Foxhoven v. Stacy

CourtDistrict Court, D. South Dakota
DecidedMarch 10, 2023
Docket5:22-cv-05071
StatusUnknown

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

Bluebook
Foxhoven v. Stacy, (D.S.D. 2023).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MAR 10 72023 DISTRICT OF SOUTH DAKOTA □□ □□ WESTERN DIVISION □□ iealitaw (fle. ZAC WILLIAM FOXHOVEN - VESSEL; -§:22-CV-05071-CBK BY WILLIAM FOXHOVEN - BENEFICIARY; . MEMORANDUM OPINION Plaintiff, AND ORDER vs. DANNY STACY, GEODY VANDEWATER, OFFICIAL CAPACITY . AS POLICE CHIEF OF THE CITY OF STURGIS POLICE DEPARTMENT DE- FACTO PRIVATE FOR PROFIT CORPORATION WITH DUN AND BRADSTREET #XX-XXX-XXXX; AND DARNELL PATE, Defendants. Plaintiff Mr. Zac William Foxhoven filed a pro se complaint alleging several federal and state law claims against defendant City of Sturgis police officers Danny Stacy, Darnell Pate, and Chief of Police Geody Vandewater. The events alleged in Mr. Foxhoven’s complaint happened during the August 2020 Sturgis motorcycle rally after his friend rode a vintage police motorcycle through a neighborhood while operating the siren. The officers subsequently arrested Mr. Foxhoven for obstructing a police officer after responding to the incident. This matter is before the Court on the defendant’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim as well as several of the plaintiff's motions. 1. Background Mr. Foxhoven, a citizen of Oregon, was visiting Sturgis, South Dakota for its annual motorcycle rally. Officers Stacy and Pate responded to the residence where Mr. Foxhoven was staying after receiving a report of a motorcycle driving at a high rate of □ speed and operating a loud police-like siren. Mr. Foxhoven described the event similarly. According to Mr. Foxhoven, his friend Mr. Benjamin Hudack rode his vintage police

motorcycle down the road in front of the house and turned the siren on for “literally seconds.” Shortly thereafter, the Officers followed Mr. Hudack home and into the house’s garage to conduct a traffic stop. Mr. Lyndon Lach questioned why the Officers were present and was arrested for obstructing a police officer.! Mr. Foxhoven took issue with the Officers arresting his friend. He presented a copy of either the United States Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, or both, to the officer conducting the arrest and voiced his complaints. Shortly thereafter, the Officers arrested Mr. Foxhoven for obstructing a police officer.” The Officers also arrested Mr. Hudack for eluding, reckless driving, use of a siren, and failure to obey police signals. . Mr. Foxhoven alleges generally that the officers had no right to be on private property. He claims that the Officers lied in their police reports to justify the several arrests and failed to provide their body camera video footage that would prove his allegations. The State dropped Mr. Foxhoven’s charge for obstructing an officer on April 28, 2021, and Mr. Foxhoven filed this lawsuit on August 8, 2022. The defendants filed their motion to dismiss, (Doc. 6 & 7), on September 14, 2022, and supported it with Officer Pate’s affidavit of probable cause for a warrantless" arrest and records of the three arrests from the South Dakota Unified Judicial System. (Doc. 8). Mr. Foxhoven replied on September 30 opposing the motion to dismiss, (Doc. 10), and filed a motion to compel production of certain recordings and documents. (Doc. 11). The defendants responded to the motion to compel, (Doc. 12), and Mr. Foxhoven’s opposition tothe motion to dismiss on October 14. (Doc. 13). Mr. Foxhoven filed another response to the defendant’s motion to dismiss on November 4, (Doc. 14), filed a motion for judicial notice of certain facts on November 14, (Doc. 15), and again filed a

The Court takes judicial notice of the records of South Dakota’s Unified Judicial System. The State charged Mr. Lach in 46CRI20-000704. * The State charged Mr. Foxhoven in 46CRI20-000714. 3 The State charged Mr. Hudack in 46CRI20-000710. 2

motion for judicial notice on November 28.* (Doc. 16). The defendants responded to the motions for judicial notice on December 5. (Doc. 17). Mr. Foxhoven submitted a filing with the Court on December 12 containing various recordings taken by witness bystanders and his descriptions of each video. (Doc. 18). Mr. Foxhoven filed another motion to compel on December 12, (Doc. 19), and filed seven affidavits from alleged witnesses of the series of arrests. (Docs. 20-26). Defendants responded to those two filings on January 3, 2023. (Docs. 28 & 29). Mr. Foxhoven filed another motion for judicial notice on January 9 containing apparent body camera video footage. (Doc. 30). Mr. Foxhoven filed a memorandum in support of his opposition to the motion to dismiss on February 27.° (Doc. 31). II. Standard of Review At the motion to dismiss phase, the Court.assumes that all facts in the complaint are true and construes any reasonable inferences from those facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Jacobson Warehouse Co. v. Schnuck Mkts., Inc., 13 F 4th 659, 668 (8th Cir. 2021); Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). The complaint must contain “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face” to survive the motion to dismiss. C.N. v. Willmar Pub. Sch., Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 347, 591 F.3d 624, 630 (8th Cir. 2010) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). The factual allegations “must be enough to raise a right to relief above

Styled as a motion for judicial notice, this filing appears to allege several new claims against the defendants. “Although pro se pleadings are to be construed liberally, pro se litigants are not excused from failing to comply with substantive and procedural law.” Burgs v. Sissel, 745 F.2d 526, 528 (8th Cir. 1984). There is no indication that Mr. Foxhoven was attempting to amend his complaint in this filing. The Court will not consider any additional claims within this document. > This filing is not timely nor proper under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Mr. Foxhoven already submitted multiple responsive filings to the defendant’s motion to dismiss. The rules allow 21 days to file a responsive brief and do not permit multiple consecutive filings. See FED. R. CIv. P. 12(a), 15(a). Even if the Court did consider this filing, it contains no new legal arguments and appears to raise several new avenues of relief not contemplated by Mr. Foxhoven’s original, unamended complaint. 3

the speculative level.” In re Pre-Filled Propane Tank Antitrust Litig., 860 F.3d 1059, 1063 (8th Cir. 2017) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555). In addition, the factual contents of the complaint must “allow[] the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Pietoso, Inc. v. Rep. Servs., Inc., 4 F.4th 620, 622 (8th Cir. 2021) (quoting Glick v. W. Power Sports, Inc., 944 F.3d 714, 717 (8th Cir. 2019)). Nevertheless, courts “are not bound to accept as true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555). When assessing the merits of a complaint challenged under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a court should “begin by identifying pleadings that, because they are no more than conclusions, are not entitled to the assumption of truth.” McDonough v. Anoka Cty., 799 F.3d 931, 945-46 (8th Cir. 2015) (citing Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679). The court is required to give the plaintiff's pro se complaint liberal construction and identify any discernable cognizable claim. Solomon v. Petray, 795 F.3d 777, 787 (8th Cir. 2015). A court has the duty to examine a pro se complaint “to determine if the allegations provide for relief on any possible theory.” Williams v.

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Foxhoven v. Stacy, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/foxhoven-v-stacy-sdd-2023.