Rooker v. Ouray County

841 F. Supp. 2d 1212, 2012 WL 113419, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4512
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedJanuary 13, 2012
DocketCivil Case No. 11-cv-01057-LTB-CBS
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 841 F. Supp. 2d 1212 (Rooker v. Ouray County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rooker v. Ouray County, 841 F. Supp. 2d 1212, 2012 WL 113419, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4512 (D. Colo. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

LEWIS T. BABCOCK, District Judge.

This matter is before me on two motions, each filed pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). The first is the Motion to Dismiss [Doc # 6] filed by Ouray County (the “County”) acting through the Board of County Commissioners, Connie Hunt (“Hunt”), and Sherry Peck (“Peck”) (collectively, “Ouray”). Their motion requests an order dismissing with prejudice Plaintiff Norman W. Rooker’s complaint against them. The second motion is Defendant A.D. Yeowell’s (“Yeowell”), Motion to Dismiss [Doc # 13] that seeks an order dismissing Plaintiffs claims against him. After consideration of the parties’ arguments, for the reasons herein I GRANT both motions in part and DENY them in part as moot according to my rulings below.

I. Background

Plaintiffs complaint alleges the following: Plaintiff is a certified emergency medical technician-paramedic (“EMT-Paramedic”), who worked for the County as the chief paramedic for Ouray County Emergency Medical Services (“OCEMS”), from April 28, 2005, until May 14, 2010. He was responsible for implementing certain quality programs mandated by Colorado law and for auditing the performance of those involved in providing emergency care. Yeowell was the medical director for OCEMS during the relevant period. The County granted him final policy making authority in all matters related to medical supervision of OCEMS. During the relevant period, Hunt was the County’s administrator, and Peck was its human resources director.

Plaintiffs suit stems from an investigation he initiated regarding an April 21, 2010, OCEMS ambulance response to an emergency call involving the home delivery of a new-born baby who was not breathing. The paramedic at the scene requested permission from Yeowell to intubate the infant, which was standard procedure. Yeowell refused. Air ambulance was subsequently ordered to transport the infant to a Montrose, Colorado, hospital, but there was a delay in its arrival. When the ambulance was ordered, Plaintiff and Yeowell discussed whether the air ambulance could be sent without delay, for if not, it would be faster to transport the infant by regular ground ambulance. The air ambulance was delayed because Yeowell decided to have it return to pick up a pediatrician after it had left. When the air ambulance finally arrived, the pediatrician tried unsuccessfully to intubate the infant, causing further delay.

Plaintiff commenced a quality improvement audit of the above incident on April 21, 2010. That audit established that the air ambulance’s delayed arrival, coupled with the pediatrician’s repeated unsuccessful attempts to intubate, caused a significant delay to the infant patient receiving [1215]*1215the care that is the national standard in these situations.

After learning that Plaintiff had initiated an audit of the April 21, 2010, occurrence, Yeowell immediately suspended him. Yeowell informed Plaintiff and Ouray that he would no longer allow Plaintiff to work as an EMT-Paramedic under his medical supervision. Ouray then removed Plaintiff from the work schedule. Then, on May 10, 2010, Ouray constructively terminated Plaintiff for initiating the audit by forcing him to accelerate his previously scheduled retirement date. Both the suspension and termination were effected without an opportunity to be heard.

Plaintiff filed this action on April 21, 2011, bringing nine claims for relief. The first two are federal claims. First, Plaintiff asserts that Ouray and Yeowell unlawfully deprived him of his property and liberty without due process of law in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Second, they conspired to do the same in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3). The remaining claims are state law claims. Plaintiff asserts that I have original jurisdiction over his federal claims under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1343, as well as under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985, and 1988, and that I have supplemental jurisdiction over his remaining state claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a).

II. Standard of Review

A. Rule 12(b)(1)

Whether a public entity is protected by sovereign immunity under the Colorado Governmental Immunity Act (the “CGIA”), Colo.Rev.Stat. § 24-10-101 et seq., is an issue of subject matter jurisdiction. Swieckowski by Swieckowski v. City of Fort Collins, 934 P.2d 1380, 1383-84 (Colo.1997). If a public entity has sovereign immunity under the CGIA, the court does not have jurisdiction over the claims asserted against it, see id at 1384, and the court is empowered to grant a motion to dismiss the case or claims made pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1). See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) (“Every defense to a claim for relief in any pleading must be asserted in the responsive pleading if one is required. But a party may assert the following defenses by motion: (1) lack of subject-matter jurisdiction....”). Furthermore, discovery must be stayed. See Colo.Rev.Stat. § 24-10-108.

B. Rule 12(b)(6)

To survive a motion to dismiss under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), a complaint "must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, `to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’" Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955). "Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice." Id. Rather, the "[f]actual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level." Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

When deciding a motion to dismiss under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12

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Bluebook (online)
841 F. Supp. 2d 1212, 2012 WL 113419, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4512, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rooker-v-ouray-county-cod-2012.