Loeffler v. City of Anoka

79 F. Supp. 3d 986, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3097, 2015 WL 144804
CourtDistrict Court, D. Minnesota
DecidedJanuary 12, 2015
DocketCivil No. 13-cv-2060 (MJD/TNL)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 79 F. Supp. 3d 986 (Loeffler v. City of Anoka) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Loeffler v. City of Anoka, 79 F. Supp. 3d 986, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3097, 2015 WL 144804 (mnd 2015).

Opinion

[990]*990ORDER

MICHAEL J. DAVIS, Chief Judge.

Based upon the Report and Recommendation by United States Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung dated December 19, 2014 [Docket No. 126], along with all the files and records, and no objections to said Recommendation having been filed, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1. Defendant City of Saint Paul’s Motions for Judgment on the Pleadings, Summary Judgment and Motion to Sever [Docket No. 79] is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART AS MOOT.
2. Defendant City of Minneapolis’ Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, Summary Judgment and Motion to Sever [Docket No. 87] is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART AS MOOT.

REPORT & RECOMMENDATION

TONY N. LEUNG, United States Magistrate Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter is before the Court, United States Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung, on alternative motions for judgment on the pleadings, summary judgment, and motions to sever brought by Defendants City of St. Paul (“St. Paul”) (ECF No. 79) and City of Minneapolis (“Minneapolis”) (ECF No. 87) (collectively, “Cities”). These motions have been referred to the undersigned magistrate judge for a report and recommendation to the district court, the Honorable Michael J. Davis, Chief District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 72.2(b). (ECF Nos. 85, 92.) ■

A hearing was held. Sonia L. Miller-Van Oort appeared on behalf of Plaintiff. (ECF No. 101.) Portia Hampton-Flowers appeared on behalf of St. Paul. (Id.) Timothy S. Skarda appeared on behalf of Minneapolis. (Id.)

Based upon the record, memoranda, and the proceedings herein, IT IS HEREBY RECOMMENDED that Defendant City of Saint Paul’s Motions for Judgment on the Pleadings, Summary Judgment and Motion to Sever (ECF No. 79) be GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART AS MOOT, and Defendant City of Minneapolis’s Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, Summary Judgment and Motion to Sever (ECF No. 87) be GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART AS MOOT.

II. BACKGROUND1

Plaintiff brings claims under the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (“DPPA”), 18 U.S.C. § 2721 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. § 1983; and common law based on accesses of her personal and private driver’s license information. (Compl. ¶¶ 6, 179-205, 224-77, ECF No. 1.) This action is one of several actions filed in this District alleging unlawful access of private data. See, e.g., Kiminski v. Hunt, File No. 13-cv-185 (JNE/TNL) (consolidated cases); Kost v. Hunt, File No. 13-cv-583 (JNE/TNL); [991]*991Potocnik v. Anoka Cnty., File No. 13-cv-1103 (DSD/TNL) (Ltr. to Hon. Michael J. Davis, Mar. 25, 2014, listing pending DPPA cases (ECF No. 98)).

A. The Database & Records Maintained

On June 24, 2014, this Court issued a report and recommendation (“R & R”) regarding several dispositive motions filed by other defendants in this matter. (ECF No. 102.) The Court incorporates by reference Section II of the R & R addressing the nature of the database containing the information at issue and the records maintained therein; the extramarital affair of Plaintiffs then-husband and events leading to Plaintiffs discovery of the alleged impermissible accesses of her information; and the overall history of this litigation.

B. Accesses of Plaintiffs Information

Plaintiff alleges that “[officers employed by, licensed by, or otherwise accessing through the City of St. Paul imper-missibly accessed [her plrivate [d]ata four times,” and that “[ojffieers employed by, licensed by, or otherwise accessing through the City of Minneapolis impermis-sibly accessed [her p]rivate [d]ata • nine times.” (Compl. ¶¶ 81, 91.)

C. Litigation

Plaintiffs claims against the Cities arise under the DPPA, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and common law. In Count I, Plaintiff alleges the Cities violated the DPPA. (Id. ¶¶ 179-205.) In Count II, Plaintiff alleges, via § 1983, that individual employees of the Cities violated her rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. (Id. ¶¶ 206-23.) In Count III, Plaintiff alleges, via § 1983, that the Cities were aware of the widespread access of private data for personal use; such use was against regulations promulgated by the Cities; and the Cities’ pervasive failure to take action to stop or prevent such use (including the failure to properly train, monitor, supervise, and properly discipline) amounted to deliberate indifference to Plaintiffs constitutional rights. (Id. ¶¶ 224-46.) Finally, in Count VI, Plaintiff alleges the Cities invaded her privacy under common law. (Id. ¶¶ 272-77.)

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

The Cities have moved for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(c). The granting of a 12(c) motion is appropriate when the movant has shown that “no material issue of fact remains to be resolved and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Poehl v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 528 F.3d 1093, 1096 (8th Cir.2008) (quotation omitted). A motion for judgment on the pleadings is treated under the same standard as a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6). Bass, 998 F.Supp.2d at 818-19; accord Mitchell v. Aitkin Cnty., No. 13-cv-2167 (JNE/FLN), 2014 WL 835129, at *3 (D.Minn. Mar. 4, 2014). “To withstand a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, a complaint must contain sufficient factual allegations to . ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Smithrud v. City of St. Paul, 746 F.3d 391, 397 (8th Cir.2014) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 547, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). “[A]lthough a complaint need not contain ‘detailed factual allegations,’ it must contain facts with enough specificity ‘to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.’ ” United States ex rel. Raynor v. Nat’l Rural Utils. Coop. Fin., Corp., 690 F.3d 951, 955 (8th Cir.2012) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955); see also Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (“[T]he pleading standard Rule 8 an[992]

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79 F. Supp. 3d 986, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3097, 2015 WL 144804, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/loeffler-v-city-of-anoka-mnd-2015.