Mahoney v. Holder

62 F. Supp. 3d 1215, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 149088, 2014 WL 5343733
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Washington
DecidedOctober 17, 2014
DocketCase No. C14-794 MJP
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 62 F. Supp. 3d 1215 (Mahoney v. Holder) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mahoney v. Holder, 62 F. Supp. 3d 1215, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 149088, 2014 WL 5343733 (W.D. Wash. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER ON MOTIONS TO DISMISS

MARSHA J. PECHMAN, Chief Judge.

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on Defendant Merrick Bobb’s Motion to Dismiss on quasi-judicial immunity grounds (Dkt. No. 19) and Defendants City of Seattle, Mayor Ed Murray, and City Attorney Peter Holmes’s Motion to Dis-; miss for failure to state a claim (Dkt. No. 25). Certain represented Plaintiffs re-spondedlo the Motions, while the remaining pro se Plaintiffs failed to respond. Having reviewed the motions, the Represented Plaintiffs’ Responses (Dkt.Nos.36, 59), Defendant Bobb’s Reply (Dkt. No. 54), the City Defendants’ Reply (Dkt. No. 62), and all related papers, the Court hereby GRANTS both Motions and DISMISSES the case with prejudice.

Summary

In this case, certain officers with the Seattle Police Department are challenging a Use of Force Policy adopted in response to an earlier lawsuit filed against the City of Seattle by the United States Department of Justice. In the earlier lawsuit, the Department of Justice claimed that the Seattle Police Department engaged in a pattern or practice of excessive use of force. As a condition of settlement, the City of Seattle agreed to create new policies aimed at preventing this pattern from repeating. One of the key players in creating the Use of Force Policy was Merrick Bobb, a “Monitor” appointed as an agent of the court to assist in the policy-drafting process, among other tasks. Although many groups gave feedback as the Use of [1218]*1218Force Policy was being developed, individual officers of the Seattle Police Department were not a party to the lawsuit or the ensuing negotiations.

The officers now argue the new Use of Force Policy violates their constitutional rights by constraining their options in defending themselves against potentially dangerous suspects. They also argue that the way the Use of Force Policy was drafted violates the Constitution. They ask the Court to stop the implementation of the Use of Force Policy, to declare the Use of Force Policy unconstitutional, and to award them money damages.

As the Court explains in greater detail below, .the officers’ constitutional arguments are not supported by the text of the Constitution or ease law interpreting the Constitution. In addition, the officers cannot sue the court-appointed Monitor Merrick Bobb because he has “absolute immunity” from lawsuits relating to his actions assisting in the resolution of the earlier lawsuit. This immunity is known as “quasi-judicial” because it is derived from the immunity given to judges, and Merrick Bobb is entitled to it both because he was appointed as an agent of a judge and be-' cause he was engaged in activities that parallel those of a judge. Because the officers’ case is not supported by the Constitution or case law, the Court dismisses the lawsuit.

Background

The Represented Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs representing themselves are police officers employed by the Seattle Police Department (“SPD”) who have filed suit to challenge the Use of Force Policy (“Policy”) adopted by the City of Seattle (“City”) pursuant to a consent decree and settlement with the United States Department of Justice (“DOJ”). (Dkt. No. 13 at 3-4; see Case No. C12-1282-JLR, United States v. City of Seattle.) In the first lawsuit, the Department of Justice claimed that after “an extensive investigation of the Seattle Police Department [...], the United States [ ] determined that SPD engages in patterns or practices of using unlawful force that systematically deny the people of Seattle their constitutional rights.” (Case No. C12-1282-JLR, Compl. & DOJ Report, Dkt. No. 1 at 2, cited in Am. Compl., Dkt. No. 13 at 3.) The settlement agreement and its central components, including the use of force policy it pledged to produce, had the “goal of addressing the policies, procedures, training, and oversight that the United States alleges contributed to a pattern or practice of constitutional violations.” (See Case No. C12-1282-JLR, Joint Motion and Proposed Order for Approval of Settlement Agreement, Dkt. No. 3 at 2-3, cited in Am. Compl., Dkt. No. 13 at 3-4; see also Settlement Agreement, Ryan-Lang Deck, Dkt. No. 12-1 at 17-18, cited in Am. Compl. Dkt. No. 13 at 3-4; id., Memorandum Submitting Use of Force- Policy, Dkt. No. 12-2 at 57-58, cited in Am. Compl., Dkt. No. 13 at 4.) The agreement included a plan for a court-appointed Monitor. (Dkt. No. 12-1 at 52-70; Dkt. No. 12-2 at 5-6.) According to the court-appointed Monitor when he submitted the Policy to the court, the Policy was “calibrated to bring about Constitutional policing without sacrificing the safety and well-being of police officers or the general public.” (Dkt. No. 12-2 at 58.)

Plaintiffs now allege the Policy is too solicitous of the rights of those being policed and insufficiently concerned with the rights of those employed as police officers. (See Am. Compl., Dkt. No. 13 at 2.) Plaintiffs bring their claims under § 1983 and Bivens, alleging the creation and implementation of the Policy violates their own Second and Fourth Amendment rights, their “right of self-defense as embedded in [1219]*1219the Fourth Amendment,” the Equal Protection Clause, and substantive and procedural due process. (Id. at 22-28.) They seek a declaration that the Policy infringes on their constitutional rights as well as injunctive relief and damages. (Id. at 28-29.)

In addition to the City, Mayor Ed Murray, and City Attorney Peter Holmes, Plaintiffs filed suit against federal actors involved in the settlement agreement and formulation of the Policy. One of those Defendants is Merrick Bobb, the court-appointed Monitor in the underlying litigation. Plaintiffs allege that Mr. Bobb is liable for the constitutional errors they identify in the Policy because he allegedly seized control over the drafting process and refused input from the Seattle Police Department and its officers. (See Dkt. No. 13 at 5.)

The City Defendants now move to dismiss the Amended Complaint, arguing Plaintiffs’ allegations fail to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). (Dkt. No. 25.) Defendant Bobb also moves to dismiss on the grounds of quasi-judicial immunity. (Dkt. No. 19.)

Analysis

I. Legal Standards

A. Motion to Dismiss

To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6); Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). Courts follow a two-step approach when deciding whether a complaint survives a 12(b)(6) motion. Id. at 678-79, 129 S.Ct. 1937. First, “a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in a complaint” unless the allegations are legal conclusions. Id. Second, the Court must decide whether the claim for relief is plausible — a context-specific task. Id.

B. Evidence and Related Proceedings at the Motion to Dismiss Stage

Federal Rule of Evidence

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
62 F. Supp. 3d 1215, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 149088, 2014 WL 5343733, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mahoney-v-holder-wawd-2014.