Parker v. Austin

105 F. Supp. 3d 592, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55123, 2015 WL 1925505
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Virginia
DecidedApril 28, 2015
DocketCivil Action No. 5:14cv00035
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 105 F. Supp. 3d 592 (Parker v. Austin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Parker v. Austin, 105 F. Supp. 3d 592, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55123, 2015 WL 1925505 (W.D. Va. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

MICHAEL F. ÜRBANSKI, District Judge.

• In this case, plaintiffs filed suit against defendants pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and state law claims for false imprisonment and negligence .as a result of the removal of two children from their parents’ home by the local department of social services. Defendants have all filed motions to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the- reasons that follow, the defendants’ motions to ■ dismiss will be granted.

I.

Plaintiffs allege Michael Austin (“Austin”), a Clarke County Department of Social Services case worker, began investigating plaintiffs' in relation to truancy charges filed against the mother of plaintiffs JF and- KF,1 in late 2011 to early 2012. Plaintiffs moved to Shenandoah County in 2012 and soon thereafter sought medical treatment at Rockingham Memorial Hospital. During that visit;- Dr. Kent Folsom called Austin about the children, and Austin in turn contacted the Shenandoah Department of Social Services. On July 25, 20Í2, defendants Brittany Utter-back, Jennifer Wimer, and Amanda Judd (“the DSS defendants”), employees of the [596]*596Shenandoah County Department of Social Services, removed JF and KF from their home, and took the children to the emergency room at Shenandoah Memorial Hospital. The hospital diagnosed the children with an infection.

The DSS defendants sought an emergency removal order from the Shenandoah County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court on July 27 which was granted based on an affidavit and sworn testimony provided to the Juvenile and Domestic Relations (“J & D”) judge. The J & D judge granted temporary custody of JF and KF to Shenandoah DSS, and the children were placed in foster care at the Henry & William Evans Home for Children (“the Evans Home”). Defendants Laura Regan, Mike and Winona Powers, and Brent and Missy Rudolph (“the Evans Home defendants”) are employees of the Evans Home.

The J & D court held another hearing on the emergency removal on August 1 and continued the matter until August 29. At the August 29 hearing, the J & D court made no adjudication as to abuse or neglect and returned the children to their parents. The court dismissed the DSS petition on November 7, 2012. Sometime between the August 29 hearing and the November 7 hearing, Shenandoah DSS also found the allegations of abuse and neglect as to the parents to be unfounded.

Plaintiffs filed a six-count complaint asserting violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments for the initial seizure of JF and KF against Austin and the DSS defendants, violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments for the continued detention of JF and KF against all of the defendants, a wrongful imprisonment claim against all of the defendants, and a negligence claim against the Evans Home defendants. The defendants have moved to dismiss almost all of the counts in the complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) with the exception of Count Six against the Evans Home defendants.

II.

To survive a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter which, accepted as true, “state[s] 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)). Under the plausibility standard, a complaint must contain “more than labels and conclusions” or a “formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. This plausibility standard requires a plaintiff to demonstrate more than “a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937. When ruling on a motion to dismiss, the court must “accept the well-pled allegations of the complaint as true” and “construe the facts and reasonable inferences derived therefrom in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Ibarra v. United States, 120 F.3d 472, 474 (4th Cir.1997).2

While the court must accept as true all well-pleaded factual allegations, the same is not true for legal conclusions. “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937; see also Wag More Dogs, LLC v. Cozart, 680 F.3d 359, 365 (4th Cir.2012) (“Although we are constrained to take the facts in the light most [597]*597favorable to the plaintiff, we need not accept legal conclusions- couched as facts or unwarranted inferences, unreasonable conclusions, or arguments.”) (internal quotation marks omitted). Thus, in order to survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the complaint must present sufficient nonconcluso-ry factual allegations to support a reasonable inference that the plaintiff is entitled to relief and the defendant-is liable for the unlawful act or omission alleged. See Francis v. Giacomelli, 588 F.3d 186, 196-197 (4th Cir.2009) (citing Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678-79, 129 S.Ct. 1937, and Gooden v. Howard Cnty., Md., 954 F.2d 960, 969-70 (4th Cir.1992) (en banc)). Determining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for relief is “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.'

Virginia Code § 63.2-1517 permits a physician, a child-protective service worker, or a police officer to take custody of a child, for up to 72 hours, prior to obtaining a court order and without prior approval of the child’s parent or guardian. Emergency removals are the exception and only proper when all of the following conditions are met:

1. the circumstances of the child are such that continuing in his place of residence or in the care or custody of the parent ... presents an imminent danger to the child’s life or health to the extent that severe or irremediable injury would be likely to result or if evidence of abuse is perishable or subject to deterioration before a hearing can be held;
2. A court order is not immediately obtainable;
3. The court has set up procedures for placing such children;
4. Following taking the child into custody, the parents or guardians are -notified as soon as practicable....;
5. A report is made to the local department; and

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Shamburg v. Ayvaz Pizza, LLC
W.D. Virginia, 2025
Stoots v. Sparti
W.D. Virginia, 2023
Parkins v. McMaster
D. South Carolina, 2023
Marcantonio v. Dudzinski
155 F. Supp. 3d 619 (W.D. Virginia, 2015)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
105 F. Supp. 3d 592, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55123, 2015 WL 1925505, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parker-v-austin-vawd-2015.