Garabis v. Unknown Officers of the Metropolitan Police

820 F. Supp. 2d 32, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123178
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedOctober 25, 2011
DocketCivil Action No. 2010-2150
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 820 F. Supp. 2d 32 (Garabis v. Unknown Officers of the Metropolitan Police) 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
Garabis v. Unknown Officers of the Metropolitan Police, 820 F. Supp. 2d 32, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123178 (D.D.C. 2011).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

AMY BERMAN JACKSON, District Judge.

Plaintiff Elena M. Garabis brings this action against defendants Unknown Officer(s) of the Metropolitan Police and the District of Columbia (“D.C.” or “the District”), alleging one claim of assault and battery and two claims of excessive force and unreasonable seizure arising under the Fourth Amendment. The District filed a partial motion to dismiss the Fourth Amendment claims under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. For the reasons stated below, the Court will grant defendant’s motion to dismiss with respect to Counts II and III against the District of Columbia without prejudice.

BACKGROUND

On December 18, 2009, plaintiff attended a holiday reception at a restaurant with several of her co-workers, where she consumed “a few drinks.” Compl. ¶ 16-17. According to plaintiff, she recalls leaving the restaurant at approximately 5:00 p.m. in a sober state. Id. ¶¶ 17-18. Plaintiff alleges that at the restaurant she was a victim of a “date rape” drug, which caused her to lose motor skills and experience memory loss within minutes of leaving the reception. Id. ¶¶ 18-19. Because of her unusual and incoherent behavior on the street, plaintiff was arrested for public intoxication and disorderly conduct and booked in the Second District at approximately 6:00 p.m. Id. ¶¶ 19, 21. The arresting officer described plaintiff as “nonviolent and without any distinguishing marks or scars” and noted that she could not keep her balance. Id. ¶20. At approximately 7:00 p.m., plaintiff was transferred to a hospital to “treat a laceration on her nose” and was “discharged to police custody roughly an hour later.” Id. ¶ 21. The cause of the laceration was not reported. Id.

Plaintiff claims to have regained consciousness in a jail cell at approximately midnight and felt excruciating and severe pain. Id. ¶¶ 11, 22. Plaintiff alleges that the “sudden onset of pain after memory loss is consistent with types of ‘date rape’ drugs, which can numb and inhibit the body’s pain receptors while ... unconscious.” Id. ¶22. According to plaintiff, an officer noticed “the loss of motor skills in her hands, which had swelled and turned a deep red color” and determined that she required medical treatment. Id. ¶ 23. At the hospital, medical staff recognized plaintiff and noted that the injuries to her hands did not exist on her previous visit. Id. ¶¶ 24-25.

After her second hospital visit, plaintiff maintains that she “experienced vivid but incomplete flash-backs” from the prior evening, including “her hand being slammed by a police vehicle’s door, laying on the ground while topless and surrounded by police officers, and being aggressively manhandled.” Id. ¶ 26. As a result of experiencing chest pain, plaintiff discovered multiple marks on her chest that she believes were caused by recent Taser shots consistent with the Taser guns she believes are used by the police department. Id. ¶ 31. Plaintiff asserts that her extremities were “lacerated, swollen and blud *34 geoned,” her “arms showed deep bruises consistent with ... ■ manhandling,” her nose and eye were “engorged and bruised,” and her toenails were torn. Id. ¶¶ 28-30. Plaintiff alleges that her doctor noted the injuries “appeared to have been sustained by a beating, rather than from a less nefarious cause, like a bad fall,” id. ¶ 33, but there are no reports of officers using force on plaintiff, id. ¶ 32.

Because of these alleged injuries, plaintiff states that she continues to experience intense pain and difficulty accomplishing daily tasks. Id. ¶¶ 34-35. Plaintiff notes that she could not use her upper extremities without sharp shooting pain for the first three months after the incident.” Id. ¶ 34. She alleges that she is still undergoing rehabilitative surgeries, procedures, and intensive drug therapy. Id.

Plaintiff filed this lawsuit on December 17, 2010, alleging three claims: Count I for assault and battery; Count II for excessive force; and Count III for unreasonable seizure. 1 The District moves to dismiss Counts II and III, contending that plaintiff has failed to state a claim sufficient to hold the District liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 on the theory of municipal liability.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

“To survive a [Rule 12(b)(6) ] motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (internal quotation marks omitted); accord Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). In Iqbal, the Supreme Court reiterated the two principles underlying its decision in Tivombly: “First, the tenet that a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in a complaint is inapplicable to legál conclusions.” Ashcroft, 129 S.Ct. at 1949. And “[sjecond, only a complaint that states a plausible claim for relief survives a motion to dismiss.” Id. at 1950.

A claim is facially plausible when the pleaded factual content “allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. at 1949. “The plausibility standard is not akin to a ‘probability requirement,’ but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Id. A pleading must offer more than “labels and conclusions” or a “formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action,” id., quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, and “[tjhreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice,” id.

When considering a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the complaint is construed liberally in plaintiffs favor, and the Court should grant plaintiff “the benefit of all inferences that can be derived from the facts alleged.” Kowal v. MCI Commc’ns Corp., 16 F.3d 1271, 1276 (D.C.Cir.1994). Nevertheless, the Court need not accept inferences drawn by the plaintiff if those inferences are' unsupported by facts alleged in the complaint, nor must the Court accept plaintiffs legal conclusions. See id.; Browning v. Clinton, 292 F.3d 235, 242 (D.C.Cir.2002).

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Bluebook (online)
820 F. Supp. 2d 32, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123178, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/garabis-v-unknown-officers-of-the-metropolitan-police-dcd-2011.