Gray v. Devils Lake Pub. Sch.

316 F. Supp. 3d 1092
CourtUnited States District Court
DecidedMay 22, 2018
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 17–52–WGY
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 316 F. Supp. 3d 1092 (Gray v. Devils Lake Pub. Sch.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States District Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gray v. Devils Lake Pub. Sch., 316 F. Supp. 3d 1092 (usdistct 2018).

Opinion

*1098Id. at ¶ 75. The Order Granting Permanent Injunction refers to Gray as "Respondent" and enjoins her as follows:

The injunction would prohibit the Respondent from having any contact whatsoever with any current or former residents of Harmony House, whether that contact be direct, or indirectly through a third person. Further, contact is to include personal contact, electronic contact by such methods as email, texting, cell phones, or by letter or other method of communication. Respondent is further enjoined and prohibited from discussing any incidents or situations involving Harmony House, its residents, employees, or former residents or employees. The injunction should further provide that a violation of the terms and provisions of the injunction will subject the Respondent to be held in contempt of court, and subject to the ramifications caused by a violation of an order of the court.

Id.; Compl., Ex. A at ¶ 4.

Following the injunction, Gray filed a complaint with the North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights asserting claims of retaliation. Compl. ¶ 81. After those proceedings concluded, Gray brought the current action. Id.

II. ANALYSIS

The State Defendants argue that the Court lacks jurisdiction to hear Gray's claims under the Rooker - Feldman doctrine, the All Writs Act, and the Declaratory Judgment Act. Defs.' Mem. 3-7, 11-16. The State Defendants also argue that Gray failed to state a claim for which relief can be granted under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Id. at 9-11. Finally, the State Defendants argue that the Court should abstain under Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 91 S.Ct. 746, 27 L.Ed.2d 669 (1971). Id. at 16-21.

The same standards are applied to a Rule 12(b)(1) and a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. Satz v. ITT Financial Corp., 619 F.2d 738, 742 (8th Cir. 1980). When ruling on a motion to dismiss, the Court must accept the allegations in the complaint as true. Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-56, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). Allegations are viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Braden v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 588 F.3d 585, 595 (8th Cir. 2009). The Court will grant a motion to dismiss if the complaint fails to contain "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955. Rule 12(b)(1) requires dismissal if the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the claims. Wheeler v. St. Louis Southwestern Ry. Co., 90 F.3d 327, 329 (8th Cir. 1996). When deciding a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), "the complaint should be read as a whole, not parsed piece by piece to determine whether each allegation, in isolation, is plausible." Braden, 588 F.3d at 594.

A. Rooker - Feldman Doctrine

Gray argues that the Court has federal jurisdiction to hear the case and that the Rooker - Feldman doctrine does not bar the Court from hearing her claims because she is pursuing independent retaliation claims. Pl.'s Opp'n 18-20. She claims that she is not seeking to re-litigate the merits of the injunction issued by the RCDC. Id. at 20.

"Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction ... [and] possess only that power authorized by Constitution and statute which is not to be expanded by judicial decree." Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America, 511 U.S. 375, 377, 114 S.Ct. 1673, 128 L.Ed.2d 391 (1994) (citations omitted). Gray bears the burden of establishing that this Court has jurisdiction to hear this case. Id. According to the Supreme Court, lower federal courts lack jurisdiction over any direct challenges to *1099any claims or final state court decisions that are "inextricably intertwined" with those decisions. Robins v. Ritchie, 631 F.3d 919, 925 (8th Cir. 2011) (quoting District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462

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Bluebook (online)
316 F. Supp. 3d 1092, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gray-v-devils-lake-pub-sch-usdistct-2018.