McPhearson v. Anderson

873 F. Supp. 2d 753, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93094, 2012 WL 2673154
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedJuly 5, 2012
DocketAction No. 2:12cv244
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 873 F. Supp. 2d 753 (McPhearson v. Anderson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McPhearson v. Anderson, 873 F. Supp. 2d 753, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93094, 2012 WL 2673154 (E.D. Va. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

REBECCA BEACH SMITH, District Judge.

This matter comes before the court on A.L. Anderson’s Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) (“Motion to Dismiss”), filed on June 5, 2012.1 Plaintiff, Antonio Demond McPhearson, originally filed his Complaint in the Circuit Court of the City of Norfolk, Virginia, on March 26, 2012. Plaintiff filed suit against defendant A.L. Anderson and codefendant M.D. Andersen2 in both their individual and official capacities. See Compl. ¶¶ 2-3. Codefendant M.D. Andersen removed the action to this court on April 30, 2012, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1446. Defendant A.L. Anderson consented to removal on May 1, 2012. Plaintiff has not responded to the Motion to Dismiss, and the deadline for response has passed; this matter is ripe for review.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This suit arises out of an unfortunate case of inaccurate identification and mistaken arrest. Plaintiff asserts that on or about November 24, 2009, Donaesha Carter was allegedly assaulted by her father, Antonio Roshawn McPherson, who is not related to the instant plaintiff, in Norfolk, Virginia. Id. ¶4. According to plaintiff, Barbara Carter, the alleged victim’s mother, called the Norfolk Police Department, and defendant A.L. Anderson was the responding officer. Id. ¶ 6. After Barbara Carter provided the name and description of the alleged assailant, Antonio Roshawn McPherson, plaintiff alleges that defendant A.L. Anderson “began typing information in to the department’s computer system and selected the information for Plaintiff [Antonio Demond McPhearson.]” Id. ¶¶ 7-9. Plaintiff was subsequently arrested by codefendant M.D. Andersen, after he stopped a car in which plaintiff was a passenger and ran plaintiffs information, which matched an outstanding warrant. See id. ¶¶ 16-18. Plaintiff alleges that the charges were eventually dismissed in his favor. Id. ¶29.

As a result of these events, plaintiff filed suit in the Circuit Court of the City of Norfolk, Virginia, which suit was subsequently removed to this court.3 The Complaint asserts three causes of action against defendant A.L. Anderson, in both his official and individual capacities: Count 1 alleges violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1983; Count 2 alleges a Virginia common law claim of false imprisonment; and Count 3 alleges a Virginia common law claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress. Id. ¶¶ 31-53. Defendant A.L. Anderson now moves this court to dismiss the Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), with prejudice, and to award him judgment. Plaintiff has not responded to the Motion to Dismiss.

II. ANALYSIS

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) provides, in pertinent part, “[a] pleading [756]*756that states a claim for relief must contain ... a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” The complaint need not have detailed factual allegations, but Rule 8 “requires more than labels and conclusions!.] [A] formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct; 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). “To survive a motion to dismiss, a 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 Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955). Facial plausibility means that a “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). It is, therefore, not enough for a plaintiff to allege facts demonstrating a “sheer possibility” or “mere! ] consistency]” with unlawful conduct. Id. (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955).

The Supreme Court, in Twombly and Iqbal, offered guidance to courts evaluating a motion to dismiss:

In keeping with these principles a court considering a motion to dismiss can choose to begin by identifying pleadings that, because they are no more than conclusions, .are not entitled to the assumption of truth. While legal conclusions can provide the framework of a complaint, they must be supported by factual allegations. When there are well-pleaded factual allegations, a court should assume their veracity and then determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief.

Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937. That is, the court accepts facts alleged in the complaint as true and views those facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Venkatraman v. REI Sys., 417 F.3d 418, 420 (4th Cir.2005). Overall, “[d]etermining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for relief will ... be a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937.

A. Violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1983

Plaintiff alleges violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in relation to his arrest, arguing that defendant A.L. Anderson deprived him of his Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Compl. ¶ 32. Specifically, plaintiff argues he was deprived of “a) the right to be free from unreasonable seizures; b) the right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law; and c) the right to be free from false arrest.” Id. Defendant A.L. Anderson argues that the court should dismiss this claim against him because the facts alleged do “not give rise to a constitutional violation, so that Count 1 fails to state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.” Mot. Dismiss ¶ 9.

1. Individual Capacity

“Actions under 42 U.S.C. 1983 based upon claims of false arrest or false imprisonment are properly analyzed as unreasonable seizures under the Fourth Amendment.” Day v. Milam, No. 1:11cv97, 2011 WL 5190809, at *4, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125334, at *11 (E.D.Va. Oct. 28, 2011). “The Fourth Amendment prohibits law enforcement officers from making unreasonable seizures, and seizure of an individual effected without probable cause is unreasonable.” Brooks v. City of Winston-Salem,

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Bluebook (online)
873 F. Supp. 2d 753, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 93094, 2012 WL 2673154, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcphearson-v-anderson-vaed-2012.