(PS) Godfrey v. Sacramento County Sheriff's Department

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedAugust 9, 2019
Docket2:19-cv-00861
StatusUnknown

This text of (PS) Godfrey v. Sacramento County Sheriff's Department ((PS) Godfrey v. Sacramento County Sheriff's Department) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
(PS) Godfrey v. Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, (E.D. Cal. 2019).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 DIANE K. GODFREY, No. 2:19-cv-0861-TLN-KJN PS 12 Plaintiff, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS AND ORDER ON DEFENDANTS’ 13 v. MOTIONS TO DISMISS AND PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SANCTIONS 14 SACRAMENTO COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT, et al. (ECF Nos. 17, 18, 19.) 15 Defendants. 16 17 Plaintiff Diane K. Godfrey, who proceeds in this action without counsel but who is an 18 attorney in good standing with the California bar, brings an action for retaliation, abatement of 19 nuisance, and invasion of privacy against Defendants Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, 20 Sheriff Scott Jones, Deputy Spencer J. Wright, the County of Sacramento, the Federal Bureau of 21 Investigation, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Doe Defendants. (ECF No. 1.) Plaintiff 22 maintains that for many months, agents of the Sheriff’s Department made nightly visits to her 23 apartment, trespassed on her property, made loud noises, knocked on her front and back door, 24 dressed in costume to frighten her, used an “x–ray flashlight” to spy on her while she slept, 25 projected Halloween–type imagery on her walls and ceiling, and created a “virtual window” in 26 her ceiling to take a picture of her while she slept. (See Id.) Defendants moved to dismiss for 27 failing to allege plausible or substantial claims. (ECF Nos. 17, 19.) Plaintiff moved for sanctions 28 and filed a purported “First Amended Complaint.” (ECF Nos. 18, 23.) For the reasons stated 1 below, the Court recommends dismissal without leave to amend. 2 Background1 3 Plaintiff states that in 2005 she reported an “ongoing criminal conspiracy against her” to 4 the U.S. Attorney’s office, who in turn referred her report to the FBI. (ECF No. 1 at ¶ 13.) She 5 then alleges Defendants took the following actions:

6 Commencing on or about July 7, 2018, until on or about October 9, 201[8], an 7 intruder or intruders began trespassing upon plaintiff’s property at night, specifically in the back of plaintiff’s apartment, on a patio/yard, frightening 8 plaintiff by disturbing the peace by making noise in both the front and the back of the property, including repeated knocking and banging on plaintiff’s front door 9 and bedroom window. These individuals further intruded upon plaintiff’s property at night by using an "x-ray flashlight", a device which pierces or "cuts through" 10 intervening walls, floors, ceilings, windows, blinds, and curtains, and which 11 focuses on the target, in this instance plaintiff, to watch and spy upon plaintiff in the privacy of her bedroom during nighttime hours, frightening plaintiff, invading 12 plaintiff’s privacy, and disrupting her sleep. (Plaintiff does not know what defendants herein call the "x-ray flashlight device", to which plaintiff refers, and 13 plaintiff describes the device by function.) (Id. at ¶ 14.) 14 She alleges she reported these incidents to the FBI and Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, 15 who, as part of the 2005 criminal conspiracy, attempted to have her murdered. (Id. at ¶¶ 16, 17.) 16 Plaintiff alleges she reported this “murder for hire” to the FBI and the Sheriff’s Department and 17 requested “that security guards be provided to her” because of this incident. (Id. at ¶¶ 17–18.) 18 Plaintiff alleges the Sheriff’s Department did in fact provide her with security, and alleges that 19 individual officers took the following actions:

20 Beginning in or about January 1, 2019, and continuing, defendant [officers] . . . 21 have repeatedly used an "x-ray flashlight" . . . to peer into plaintiff's bedroom from outside her apartment, from her patio/yard, and from the roof over plaintiff’s 22 apartment, at all hours of the night, scanning and surveilling her bedroom, and to peer at and surveil plaintiff while in her bed at night, struggling to sleep. [O]n 23 their nightly visits to plaintiff's property, [the officers] repeatedly knocked, pounded, and banged on plaintiff’s front door during the nighttime hours . . . and 24 through the use of the x-ray flashlight, have repeatedly subjected plaintiff to 25 projected images on the walls or ceilings of plaintiff’s bedroom during nighttime hours, including, but not limited to, animated images of Halloween type 26 characters, and themselves wore costumes with masks; these included a death mask, a pig costume together with a pig mask; Kentucky Fried Chicken mask; and 27

28 1 These facts derive from the complaint. (See ECF No. 1.) 1 repeated use of a pumpkinhead mask. (Id. at ¶¶ 20–22, 64.) 2 Plaintiff alleges Deputy Wright has directed these incidents or personally participated in them, 3 specifically by “pound[ing] on plaintiff’s front door for four hours,” and on one occasion by 4 creating a "virtual window" in the ceiling of plaintiff’s bedroom with the "x-ray flashlight", 5 “revealing himself on her ceiling in an angel’s costume but with fangs”––where he took an 6 unauthorized photograph of plaintiff while in her bed. (Id. at ¶¶ 23, 43–44.) Plaintiff also alleges 7 that the Sheriff’s Department hired a private firm to provide additional security services, and that 8 on separate days in February 2019, the following occurred:

9 [F]our (4) DOE SECURITY FIRM male employees appeared on plaintiff’s bedroom ceiling, creating a virtual window in the ceiling through the use of an "x- 10 ray flashlight." These individuals wore costumes and peered into plaintiff’s bedroom, treating plaintiff’s presence as a "peep show." They also repeatedly 11 knocked loudly on plaintiff’s front door, despite a notice left on the door by plaintiff, requesting “no knocking." On another night, two male costumed 12 employees of DOE SECURITY FIRM again appeared on plaintiff’s ceiling, using 13 an "x-ray flashlight" to create a window into plaintiff’s bedroom. These two men stared at plaintiff while in her bed, passing a pair of binoculars between them. 14 (Id. at ¶¶ 34–35.) 15 Plaintiff seeks an injunction to halt the security detail, loud noises, and use of the x–ray flashlight 16 at her apartment; she also seeks nominal damages. 17 Procedural Posture and Parties’ Arguments 18 On June 21, County Defendants moved to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), asserting Plaintiff 19 failed to allege plausible facts sufficient to state a claim. (ECF No. 17–1.) On July 23, FBI 20 Defendants moved to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(1), contending that the Court lacks jurisdiction to 21 entertain ‘wholly insubstantial’ and ‘obviously frivolous’ claims, as well as that Plaintiff has not 22 exhausted any tort claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act. (ECF No. 19–1.) 23 Plaintiff filed a motion for sanctions against County Defendants, asserting they 24 fraudulently misrepresented her Complaint in their motion to dismiss by construing it as one that 25 has “no basis in reality.” (ECF No. 18.) Plaintiff argues Defendants have admitted the facts of 26 her Complaint by “adoptive admission,” and so are merely attempting to harass her because she 27 has sued them. (Id.) Defendants opposed, stating their motion to dismiss merely asserted the 28 basis for their argument under Rule 12(b)(6). (ECF No. 21.) Additionally, on August 1, Plaintiff 1 filed a document entitled “First Amended Complaint.” (ECF No. 23.) 2 Legal Standard 3 Under Rule 12(b)(6), a claim may be dismissed where the complaint lacks either a 4 cognizable legal theory or “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that 5 is plausible on its face.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009); Mollett v. Netflix, Inc., 795 6 F.3d 1062, 1065 (9th Cir. 2015). Under this Rule, the court may dismiss a claim as frivolous 7 where it is based on an indisputably meritless legal theory or where the factual contentions are 8 clearly baseless. Neitzke v. Williams,

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Bluebook (online)
(PS) Godfrey v. Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ps-godfrey-v-sacramento-county-sheriffs-department-caed-2019.