Perez v. School Board

917 F. Supp. 2d 1261, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8676, 2013 WL 203564
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedJanuary 17, 2013
DocketNo. 12-23460-CIV
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 917 F. Supp. 2d 1261 (Perez v. School Board) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Perez v. School Board, 917 F. Supp. 2d 1261, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8676, 2013 WL 203564 (S.D. Fla. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER ON MOTIONS TO DISMISS

URSULA UNGARO, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE is before the Court on motions to dismiss filed by Defendants [1263]*1263City of West Miami (D.E. 8), City of Miami (D.E. 16), the School Board of MiamiDade Comity and Officer Angel Rodriguez (D.E. 20), Officer Edgar Diaz (D.E. 21), Officers Walter Lewis and Jay Desai (D.E. 22), and Officer Marco A. Caceres (D.E. 40).

THE COURT has considered the motions and the pertinent portions of the record and is otherwise fully advised of the premises. For the reasons detailed below, the motions to dismiss are granted. The Plaintiff is granted leave to amend the complaint within 10 days of the entry of this Order.

I. The Complaint

Plaintiffs eighteen-count complaint seeks damages, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state tort law, for injuries that law enforcement officers inflicted on the Plaintiff during a traffic incident and Plaintiffs subsequent arrest. The instant motions challenge the sufficiency of the complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). On a Rule 12(h)(6) motion to dismiss, the Court considers the complaint in its entirety, including documents incorporated into the complaint by reference. Tellabs, Inc. v. Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd., 551 U.S. 308, 322, 127 S.Ct. 2499, 168 L.Ed.2d 179 (2007). In this case, the complaint alleges the following facts:

Plaintiff rear-ended a light pole with his car in the La Palma Restaurant parking lot on or about 5:20 A.M., October 18, 2009. (D.E. 1-1 at 6.) As he exited his car to examine the damage. Defendant Rodriguez, a School Board police officer, ordered Plaintiff to stop, move away from the motor vehicle, and produce a driver’s licence and registration. Id. Officer Rodriguez then took the car keys from Plaintiff and ordered Plaintiff to put his hands behind his back to prepare to be arrested. Id. Plaintiff acted as instructed and did not resist. Id. Defendant Diaz, an officer of the West Miami Police Department, arrived at the scene to assist Officer Rodriguez. Id. at 7. In the course of arresting Plaintiff, Officers Rodriguez and Diaz pushed Plaintiff to the ground. Id. At no time did Plaintiff resist arrest or provoke the officers into using force. Id. While Plaintiff lay face down on the ground. Officers Rodriguez and Diaz, acting together, shocked Plaintiff with a Taser. Id.

Officers Rodriguez and Diaz then sought the assistance of the City of Miami Police Department, which dispatched Defendant Officers Caceres, Lewis, and Desai to the scene. Id. In the presence of all of these Defendants, Plaintiff was repeatedly struck by one or more of the police officers. Id. The City of Miami police officers then arrested Plaintiff for the felony of battery on a police officer and for driving under the influence. Id. at 8. The police transported Plaintiff to jail, where he remained overnight. Id. The State Attorney’s office refused to charge Plaintiff with battery on a police officer, and ultimately dismissed the charge of driving under the influence. Id. Plaintiff was not convicted of any charges as a result of this incident. Id.

II. The Legal Standard

Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a party may move to dismiss a complaint on the basis that it fails to state a claim upon which relief can he granted. The Court takes the factual allegations in the complaint as true and construes them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Edwards v. Prime Inc., 602 F.3d 1276, 1291 (11th Cir.2010). But merely conclusory allegations will not suffice; there must be some factual allegations that make the alleged right to relief more than simply speculative. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-56, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). “[T]he complaint must contain sufficient [1264]*1264factual 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) (internal quotations omitted). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw a reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937.

Prior to Twombly and Iqbal, the Eleventh Circuit imposed a heightened pleading standard on civil-rights complaints that implicated qualified immunity. See GJR Investments, Inc. v. Cnty. of Escambia, Fla., 132 F.3d 1359, 1367 (11th Cir.1998) (explaining that when disposing of motion to dismiss § 1983 claim on qualified immunity grounds, court is guided by heightened pleading requirement), abrogated by Randall v. Scott, 610 F.3d 701, 716 (11th Cir.2010). But the Eleventh Circuit has since dispensed with that requirement, and held that civil-rights complaints, like all others governed by Rule 8, must comply with the plausibility standard of Twombly and Iqbal. See Randall, 610 F.3d at 716 (11th Cir.2010.) (holding that “§ 1983 cases involving qualified immunity shall now be held to comply with the pleading standards described in Iqbal”).

It remains the case, however, that when qualified immunity is raised on a motion to dismiss, as it is here, the facts of the complaint must set forth the violation of clearly-established constitutional right. If the complaint fails in this regard, the motion to dismiss will be granted. See Williams v. Ala. State Univ., 102 F.3d 1179, 1182 (11th Cir.1997) (“The question of qualified immunity should be resolved in the defendant’s favor on a motion to dismiss if the plaintiff fails to allege the violation of a clearly established constitutional right.”).

III. Municipal Liability Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Counts 1-3)

Counts 1-3 allege civil-rights violations against the School Board, West Miami, and Miami (the “municipal Defendants”). These counts fail to state a claim because they fail to identify a municipal custom or policy that caused Plaintiffs injury. Although it appears from the facts of this complaint that Plaintiff likely will be unable to make a municipal liability claim, Plaintiff may include these claims in an amended complaint if he is able to allege sufficient factual matter to support municipal liability.

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

Related

Prospero v. Sullivan
S.D. Georgia, 2023
Bright v. City of Tampa
M.D. Florida, 2020
Pestana v. Miami-Dade Cnty. Bd. of Comm'rs
282 F. Supp. 3d 1284 (S.D. Florida, 2017)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
917 F. Supp. 2d 1261, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8676, 2013 WL 203564, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/perez-v-school-board-flsd-2013.