Hilton v. Mish

224 F. Supp. 3d 595, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171901, 2016 WL 7208986
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Michigan
DecidedDecember 13, 2016
DocketCase No. 1:16-CV-702
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 224 F. Supp. 3d 595 (Hilton v. Mish) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hilton v. Mish, 224 F. Supp. 3d 595, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171901, 2016 WL 7208986 (W.D. Mich. 2016).

Opinion

[598]*598OPINION

GORDON J. QUIST, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Plaintiffs, Elise Hilton and Ed Hilton, individually, and as next friends of “EH,” a mentally disabled adult, filed a complaint against Defendants, Catherine Mish and the City of Grand Rapids, alleging claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for retaliation based on the Hiltons’ and EH’s exercise of their First Amendment rights to redress of grievances, freedom of speech, and association, and a state-law claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. All of the Hiltons’ claims arise out of an email that Mish—the former City Attorney for the City of Grand Rapids—sent from her work email at the City to an individual concerning the Hiltons and EH’s involvement in an incident that formed the basis of a separate, previous lawsuit filed in this district against the City and parties.

The City and Mish have moved to dismiss the Hiltons’ claims for failure to state a claim. The Hiltons filed a response, and the Court heard oral argument on December 1, 2016.

For the reasons set forth below, the Court will grant Defendants’ motions and dismiss the complaint with prejudice.

I. Background

A. The Parties

The Hiltons are husband and wife, and EH is their developmentally-disabled adult daughter. The Hiltons are EH’s guardians. At the time of the incidents set forth in the complaint, EH was a minor. (ECF No. 1 at Page ID.2.) Also during the relevant period, Elise Hilton was employed by the Acton Institute, a political think tank and advocacy group located in the City. Among other things, the Acton Institute presents seminars that concern religion and economics and related topics. (Id. at Pa-geID.5.) In 2014, the Acton Institute applied to the City for real and personal property tax exemptions. Although the City initially denied the request, the parties eventually entered into a consent judgment. (Id.)

The City is a Michigan municipal corporation and, during the relevant period of time, Mish was the City Attorney. Mish’s duties as City Attorney included:

• Acting as the legal advisor for the City and its various bodies;
• Litigating cases for the City and its bodies;
• Reviewing all contracts, bonds and other instruments for the City and its bodies;
• Issuing legal opinions when requested to do so by any of the City’s bodies and officials;
• Maintaining copies of all franchises granted the City and all contracts and agreements entered into by the City; and
• Investigating citizen complaints concerning, among other things, misapplication of the City’s funds.

(ECF No. 9-3 at Page ID.87-88 (City Charter).)

B. The Prior Lawsuit

On January 16, 2012, EH was a minor and a student at Hope Academy in Grand Rapids. That day, EH was disruptive at school and was told to leave school. After EH left the school, a stranger induced EH to enter his house. Over the next several days, EH was repeatedly raped by the stranger and other men. At some point the abductors took EH’s clothes. EH eventually escaped in a bed sheet and was later found in an abandoned building wrapped in the sheet. EH was then taken to the YWCA, and later to a hospital. (Id. at PageID.4.) Several days later, a detective [599]*599with the Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) interviewed EH and concluded that her story did not make sense. The detective thought that EH would not make a good witness. The GRPD declined to investigate further, and the prosecutor declined to file charges against anyone. Although the GRPD knew the name of one of the abductors and his address, the GRPD did not interview him for ten months. (Id.)

On July 8, 2013, the Hiltons, individually and on behalf of EH, filed a complaint in the Western District of Michigan against the GRPD and others. The Hiltons alleged a gross negligence/failure to train claim against the GRPD. The case, captioned Elise Hilton et al. v. Grand Rapids Police Department, et al., No. 1:13-CV-727, was assigned to Judge Paul Maloney. The Hiltons subsequently filed a second amended complaint against the City, two GRPD employees, and others, in which they alleged various constitutional violations against the City and the GRPD employees. On March 24, 2016, Judge Maloney granted the City’s and the GRPD employees’ motion to dismiss.

C. Mish’s Email

On March 5, 2015, Donald Zerial, a Grand Rapids lawyer who supported the Acton Institute in its tax dispute with the City, sent an email to Julie Hoogland, the Editor of the Grand Rapids Press, stating:

I think it would be a worth-while investment for the Grand Rapids Press and Mlive to make on behalf of the West Michigan community to have a reporter attending these meetings and do a Press review for all of your faithful readers.

(ECF No. 10-7 at PageID.315.) Zerial attached an advertisement for an upcoming March 25, 2015 lecture at the Acton Institute. (Id. at Page ID316-17.) The advertisement also promoted other upcoming Acton Institute events, including an April 29 event, “The Scarlet Cord—The Evils of Sex Trafficking with Pam Alderman and Elise Hilton.” (Id. at PageID.317-18.) Mish was apparently copied on the email at her City email address. About an hour later, Mish responded to Zerial:

Perhaps you should ask the Acton Institute why they think they should be exempt from paying real property taxes? And why are they suing the City of Grand Rapids to demand their valuable government handout of that real property tax exemption?
For an institute that proclaims the below political message, it seems to me that they are entirely hypocritical in throwing an absolute hissy fit because they didn’t get the government handout that they believe they are “entitled” to.

(ECF No. 11-1 at PageID.449.) A few hours later, Mish sent Zerial another email:

I find this particularly ironic.... if you scroll down on the attachment you sent me, and get to upcoming events, you see this entry:
April 29—Acton Art Series—The Scarlet Cord—The Evils of Sex Trafficking with Pam Alderman and Elise Hilton
Elise Hilton is a staff member of Acton Institute here in GR. Her daughter, at the age of 15-16 or thereabouts, ran away from home (ran away from her “alternative” high school in downtown GR). She wandered the streets of downtown Grand Rapids, acting as a prostitute in exchange for heroin, cocaine, alcohol and so forth. Her father talked to her on her cell phone and asked where she was / asked her to come home. She refused to come home and refused to tell her father where she was. The police finally found her after many days of her escapades in trading sex for drugs.
[600]*600And the result? Ms Elise Hilton the Acton hypocrite dares to sue the City of Grand Rapids blaming the GRPD for the fact that her daughter ran away from home to become a crack and heroin whore. Currently pending litigation. Case No. 1:13-CV-00727, assigned to the Hon.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
224 F. Supp. 3d 595, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 171901, 2016 WL 7208986, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hilton-v-mish-miwd-2016.