Dixon v. Economy Inn

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Washington
DecidedAugust 16, 2021
Docket2:20-cv-00312
StatusUnknown

This text of Dixon v. Economy Inn (Dixon v. Economy Inn) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dixon v. Economy Inn, (E.D. Wash. 2021).

Opinion

1 FILED IN THE EASTERU N. S D. I SD TI RS IT CR TI C OT F C WO AU SR HT I NGTON 2 Aug 16, 2021

3 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SEAN F. MCAVOY, CLERK EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 4 LADARRELLE DIXON, No. 2:20-cv-00312-SMJ 5 Plaintiff, 6 ORDER OF DISMISSAL v. 7 ECONOMY INN, Cooperate [sic] 8 Headquarters; ECONOMY INN; and BRUNSWICK POLICE DEPT., 9 Defendants. 10

11 Before the Court is Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint, ECF No. 22, 12 filed on August 3, 2021. The Court previously directed Plaintiff to amend or 13 voluntarily dismiss their Complaint, ECF No. 20, which failed to state a claim upon 14 which relief can be granted. ECF No. 21. Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint asserts 15 claims against Economy Inn Corporate Headquarters and Economy Inn (together, 16 “Economy Inn Defendants”) as well as Brunswick Police Department. As the Court 17 noted in its prior Order, Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint replaces their prior 18 complaints in their entirety. See ECF No. 21 at 15. Accordingly, those Defendants 19 not named in the Second Amended Complaint are terminated from this action, and 20 the Court will only consider those facts alleged in the Second Amended Complaint. 1 Liberally construing the Second Amended Complaint in the light most 2 favorable to Plaintiff and for the reasons set forth below, the Court finds that

3 Plaintiff has failed to cure the deficiencies of the initial and first amended 4 complaints. The Court thus dismisses this action with prejudice for failure to state 5 a claim upon which relief may be granted.

6 PLAINTIFF’S ALLEGATIONS 7 Plaintiff alleges that while they were a customer at the Economy Inn, they 8 were asked to leave by an employee “due to a sexual misconduct complaint made 9 to the Brunswick Police Dept.” ECF No. 22 at 4. They assert that Economy Inn

10 employees engage in “sexual misconduct in view of customer.” Id. at 6. After 11 Plaintiff reported the misconduct to the Brunswick Police Department, Plaintiff was 12 escorted from the Economy Inn by the police. Id. The Brunswick Police Department

13 then wrote a police report about the complaint. Id. 14 LEGAL STANDARD 15 The Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (“PLRA”) requires courts to 16 screen complaints filed by a party seeking to proceed in forma pauperis. 28 U.S.C.

17 § 1915(e); see also Calhoun v. Stahl, 254 F.3d 845, 845 (9th Cir. 2001) (noting that 18 “the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) are not limited to prisoners.”). Courts 19 must dismiss a complaint, or portion thereof, if a plaintiff has raised claims that are

20 legally “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be 1 granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such 2 relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2); see Barren v. Harrington, 152 F.3d 1193, 1194–95

3 (9th Cir. 1998). 4 A claim is legally frivolous when it lacks an arguable basis either in law or 5 in fact. Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989), superseded by statute on

6 other grounds as stated in Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1126–27 (9th Cir. 2000) 7 (en banc); Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1227–28 (9th Cir. 1984). The Court 8 may therefore dismiss a claim as frivolous when it rests on an indisputably meritless 9 legal theory or when the factual contentions are clearly baseless. Neitzke, 490 U.S.

10 at 327. The critical inquiry is whether a constitutional claim, however inartfully 11 pleaded, has an arguable legal and factual basis. See Jackson v. Arizona, 885 F.2d 12 639, 640 (9th Cir. 1989), superseded by statute on other grounds as stated in Lopez,

13 203 F.3d at 1130–31; Franklin, 745 F.2d at 1227. 14 The facts alleged in a complaint are to be taken as true and must “plausibly 15 give rise to an entitlement to relief.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 664 (2009). 16 Mere legal conclusions “are not entitled to the assumption of truth.” Id. The

17 complaint must contain more than “a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause 18 of action.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007). It must plead 19 “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Id. at 570. The

20 Court construes a pro se plaintiff’s pleadings liberally, affording the plaintiff the 1 benefit of any doubt. Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010). 2 DISCUSSION

3 A. Subject-Matter Jurisdiction 4 Federal district courts have limited subject matter jurisdiction. Kokkonen v. 5 Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377 (1994). A federal district court

6 presumes a civil action lies outside its limited jurisdiction and the burden to prove 7 otherwise rests on the party asserting jurisdiction exists. Id. Under Federal Rule of 8 Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and (h)(3), a federal district court must dismiss a civil 9 action if at any time it determines it lacks subject matter jurisdiction. A federal

10 district court has two basic types of subject matter jurisdiction: (1) federal question 11 and (2) diversity of citizenship. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1332. Plaintiff claims that 12 federal question jurisdiction exists here. ECF No. 22 at 3.

13 1. Federal Question 14 Federal question jurisdiction applies if a complaint asserts a claim based on 15 federal law, such that it is a “civil action[] arising under the Constitution, laws, or 16 treaties of the United States.” 28 U.S.C. § 1331. “Under the longstanding well-

17 pleaded complaint rule, . . . a suit ‘arises under’ federal law ‘only when the 18 plaintiff’s statement of his own cause of action shows that it is based upon [federal 19 law].’” Vaden v. Discover Bank, 556 U.S. 49, 60 (2009), superseded by statute on

20 other grounds as stated in Vermont v. MPHJ Tech. Invs., LLC, 883 F.3d 635, 643 1 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (alteration in original) (quoting Louisville & Nashville R. Co. v. 2 Mottley, 211 U.S. 149, 152 (1908)).

3 Broadly construing Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint, it appears they 4 are trying to allege a cause of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See infra. They allege 5 that the Brunswick Police Department escorted them from the Economy Inn and

6 filed a police report—which this Court construes as an allegation of a Fourth 7 Amendment violation. The Court therefore has federal question jurisdiction over 8 the Brunswick Police Department. But it does not appear that Plaintiff alleges a 9 federal cause of action against the Economy Inn Defendants (nor would such a

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Louisville & Nashville Railroad v. Mottley
211 U.S. 149 (Supreme Court, 1908)
Neitzke v. Williams
490 U.S. 319 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America
511 U.S. 375 (Supreme Court, 1994)
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Vaden v. Discover Bank
556 U.S. 49 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Hebbe v. Pliler
627 F.3d 338 (Ninth Circuit, 2010)
Goodyear Dunlop Tires Operations, S. A. v. Brown
131 S. Ct. 2846 (Supreme Court, 2011)
Ivey v. Board of Regents of University of Alaska
673 F.2d 266 (Second Circuit, 1982)
Harry Franklin v. Ms. Murphy and Hoyt Cupp
745 F.2d 1221 (Ninth Circuit, 1984)
United States v. Anthony J. Pina
844 F.2d 1 (First Circuit, 1988)
Jesse J. Calhoun v. Donald N. Stahl James Brazelton
254 F.3d 845 (Ninth Circuit, 2001)
Learjet, Inc. v. Oneok, Inc.
715 F.3d 716 (Ninth Circuit, 2013)
Farmer v. Brennan
511 U.S. 825 (Supreme Court, 1994)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Dixon v. Economy Inn, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dixon-v-economy-inn-waed-2021.