Petty v. Board of County Commissioners

168 F.R.D. 46, 36 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1017, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9614, 1996 WL 376426
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedJune 7, 1996
DocketNo. 96-2027-JWL
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 168 F.R.D. 46 (Petty v. Board of County Commissioners) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Petty v. Board of County Commissioners, 168 F.R.D. 46, 36 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1017, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9614, 1996 WL 376426 (D. Kan. 1996).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

LUNGSTRUM, District Judge.

This case comes before the court on the plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment concerning her standing to bring this lawsuit (Doc # 27) and on the plaintiff’s motion to reconsider the court’s February 29, 1996, order denying class certification (Doc # 21) as well as the defendants’ motions for summary judgment also concerning the plaintiff’s standing to bring this lawsuit (Does #30 & #33) and defendants Wyandotte County, Kansas, Michael S. Dailey, John Doe, and Jane Doe’s motion to strike the plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment (Doc. # 31). For the reasons discussed below, the court grants the plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment and denies the other motions.

I. Summary Judgment Motions.

A Facts. 1

On February 25, 1993, the plaintiff and George Petty were divorced. Pursuant to their divorce decree, the plaintiff was awarded a 1983 Chevrolet Chevette (“Car”) “free and clear of any right, title or interest” held by George Petty. Although the Car remained in her possession during the relevant time period, the plaintiff failed to take the necessary steps to transfer the Car’s certificate of title from George Petty’s name to her name.

In January of 1995, the plaintiff was residing at Park Victoria, an apartment complex located at 2311 Victoria Drive, Kansas City, Kansas (“Complex”). On January 19, 1995, the manager of Park Victoria, Ms. Kathy Perkins, sent a letter to the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department giving it permission “to enter onto [the Complex] for the purpose of [car] tag enforcement.” On January 24, 1995, officers from the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department went to the Complex to investigate whether any of the cars parked in the Complex’s parking lot displayed expired tags, stolen tags, improper tags, or no tags at all. During their investigation, the officers noticed a 1983 Chevrolet Chevette without any tags. A check of the Car’s registration number revealed that its registration had expired. Because the Car was not properly registered or displaying a valid tag, the officers impounded it -without attempting to provide any notice to the Car’s owner.

Upon realizing that her Car had been impounded, the plaintiff went to the sheriff’s office to facilitate its return. The sheriff’s office informed her that she needed to provide proof of ownership before the Car could be released to her. The plaintiff never provided such proof. Moreover, a check of the Car’s identification number revealed that the Car was titled to Mr. George Petty, not the plaintiff.

On January 12,1996, the plaintiff filed this civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. [49]*49The plaintiff alleges that the defendants violated her Due Process property rights as protected under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments by towing her Car without either a warrant, prior notice, or a hearing and that the defendants’ conduct constitutes civil conversion.

B. Standard.

When considering a motion for summary judgment, the court must examine all the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Jones v. Unisys Corp., 54 F.3d 624, 628 (10th Cir.1995). A moving party who bears the burden of proof at trial is entitled to summary judgment only when the evidence indicates that no genuine issue of material fact exists. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Anglemyer v. Hamilton County Hosp., 58 F.3d 533 (10th Cir.1995). If the moving party does not bear the burden of proof at trial, it must show “that there is an absence of evidence to support the non-moving party’s case.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2554, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

Once the movant meets these requirements, the burden shifts to the party resisting the motion to “set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 256, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2514, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The non-movant may not merely rest on the pleadings to meet this burden. Id. Genuine factual issues must exist that “can be resolved only by a finder of fact because they may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party.” Id. at 250, 106 S.Ct. at 2511. More than a “disfavored procedural shortcut,” summary judgment is an important procedure “designed ‘to secure the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every action.’ Fed.R.Civ.P. 1.” Celotex, 477 U.S. at 327,106 S.Ct. at 2555.

C. Discussion.

1. Standing. 2

Whether a plaintiff has standing to bring a lawsuit is a threshold issue which is jurisdictional in nature. Umbehr v. McClure, 44 F.3d 876, 878 (10th Cir.1995). In order to establish standing, the plaintiff must “allege personal injury fairly traceable to the defendant’s allegedly unlawful conduct and likely to be redressed by the ... relief’ the plaintiff requests. Id. (quoting Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737, 751, 104 S.Ct. 3315, 3324-25, 82 L.Ed.2d 556 (1984)). The plaintiffs alleged injury must be distinct and palpable, not conjectural or hypothetical. Id. (citing Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 501, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 2206-07, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975)).

To have standing to sue under section 1983 for violations of one’s property rights as protected under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, the plaintiff must allege a deprivation of a sufficient property interest. See Seamons v. Snow, 84 F.3d at 1226 (10th Cir.1996). State law controls whether the plaintiff had a sufficient interest in the property allegedly wrongfully deprived from the plaintiff. See Patrick v. Miller, 953 F.2d 1240, 1244 (10th Cir.1992); see also Seamons, 84 F.3d at 1234. If a sufficient property interest is found, the government cannot deprive an individual of that interest without due process. Seamons, 84 F.3d at 1234 (citing Gillihan v. Shillinger, 872 F.2d 935, 939 (10th Cir.1989)).

2. Analysis.

The defendants argue that the plaintiff lacks standing to bring this lawsuit because she does not have a protected property interest in the Car.

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168 F.R.D. 46, 36 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1017, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9614, 1996 WL 376426, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/petty-v-board-of-county-commissioners-ksd-1996.