Hill v. City of Atlanta

91 F.R.D. 528, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14521
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedSeptember 8, 1981
DocketCiv. A. No. C81-513A
StatusPublished

This text of 91 F.R.D. 528 (Hill v. City of Atlanta) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hill v. City of Atlanta, 91 F.R.D. 528, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14521 (N.D. Ga. 1981).

Opinion

ORDER

MOYE, Chief Judge.

Two motions to dismiss have been filed in the above-styled matter, one by defendants the City of Atlanta, Lee P. Brown, George Napper, and Mayor Maynard Jackson, and another by defendants Jones and Weber. The motion by defendants Jones and Weber was based on insufficient service of process and is now moot as process has since been re-served and no renewal of the motion to dismiss by defendants Jones and Weber has been filed; consequently the motion by Jones and Weber is DENIED as moot. The motion to dismiss by the remaining defendants, named above, remains for consideration by the Court on its merits.

Defendants the City of Atlanta, Lee P. Brown, George Napper, and Maynard Jackson (hereinafter “the City defendants”) have moved to dismiss plaintiff’s claims against them for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.

The complaint alleges that plaintiff Hill, a black female resident of East Point, Georgia, was a tenant of the Desert Village Apartments in East Point, Georgia on or about April 11, 1980, the same date on which defendant Jones, a sergeant in the City of Atlanta Police Department, applied to the Municipal Court of Atlanta for a search warrant for plaintiff’s premises. Defendant Jones’ affidavit in support of said warrant allegedly swore that one “Slim” was using said premises for the purposes of selling, storing, and concealing cocaine and marijuana and that said information was supplied to him by a confidential and reliable informant. It is alleged that the Municipal Court issued the warrant sought by Jones and that Jones failed to make any further attempts to verify the authenticity of the information received from the informant. Plaintiff alleges further that the Municipal Court of Atlanta was without jurisdiction to issue a search warrant for plaintiff’s residence in the City of East Point under the terms of the Charter of the City of Atlanta, Section 4-102.

Under the scenario painted by plaintiff’s complaint, defendant Jones and Weber, another Atlanta police officer, entered plaintiff’s house pursuant to the warrant, breaking down her front door, scattering her personal belongings, and accusing her of engaging in some form of illegal activity. During the search, plaintiff protested that the officers were searching the wrong apartment, a fact the officers now admit as true. No claim for damages has been made against either officer in the complaint, however, as the complaint alleges that the alleged violations of plaintiff’s rights were all caused by the City defendants. See Complaint, ¶¶ 32 and 38. The plaintiff’s allegation in paragraph 26 of the complaint that defendants Jones and Weber were either intentionally or grossly negligent is insufficient to state a claim against them in view of the fact that the two paragraphs of the complaint naming allegedly liable parties who caused plaintiff harm, ¶¶ 32 and 38, name only the City defendants. The prayer for relief against all defendants fails to cure this defect, as a prayer for relief does not constitute adequate grounds for stating a cause of action. The plaintiff may amend her complaint within ten (10) days of the [530]*530filing of this order to specify the legal theory upon which she seeks judgment against defendants Jones and Weber.

Plaintiff’s claims against the City defendants whose motion to dismiss the Court now considers, are as follows:

27.
That the actions of Defendants Jones and Weber resulted from and were taken pursuant to a de facto policy of the City of Atlanta, which is implemented by police officers of said city, to summarily apply for and execute search warrants without adequate investigation as to probable cause for issuance of said warrants.
28.
The existence of said de facto policy described above has been known to defendants Napper, Director of the Atlanta Bureau of Police Services; Brown, Commissioner of the Atlanta Department of Public Safety; and Mayor Jackson.
29.
Despite their knowledge of said illegal policies and practices, Defendant Napper, Brown and Jackson of said Department, Bureau, and City as a matter of policy have not taken steps to terminate such policies and practices, have not disciplined or otherwise properly supervised the individual officers who engaged in said practices, have not effectively trained police officers with regard to the proper constitutional and statutory limits on the exercise of their authority and have instead sanctioned the policy and practices described above through deliberate indifference to the effect of the said policy and practices upon the constitutional rights of the residents of the City of Atlanta.
30.
That the acts described above constitute a violation of Plaintiff’s rights secured by the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States and 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
31.
As a direct and proximate result of the acts described above Plaintiff has suffered invasion of her privacy, been subjected to public humiliation and grievous mental suffering and nightmares.
32.
That the Defendants City of Atlanta, Jackson, Brown and Napper having caused the violation of Plaintiff’s rights, are liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments to plaintiff for her injuries.
COUNT TWO
33.
Plaintiff realleges and specifically incorporates herein Paragraphs 1 through 32 inclusive of Count One.
34.
That during the course of the above alleged conduct, Plaintiff was restrained and deprived of her personal liberty and freedom.
35.
That said conduct constituted an arrest and seizure of Plaintiff.
36.
That said arrest was made without legal authority, warranty or probable cause and in violation of Plaintiff’s rights under the Fourth Amendment.
37.
That as a direct and proximate result of the acts described above Plaintiff has suffered invasion of her privacy, been subjected to public humiliation and grievous mental suffering and nightmares.
38.
That Defendants City of Atlanta, Jackson, Brown and Napper, having caused [531]*531the violation of Plaintiff’s rights, is liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to Plaintiff for her injuries.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
91 F.R.D. 528, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14521, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hill-v-city-of-atlanta-gand-1981.