Lewis v. Government of the District of Columbia

195 F. Supp. 3d 53, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82931
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedJune 27, 2016
DocketCivil Action No. 2015-0352
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 195 F. Supp. 3d 53 (Lewis v. Government of the District of Columbia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lewis v. Government of the District of Columbia, 195 F. Supp. 3d 53, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82931 (D.D.C. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

REGGIE B. WALTON, United States District Judge

Kayla Dionne Lewis and Felton Hill, the named plaintiffs in this civil suit, bring this putative class action against the defendant, the District of Columbia (“District” or “defendant”), pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2012), alleging constitutional violations arising from their arrests and subsequent detentions by the District in 2014. See generally Amended Complaint [] (“Am. Compl.”). Currently before the Court is the defendant’s motion to dismiss all of the plaintiffs’ claims. Defendant District of Columbia’s Motion to Dismiss Amended *56 Complaint (“Def.’s Mot.”) at 1. After carefully considering the defendant’s motion to dismiss, and all relevant memoranda of law and exhibits attached thereto, 1 the Court concludes for the reasons that follow that it must grant in part and deny in part the defendant’s motion.

I. BACKGROUND

The plaintiffs assert the following in their Amended Complaint. Plaintiff Hill was detained on Tuesday, July 8, 2014, “at about 1:10 [A.M.,] when he was arrested by the [Metropolitan Police Department] for suspicion of DUI (driving while impaired).” Am. Compl. ¶ 56. Plaintiff Hill was taken before the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (“Superior Court”) for his presentment and a detention hearing later that same day, M. ¶ 57, supported by the submission of a Gerstein affidavit 2 setting forth the factual basis for his arrest, id. ¶ 58. During that hearing, the Magistrate Judge noted that the affidavit’s narrative at times identified plaintiff Hill as “Mr. Ramsey.” Def.’s Mem., Exhibit (“Ex.”) H (Transcript of July 8, 2014 Superior Court of the District of Columbia Proceedings in the Matter of District of Columbia v. Hill (“Hill Transcript”)) at 4. 3 Based on these inconsistencies, the Magistrate Judge continued the hearing until the next day so that the District could perfect the affidavit. Id. at 5; Am. Compl. ¶ 61. The District then transported plaintiff Hill to the District of Columbia Jail, where he was subjected to a strip search as part of the intake process. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 62-63. The next day, Wednesday, July 9, 2014, the District returned plaintiff Hill to the Superior Court, icl ¶ 65, and the Magistrate Judge concluded that the District “did not perfect the [G]erstein” affidavit and “ordered [plaintiff] Hill released,” id. ¶¶ 66-67.

On Saturday, November 1, 2014, the Metropolitan Police Department arrested plaintiff Lewis “for suspicion of DUI (driving while impaired).” Id ¶43. She was brought before the Superior Court for her presentment and a detention hearing on Monday, November 3, 2014, id. ¶ 44, supported by the submission of a Gerstein affidavit setting forth the factual basis for her arrest, id. ¶ 45. The Magistrate Judge who presided over the hearing noted that the Gerstein affidavit referred to plaintiff Lewis in some places as “Ms. Jones,” and in other places as “Mr. Jones.” Def.’s Mem., Ex. G (Nov. 3, 2014 Superior Court for the District of Columbia Proceedings in the Matter of District of Columbia v. Lewis (“Lewis Transcript”)) at 3. As a result of these defects, the Magistrate Judge continued the detention hearing until Tuesday, November 4, 2014, to permit the District an opportunity to perfect the *57 Gerstein affidavit. Id at 4; Am. Compl. ¶48 (“[T]he judicial officer ordered [the plaintiff] held until the next day ... for a ‘24 Hour Gerstein perfection’ to give the District an opportunity to ‘perfect the Ger-stein.’ ” (no citations in original)). Plaintiff Lewis was then transported to the District of Columbia Jail, where she was subjected to a strip search as part of the intake process. Am. Compl. ¶ 50. The following day, the District returned plaintiff Lewis to the Superior Court, and the Magistrate Judge concluded that the “government did not perfect the [Gjerstein” affidavit and' released plaintiff Lewis from custody. Id. ¶¶ 51-54.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the- claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). So to survive a motion to dismiss for “failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted,” Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), the complaint “must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face,”’ Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). The “claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955); see also Kowal v. MCI Commc’ns Corp., 16 F.3d 1271, 1276 (D.C.Cir.1994) (plaintiff is entitled to “the benefit of all inferences that can be derived from the facts alleged”). Although the Court must accept the facts pleaded as true, legal allegations devoid of factual support are not entitled to this assumption. See, e.g., Kowal, 16 F.3d at 1276. Along with the allegations made within the four cprners of the complaint, the court can also consider “any documents either attached to or incorporated in the complaint and matters of which [it] may take judicial notice.” EEOC v. St. Francis Xavier Parochial Sch., 117 F.3d 621, 624 (D.C.Cir.1997).

III. ANALYSIS

A claim brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 “provides a remedy against ‘any person’ who, under color of state law, deprives another of rights protected by the Constitution.”' Collins v. City of Harker Heights, 503 U.S. 115, 120, 112 S.Ct. 1061, 117 L.Ed.2d 261 (1992). 4 “Although a municipality[ 5 ] is a ‘person’ subject to suit under § 1983 for constitutional violations, it ‘cannot be held liable solely because it employs a tortfeasor—or, in other words, a municipality cannot be held liable under § 1983 on a respondeat superior theory.’ ” Singletary v. District of Columbia, 766 F.3d 66, 72 (D.C.Cir.2014) (citing Monell v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 691, 98 S.Ct, 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978)). As this Circuit has explained,

in considering whether a plaintiff has stated a claim for municipal liability, the district court must conduct a two-step *58 inquiry.

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Bluebook (online)
195 F. Supp. 3d 53, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82931, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lewis-v-government-of-the-district-of-columbia-dcd-2016.