Kokinda v. Foster

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. West Virginia
DecidedFebruary 16, 2022
Docket3:21-cv-00154
StatusUnknown

This text of Kokinda v. Foster (Kokinda v. Foster) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kokinda v. Foster, (N.D.W. Va. 2022).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA

MARTINSBURG DIVISION

JASON STEVEN KOKINDA,

Plaintiff,

v. CIVIL CASE NO.: 3:21-cv-00154

ELKINS POLICE DEPT.; CPRL. T. H. FOSTER; PTLM. K. A. SHIFLETT; CPRL. MILLER S. P.; PTLM. BOATWRIGHT; DUSM MICHAEL BARRON; S.I. JOHN HARE; ANDY BALINT; MARK HORNAK; CYNTHIA REED EDDY; TOM CORBETT; CHRISTOPHER MAHONEY; TAMMY SUMMERFIELD; KIMBERLY BUTCHER; BILLY BUTCHER; DAVID PARKER; ROSEANNA BELL; LECKTA POLING; JANE DOE #1; BILL POWELL; STEPHEN WARNER; SARAH WAGNER; BRANDON FLOWER; MICHAEL ALOI; THOMAS S. KLEECH; JOSH SHAPIRO; WILLIAM R. STOYCOS; CITY OF ELKINS, W.V.; MICHAEL PARKER; JAN E. DUBOIS,

Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Pending is Plaintiff’s Complaint filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, (ECF No. 1), and his Motion for Leave to File Excess Pages. (ECF No. 2). In view of the number of defendants and claims contained in the Complaint, the undersigned finds good cause to GRANT the Motion for Leave to File Excess Pages. (ECF No. 2). Thus, the Complaint is considered in its entirety as filed. The undersigned United States Magistrate Judge has conducted an initial screening of the Complaint as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. Title 28 U.S.C. § 1915A provides as follows: (a) Screening.--The court shall review, before docketing, if feasible or, in any event, as soon as practicable after docketing, a complaint in a civil action in which a prisoner seeks redress from a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity.

(b) Grounds for dismissal.--On review, the court shall identify cognizable claims or dismiss the complaint, or any portion of the complaint, if the complaint— (1) is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted; or (2) seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief.

(c) Definition.--As used in this section, the term “prisoner” means any person incarcerated or detained in any facility who is accused of, convicted of, sentenced for, or adjudicated delinquent for, violations of criminal law or the terms and conditions of parole, probation, pretrial release, or diversionary program.

A “frivolous” case has been defined as one which is based upon an indisputably meritless legal theory, Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 744 (1967), or lacks “an arguable basis either in law or fact.” Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989); Denton v. Hernandez, 504 U.S. 25 (1992). Likewise, a complaint fails to state a compensable claim, and therefore should be dismissed, when viewing the well-pleaded factual allegations in the complaint as true and in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, the complaint does not contain “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atlantic Corp v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). The Supreme Court of the United States further clarified the “plausibility” standard in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678-79 (2009), stating that the Court is required to accept as true the factual allegations asserted in the complaint, but is not required to accept the legitimacy of legal conclusions that are “couched as ... factual allegation[s].” Id. at 678 (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp, 550 U.S. at 554). “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Id. “[W]here the well-pleaded facts do not permit the court to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct, the complaint has alleged—but it has not ‘show[n]’—‘that the pleader is entitled to relief.’” Id. Although pro se complaints, such as the one filed in this case, must be liberally

construed to allow the development of potentially meritorious claims, the court may not rewrite the pleading to include claims that were never presented, Parker v. Champion, 148 F.3d 1219, 1222 (10th Cir. 1998), develop the plaintiff’s legal theories for him, Small v. Endicott, 998 F.2d 411, 417-18 (7th Cir. 1993), or “conjure up questions never squarely presented” to the court. Beaudett v. City of Hampton, 775 F.2d 1274, 1278 (4th Cir. 1985). At the same time, to achieve justice, the court may allow a pro se plaintiff the opportunity to amend his complaint in order to correct deficiencies in the pleading. Gordon v. Leeke, 574 F.2d 1147, 1151 (4th Cir. 1978). Based upon the undersigned’s review of the Complaint, Plaintiff has failed to state a plausible cause of action against any of the named defendants. The Complaint consists largely of conclusory statements that lack any supporting facts. Moreover, Plaintiff fails

to provide any factual context for the allegations, rendering them incomprehensible at times. As explained below, Plaintiff must amend his Complaint to correct its deficiencies stated below, or the Complaint will be subject to dismissal for failure to state a claim. 1. Plaintiff states that the Elkins Police Department executes an unconstitutional custom of “stacking up phony charges by applying elements in willy- nilly, absurd, or hypertechnical manner, and fabricating misleading affidavits to falsely arrest.” (ECF No. 1 at 2, 22-23). To state a plausible claim against the Elkins Police Department, Plaintiff must show that the Department causes constitutional deprivation: (1) through an express policy, such as a written ordinance or regulation; (2) through the decisions of a person with final policymaking authority; (3) through an omission, such as a failure to properly train officers, that “manifest [s] deliberate indifference to the rights of citizens”; or (4) through a practice that is so “persistent and widespread” as to constitute a “custom or usage with the force of law.”

Lytle v. Doyle, 326 F.3d 463, 471 (4th Cir. 2003) (citation omitted). After showing the existence of an unconstitutional custom or policy, Plaintiff must demonstrate that the custom or policy resulted in a violation of his constitutional rights. Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs. Of the City of N.Y., 436 U.S. 658, 690 (1978). The only support provided by Plaintiff for his claim against the Department is an allegation that an unidentified man in some unrelated case was charged by the Department with theft of electricity for plugging in his cellphone. (ECF No. 1 at 23). Even if true, one instance of a so-called “unreasonable” charge does not demonstrate the existence of a policy, regulation, ordinance, decision, omission, or widespread and persistent practice necessary to support Plaintiff’s claim.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Anders v. California
386 U.S. 738 (Supreme Court, 1967)
Imbler v. Pachtman
424 U.S. 409 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs.
436 U.S. 658 (Supreme Court, 1978)
Neitzke v. Williams
490 U.S. 319 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Mireles v. Waco
502 U.S. 9 (Supreme Court, 1991)
Denton v. Hernandez
504 U.S. 25 (Supreme Court, 1992)
Buckley v. Fitzsimmons
509 U.S. 259 (Supreme Court, 1993)
Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Lyles v. Sparks
79 F.3d 372 (Fourth Circuit, 1996)
Alvin Parker v. Ron Champion
148 F.3d 1219 (Tenth Circuit, 1998)
Bennett v. Gravelle
323 F. Supp. 203 (D. Maryland, 1971)
Lytle v. Doyle
326 F.3d 463 (Fourth Circuit, 2003)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Kokinda v. Foster, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kokinda-v-foster-wvnd-2022.