Schlosser v. Coleman

818 F. Supp. 1534, 1993 WL 127720
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedApril 20, 1993
Docket90-1406-CIV-T-17B
StatusPublished

This text of 818 F. Supp. 1534 (Schlosser v. Coleman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schlosser v. Coleman, 818 F. Supp. 1534, 1993 WL 127720 (M.D. Fla. 1993).

Opinion

818 F.Supp. 1534 (1993)

Gabriel SCHLOSSER, Plaintiff,
v.
Pamela COLEMAN, et al., Defendants.

No. 90-1406-CIV-T-17B.

United States District Court, M.D. Florida, Tampa Division.

April 20, 1993.

*1535 Gabriel Schlosser, Sarasota, FL, pro se.

Stephanie A. Daniel, Tallahassee, FL, for defendants.

ORDER

KOVACHEVICH, District Judge.

Plaintiff, a former prisoner, commenced this pro se action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 on November 8, 1990. On October 21, 1992, the Court ordered Plaintiff to complete and return summons and 285 forms within 20 days. On November 21, 1991, the Court dismissed this case for Plaintiff's failure to complete and return summons and 285 forms within the time allotted.

On December 1, 1992, Plaintiff filed a motion for reinstatement of the case for excusable neglect. On January 7, 1992, the Court stayed ruling on Plaintiff's motion pursuant to Plaintiff's completing summons and 285 forms. The Court stated, "If Plaintiff returns completed summons and 285 forms within 30 days of the date of this order, the Court will grant Plaintiff's motion for reinstatement of the case for excusable neglect and will direct the Clerk to reopen the case."

After the Court granted several motions for extension of time to complete summons and 285 forms, Plaintiff returned the completed forms and the Court ordered the Marshal to serve Defendants on April 29, 1992. Return of service was executed by James Parker and Michael O'Brien. However, service was returned unexecuted as to Pamela Coleman on May 13, 1992.

On May 26, 1992, Defendants Parker and O'Brien filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiff's amended complaint, although the Court had no record of an amended complaint having been filed. The Court ordered Plaintiff to respond to Defendants' motion to dismiss on June 18, 1992.

On July 1, 1992, Plaintiff filed a motion for extension of time to respond to the motion to dismiss. Plaintiff stated that he had been released from prison on June 23, 1992. On July 22, 1992, the Court granted Plaintiff's motion for reinstatement of this case for excusable neglect and granted Plaintiff's motion for an extension of time to respond to Defendants' motion to dismiss. On August 6, 1992, the Court ordered Plaintiff to complete and return a new Affidavit of Indigency. On August 25, 1992, Plaintiff filed a motion to have service of process reattempted on Defendant Coleman and a motion to proceed in forma pauperis. On September 3, 1992, Plaintiff filed a motion to amend the complaint and a memorandum in opposition to the motion to dismiss.

*1536 On September 25, 1992, the Court granted Plaintiff's motion to file an amended complaint but denied Plaintiff's motion to proceed in forma pauperis. The court ordered Plaintiff to pay the $120.00 filing fee.[1] The court also denied Plaintiff's motion to have service of process reattempted on Defendant Coleman because Plaintiff was no longer indigent, and was, therefore, responsible for service.

Plaintiff filed his amended complaint on October 14, 1992. On December 11, 1992, Defendants Parker and O'Brien filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiff's amended complaint. On February 2, 1993, the Court ordered Plaintiff to file his response to Defendants' motion to dismiss the amended complaint. Plaintiff filed his response on March 19, 1993.

Pamela Coleman has not been served. Therefore, the complaint will be dismissed, without prejudice, as to this Defendant, pursuant to Rule 4(j) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

PLAINTIFF'S ALLEGATIONS

In this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 Plaintiff sues suing Pamela Coleman, Plaintiff's probation officer; Michael O'Brien, an assistant state attorney; and the Honorable James Parker, formerly a circuit court judge in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit of Florida and now a judge on the Second District Court of Appeals of Florida. Plaintiff alleges that the Defendants violated his rights as guaranteed under the Fourth, Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that the Defendants denied him substantive and procedural due process; imposed cruel and unusual punishment; imposed excessive bail; and maliciously prosecuted him for violation of his probation because a false warrant was issued without probable cause.

According to Plaintiff, Ms. Coleman issued a warrant for his arrest for the "technical violation for the nonpayment of monthly supervision fees of $40.00 per month." Plaintiff claims that the probable cause affidavit for this warrant was false because the Florida Department of Corrections records, which Ms. Coleman allegedly did not check before signing the affidavit, stated that all of Plaintiff's monthly supervision payments had been paid. The warrant was further flawed, according to Plaintiff, because Ms. Coleman based the issuance of the warrant on Plaintiff's failure to pay restitution according to the terms of a plea agreement. Plaintiff asserts that Ms. Coleman knew that he was financially unable to pay his restitution and that the plea agreement allowed him to forego his restitution payments.

Plaintiff further alleges that Defendant O'Brien conspired with Ms. Coleman to violate his probation when Defendant O'Brien approved the arrest warrant knowing that the information in the warrant was false and untrue. Plaintiff states that Defendant O'Brien acted as an "advisor" to Ms. Coleman when Defendant O'Brien allowed her allegedly false statements to be used as probable cause for the arrest warrant.

Plaintiff adds Defendant Parker to this alleged conspiracy by asserting that Defendant Parker conspired with the other Defendants to keep Plaintiff in jail without probable cause and that Defendant Parker denied Plaintiff a bail hearing. Plaintiff argues that Defendant Parker knew the warrant was false since the judge had accepted the plea agreement in question. Plaintiff asserts that Defendant Parker's sole reason for approving the warrant was to "teach him a lesson."

At some point, Plaintiff's probation was reinstated. Shortly thereafter, in September, 1988, Plaintiff was arrested on what this Court assumes to be a different warrant from the one previously discussed. According to Plaintiff, Defendant Parker heard this case as well and set bail at $600,000.00. Plaintiff alleges that, in imposing this bail, Defendant Parker denied him access to the courts and the opportunity to defend himself. Plaintiff also alleges that Defendant Parker conspired with Defendant O'Brien to deny him access to the courts when they did not allow him to attend a bond reduction hearing. In sum, Plaintiff alleges that all of the Defendants acted in conspiracy with each other to maliciously allow Plaintiff to be arrested.

Apparently, Plaintiff's liability theory is based on his erroneous interpretation of *1537 his plea agreement. The agreement states in part that Plaintiff was to pay $10,000.00 in restitution by a certain date and that if the money was not paid, the plea was "null and void." Plaintiff argues that this language means that he did not have to pay restitution. A more accurate reading is that Plaintiff had to pay restitution and if he did not, the state was free to prosecute him on the original charges.

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

Related

O'Shea v. Littleton
414 U.S. 488 (Supreme Court, 1974)
Spomer v. Littleton
414 U.S. 514 (Supreme Court, 1974)
Imbler v. Pachtman
424 U.S. 409 (Supreme Court, 1976)
Stump v. Sparkman
435 U.S. 349 (Supreme Court, 1978)
Hughes v. Rowe
449 U.S. 5 (Supreme Court, 1980)
Dennis v. Sparks
449 U.S. 24 (Supreme Court, 1980)
Pulliam v. Allen
466 U.S. 522 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Forrester v. White
484 U.S. 219 (Supreme Court, 1988)
Burns v. Reed
500 U.S. 478 (Supreme Court, 1991)
Lester Slotnick v. Harold Staviskey
560 F.2d 31 (First Circuit, 1977)
Donald R. Humble v. Percy Foreman, Attorney-At-Law
563 F.2d 780 (Fifth Circuit, 1977)
John P. McNamara v. J. C. Moody, Etc.
606 F.2d 621 (Fifth Circuit, 1979)
Thomas B. Fullman v. Charles Graddick
739 F.2d 553 (Eleventh Circuit, 1984)
Horace Luckey, III v. Joe Frank Harris, Governor
860 F.2d 1012 (Eleventh Circuit, 1988)
Horace Luckey, III v. Joe Frank Harris, Governor
896 F.2d 479 (Eleventh Circuit, 1989)
Schlosser v. Coleman
818 F. Supp. 1534 (M.D. Florida, 1993)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
818 F. Supp. 1534, 1993 WL 127720, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schlosser-v-coleman-flmd-1993.