Godfrey v. Upland Borough

209 F. Supp. 3d 804, 2016 WL 5298844, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 184415
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedSeptember 13, 2016
DocketNo. CIV. A. 15-6477
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 209 F. Supp. 3d 804 (Godfrey v. Upland Borough) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Godfrey v. Upland Borough, 209 F. Supp. 3d 804, 2016 WL 5298844, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 184415 (E.D. Pa. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER

CYNTHIA M. RUFE, Judge.

Before the Court are Plaintiffs’ Motion for Leave to File a Second Amended Complaint, and Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss. For the reasons that follow, the motions are granted in part and denied in part.

I. Background

Plaintiffs Denise M. Marusco Godfrey and Byron J. Godfrey allege that Defendants Catania Engineering Associates, Inc. (“Catania”), Delaware County Regional Water Control Authority (“DELCORA”), and Upland Borough (“Upland”) conspired to obtain an illegal easement and install water control infrastructure on Plaintiffs’ property, causing severe damage to the premises.1 Plaintiffs also allege that Defendants engaged in fraud to conceal the cause of the damage, and retaliated against Plaintiffs when Plaintiffs discovered the easement and sought redress.2 Plaintiffs bring five claims based on these allegations: (1) First Amendment retaliation against Upland;3 (2) fraud against all [807]*807Defendants; (3) malicious prosecution against Upland; (4) violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause against all Defendants; and (5) a citizen suit under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) against DELCORA.4

Plaintiffs first filed suit on December 7, 2015, bringing claims for First Amendment retaliation, fraud, and malicious prosecution.5 This Complaint was apparently never served on any Defendant. Instead, Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint on January 28, 2016.6 Defendants all moved separately to dismiss the Complaint.7 Before those motions were resolved, Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Leave to File a Second Amended Complaint on April 26, 2016, seeking leave to add claims for violations of Due Process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, and a claim under the CWA.8 All Defendants opposed the motion.9

Defendants incorporated their previous Motions to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint into their Responses to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Leave to File a Second Amended Complaint either expressly or by reference.10 Because the standards for evaluating motions to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) and whether amendment would be futile under Rule 15(a) are essentially the same, the Court discusses both sets of motions together.11

II. Motions to Dismiss Under Rule 12(b)(1)

All Defendants move to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(1), arguing that the Court lacks jurisdiction over Plaintiffs’ fraud claim.12 However, Plaintiffs’ fraud claim arises out of .the same common nucleus of operative facts as their federal law claims—Defendants’ alleged conspiracy to install, maintain, and cover up unlawful water control infrastructure—and supplemental federal jurisdiction is therefore appropriate.13

III. Motions to Dismiss Under Rules 12(b)(4) and 12(b)(5)

All Defendants move to dismiss under Rules 12(b)(4) and 12(b)(5), arguing that they received insufficient process and service of process. While Plaintiffs never served the original Complaint on any Defendant, they served the Amended Complaint, filed January 28, 2016, on all Defendants. The Court need not resolve whether service of the Amended Complaint was proper; instead, to ensure that [808]*808there is no question of proper service, the Court will direct Plaintiffs to serve both the original and the Second Amended Complaint upon Defendants unless Defendants agree to waive service.14

IV. Statute of Limitations and Statute of Repose

Catania and Upland move to dismiss Plaintiffs’ fraud claim,15 and DEL-CORA and Upland argue that Plaintiffs’ Motion to Amend their Complaint to add a Due Process claim is futile,16 because such claims are barred by Pennsylvania’s two-year statute of limitations.17 Defendants argue that the statute of limitations began to run on December 5, 2013, when . Plaintiffs allege that they discovered the easement on their property.18 December 5, 2015—two years from that date—fell on a Saturday, and Plaintiffs thus satisfied the applicable two-year statute of limitations by filing suit on the next business day, Monday, December 7, 2015.19 Plaintiffs’ Due Process claim also is not time-barred because it arises out of the same set of occurrences set out in Plaintiffs’ original Complaint, and therefore relates back to Plaintiffs’ original, timely Complaint.20

Catania also argues that Plaintiffs’ fraud claim is barred by Pennsylvania’s statute of repose.21 However, that statute applies only to claims “against any person lawfully performing or furnishing” certain improvements to real property.22 Here, because Plaintiffs allege that the infrastructure on their property was predicated on a fraudulent easement, and thus was not “lawfully” constructed, the statute of repose does not require dismissal of Plaintiffs’ claim.23

V. Remaining Arguments Under Rule 12(b)(6)

Defendants’ other arguments under Rule 12(b)(6) as to why Plaintiffs have failed to plead their causes of action are largely unpersuasive. Plaintiffs adequately plead a claim for First Amendment retaliation against Upland by alleging that Upland forced them to defend against a meritless citation in retaliation for statements made at a public meeting concerning the damage to their property.24 Similarly, Plaintiffs adequate[809]*809ly allege that Catania and DELCORA participated in a conspiracy to defraud Plaintiffs, and sufficiently identify the particulars of the scheme—including specific false statements, the individuals who made them, and the dates they were made—to satisfy Rule 9(b).25 On the other hand, Plaintiffs’ claims for fraud and malicious prosecution will be dismissed without prejudice against Upland because, as a municipality, Upland may not be held liable for intentional torts.26

The Court also concludes that Plaintiffs’ Second Amended Complaint states a Due Process claim against all Defendants. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants conspired under color of state law to procure an illegal easement on Plaintiffs’ property, which allowed Defendants to drain municipal sewage and storm water onto Plaintiffs’ property for more than 20 years, destroying its value and resulting in its condemnation without a hearing or court order.27 Catania argues that it does not qualify as a “state actor” and therefore cannot be held liable under § 1983.28 However, Plaintiffs allege that Catania acted as an agent for DELCORA,29 participated in a scheme with DELCORA and Upland to deprive Plaintiffs of their property,30 and was referred business as a result.31 That is sufficient to state a claim.32 The Court therefore grants Plaintiffs leave to amend their Complaint to add a Due Process claim against all Defendants.33

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Bluebook (online)
209 F. Supp. 3d 804, 2016 WL 5298844, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 184415, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/godfrey-v-upland-borough-paed-2016.