm the judgment dismissing the amended complaint.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY2

¶2 Anthony Demaree took a memory stick containing digital photographs to Wal-Mart and ordered prints on August 29, 2008. Some of the photographs contained nude images of minors. After viewing the photographs, a Wal-Mart employee contacted the Peoria Police Department.

¶3 Peoria Police Detective John Krause responded, viewed the photos, and initiated a child welfare and criminal investigation. During his

2 When reviewing a judgment dismissing a complaint for failure to state a claim, we assume the truth of all well-pleaded facts and indulge in all reasonable inferences from them, but mere conclusory statements are insufficient under that test. Coleman v. City of Mesa, 230 Ariz. 352, 356, ¶ 9, 284 P.3d 863, 867 (2012).

2 DEMAREE v. STATE Decision of the Court

interview with Parents on August 30, 2008, Krause learned that the photos depicted Parents’ children (“the Children”), who were five, four, and one- and-a-half years old.

¶4 The Peoria police took the Children to a child-advocacy center that day for medical examinations and forensic interviews, then returned them to Parents for several hours. While the Children were being examined, the Peoria police executed a search warrant on Parents’ home, where they found more pictures of the Children, either nude or partially clothed. Child Protective Services (“CPS”), previously contacted by Krause, then removed the Children and placed them with foster families. Two–and-a-half days later, after Parents’ attorney contacted the Arizona Governor’s Office, CPS placed the Children with Grandparents.

¶5 According to the amended complaint, on September 3, 2008, CPS held a team decision meeting (“TDM”), with Krause and an Assistant Attorney General, Jennifer Hunter. It is unclear whether Parents were present. During the meeting, Hunter allegedly stated that Parents had “sexually abused” the Children.

¶6 The State filed a dependency action in Maricopa County Superior Court the following day. On September 26, 2008, the State filed allegations concerning Parents’ sexual abuse in a “Central Registry.”

¶7 On October 3, 2008, the superior court found that that Parents’ testimony was “credible” and the Wal-Mart photos depicted the Children at bath time. The superior court ruled that, based upon the totality of circumstances, the Children were not at risk for abuse or neglect and accordingly ordered their return to Parents, but the court did not dismiss the action.

¶8 Prior to an October 24, 2008 hearing, Hunter (1) submitted ex parte additional photos identified by Krause, and (2) moved to transfer physical custody of the Children to the State. The superior court then set the matter for trial. On May 21, 2009, the court ruled that the State had not met its evidentiary burden, dismissed the dependency action, and required the State to remove from the Central Registry the finding that the Demarees had sexually abused the Children.

¶9 Parents—in their individual capacities and as guardians of the Children—and Grandparents served a Notice of Claim on Defendants on August 28, 2009, and an amended notice thereafter. Five days after filing

3 DEMAREE v. STATE Decision of the Court

the initial notice of claim, the Appellants filed a complaint in superior court, which they later amended.3

¶10 In the amended complaint, Appellants, acting for themselves and in some counts the Parents acting as guardians of the Children, asserted eleven claims against the Defendants. In most of the counts, the Appellants did not allege what facts supported the claim, but only incorporated by reference the general factual allegations in the complaint. The State and the City filed Rule 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss, asserting inter alia that the notice of claim statute, statute of limitations, and the prosecutorial immunity doctrine barred the claims. The Appellants responded that waiver, equitable tolling, and equitable estoppel precluded these defenses. The superior court denied the motions based on the notice of claim statute and statute of limitations as they applied to three of the counts brought by and on behalf of the Children. The court granted the motions on most of the counts brought by the Parents and Grandparents as time-barred. Since the first notice of claim was filed August 28, 2009 and Arizona Revised Statutes (“A.R.S.”) section 12-821.01 (Supp. 2014) requires a notice of claim to be filed not later than 180 days after a cause accrues, the court reasoned that any claims based on facts occurring before March 1, 2009, were time-barred. The court found that all alleged acts occurred before March 1, 2009 except for acts continuing prosecution of the dependency action and possibly statements made by Krause to Lisa Demaree’s employer. The court rejected both the waiver and equitable tolling arguments. As to continuing to prosecute the dependency, the court found that claims based on such conduct were barred by absolute prosecutorial immunity. It also denied the motions as to the City on three counts to the extent they were based on Krause’s alleged comments to Lisa Demaree’s employer because the court could not determine when the statements were made.

¶11 Thus, following the court’s ruling on the motion to dismiss, the only counts which remained were Counts 2, 3, and 4 brought by the Children and Counts 5, 7 and 8 against the City based on Krause’s alleged comments to Lisa Demaree’s employer.

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