Okolo v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville

892 F. Supp. 2d 931, 2012 WL 3779475, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123412
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Tennessee
DecidedAugust 30, 2012
DocketNo. 3:11-cv-00731
StatusPublished
Cited by79 cases

This text of 892 F. Supp. 2d 931 (Okolo v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Okolo v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville, 892 F. Supp. 2d 931, 2012 WL 3779475, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123412 (M.D. Tenn. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

KEVIN H. SHARP, District Judge.

Pending before the Court are multiple motions to dismiss filed by Defendants Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee (“Metro”) and Officer Michael Gallagher in this civil rights suit arising under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the laws of the state of Tennessee. Metro filed a Motion to Strike Plaintiffs Second Amended Complaint (Docket Entry No. 66) and, alternatively, a motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Second Amended Complaint (Docket Entry No. 67). Plaintiff [936]*936Oranefo Okolo (“Plaintiff’) filed responses. (Docket Entry Nos. 70 & 71.) Also pending before the Court is Metro’s Motion to Dismiss the First Amended Complaint (Docket Entry No. 52), which was fully briefed by the parties. (See Docket Entry Nos. 56 & 60.) For the reasons stated herein, the Court will deny Metro’s motion to strike and will grant Metro’s motion to dismiss the Second Amended Complaint. The Court will deny as moot the motion to dismiss the prior complaint.

Gallagher filed a Motion to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint (Docket Entry No. 64), to which Plaintiff filed a response (Docket Entry No. 69). Also pending before the Court is Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss the First Amended Complaint (Docket Entry No. 49), to which Plaintiff filed a response (Docket Entry No. 55). For the reasons stated herein, the Court will grant in part and deny in part Gallagher’s Motion to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint, and will deny as moot the motion to dismiss the prior complaint. Because the Court will rule on Gallagher’s motion to dismiss, it will deny as moot his motion to stay discovery pending resolution of his motion to dismiss (Docket Entry No. 41).

Gallagher and Metro (collectively, “Defendants”) filed a Motion for Relief Under Local Rule 83.08 (Docket Entry No. 47). The Court will deny the motion but reminds all attorneys of their duty to refrain from making public statements that pose a serious and immediate threat of interfering with a fair trial. (Local Rule 83.03.)

FACTS

Plaintiff is the president of Foundation Community Health Center (“Foundation”), a non-profit mental healthcare provider in Nashville.1 Gallagher, an officer with the Metro Nashville Police Department, came to Foundation on November 15, 2010, seeking to arrest someone who was alleged to have been a patient there. Gallagher did not have his identification card or an arrest warrant. Citing healthcare privacy laws, Plaintiff refused to provide Gallagher with any information about Foundation’s patients. Gallagher became upset and threatened to arrest Plaintiff before calling his sergeant, who told him to leave the premises because he did not have an identification card.

Gallagher returned the next day, November 16, 2010. This time, Gallagher brought his identification card, but he had no arrest warrant or other official process. Again citing healthcare privacy laws, Plaintiff refused to provide Gallagher with any information about Foundation’s patients. In response, Gallagher pulled Plaintiff out of his chair, shoved him against the wall, and arrested him, stating no reason for the arrest. Gallagher then handcuffed Plaintiff and said he would take Plaintiff to police headquarters for booking. Plaintiff told Gallagher that the handcuffs were hurting him, but Gallagher refused to remove or loosen them.

Another Foundation employee called 911, and Officer Archuletta of the Metro Nashville Police Department responded. Gallagher told Archuletta that Plaintiff was obstructing justice. Before Archuletta arrived, Gallagher made comments to Plaintiff, such as “I would like to see a big black man in a nice suit run down the streets in handcuffs,” “I don’t care what [the] HIPAA law says,” and “I will make sure you are locked up for a long time.”

Over an hour later, a Metro Nashville Police Department sergeant arrived and instructed Gallagher to remove Plaintiffs handcuffs. The sergeant met privately [937]*937with Plaintiff and explained that Gallagher overreached and had no justifiable reason to place handcuffs on Plaintiff. Criminal charges were never filed against Plaintiff.

Plaintiff alleges that, prior to the events of November 16, Metro was aware that its officers were making illegal arrests and, in response, had ordered new training on what constitutes an illegal arrest. At the time of the arrest, Metro fostered an atmosphere of overreaching officers by rewarding proactive work, such as the service of warrants. Metro’s written “Obstruction of Rights” policy was so poorly drafted that officers such as Gallagher received no meaningful guidance from it. Metro did not provide training on HIPAA or other laws that protect the confidentiality and privacy of mental health patients, nor did it provide Gallagher with training and instruction on the crime of resisting arrest.

LEGAL STANDARD

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require Plaintiff to provide “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). In deciding a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), the court will “construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, accept its allegations as true, and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff.” Directv, Inc. v. Treesh, 487 F.3d 471, 476 (6th Cir.2007); Inge v. Rock Fin. Corp., 281 F.3d 613, 619 (6th Cir.2002). The court must assume that all of the factual allegations are true, even if they are doubtful in fact. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). In contrast, legal conclusions are not entitled to the assumption of truth. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009).

Generally, a complaint does not need to contain “detailed factual allegations,” although its allegations “must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. “Blanket assertions” or a “formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action” are not sufficient. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 556 n. 3,127 S.Ct. 1955. In other words, “a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955). The factual allegations must “allow[ ] the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. at 1949-50. This is a “context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense.” Id. at 1950. “In the context of Section 1983 municipal liability, courts have interpreted Iqbal’s standards strictly.” Hutchison v. Metro. Gov’t, 685 F.Supp.2d 747, 751 (M.D.Tenn.2010); Maness v. Boston Scientific, 751 F.Supp.2d 962, 966 (E.D.Tenn.2010) (explaining that Twombly applies to state-law claims in federal cases).

ANALYSIS

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Bluebook (online)
892 F. Supp. 2d 931, 2012 WL 3779475, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123412, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/okolo-v-metropolitan-government-of-nashville-tnmd-2012.