Snell v. Asbury

792 F. Supp. 718, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20658, 1991 WL 335097
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Oklahoma
DecidedNovember 4, 1991
DocketNo. CIV-87-1812-C
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 792 F. Supp. 718 (Snell v. Asbury) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Snell v. Asbury, 792 F. Supp. 718, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20658, 1991 WL 335097 (W.D. Okla. 1991).

Opinion

ORDER

CAUTHRON, District Judge.

Before the Court is the Opinion by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the defendants’ interlocutory appeal on the issues of absolute and qualified immunity. Snell v. Tunnell, 920 F.2d 673 (10th Cir.1990), cert. denied sub nom., — U.S. -, 111 S.Ct. 1622, 113 L.Ed.2d 719 (1991). The District Court’s published Order of October 28, 1988, was affirmed and the case was remanded for trial. Snell v. Tunnell, 698 F.Supp. 1542 (W.D.Okla.1988) (Phillips, J.). The mandate on the Tenth Circuit’s opinion was issued January 22, 1991.

In its October 28, 1988 Order, the District Court let stand Plaintiffs’ Fourth Amendment claim and conspiracy claim based on judicial deception against defendants Pam Padley, Michael Swepston, Barbara Sieck, and Benita Levingston. The Court granted summary judgment to defendant Mary Asbury. Defendants Conley [719]*719Tunnell, and Department of Human Services had previously been granted summary judgment on October 11, 1988. Judge Sidney Brown was dismissed on January 29, 1988, and defendant Lissa Vernon was dismissed pursuant to a stipulation with plaintiffs.

On January 21, 1991, the Court granted leave to plaintiffs to urge reconsideration of the October 28, 1988 Order that granted summary judgment to Mary Asbury on the conspiracy claim. Plaintiffs filed a brief urging reconsideration on March 29, 1991. Defendant Asbury filed a brief in opposition on May 22, 1991. Plaintiffs filed a reply brief on June 6, 1991. Mary Asbury has been subject to bankruptcy proceedings, and the automatic stay has been lifted. The Court delayed ruling on this motion until after the Supreme Court ruled on defendants’ petition for certiorari.

The Tenth Circuit in concluding its November 30, 1990, Opinion gave this Court the following guidance in regard to granting summary judgment to- Asbury, even though that issue was not ripe for appellate review:

Applying these standards, we think that the plaintiffs on summary judgment have adduced sufficient circumstantial evidence from which a trier of fact could conclude that these defendants and others reached an agreement to deprive the Snells of a constitutional right based upon the Snells’ refusal to identify the children in their care and Clark Snell’s complaints about DHS. Referrals to DHS concerning the Snells were singled out and grouped together for special treatment. Asbury. indicated that she viewed the complaints made by the Snells as harassment. According to Clark Snell, defendant Swepston threatened him with arbitrary and capricious governmental action should he not cooperate.
Several DHS meetings occurred in which extraneous topics, such as Clark Snell’s income and his appliance repair . business, were discussed. And Asbury and defendants Sieck and Levingston made repeated attempts, be they ex parte communications with various judges or contacts with the police department, to create a climate ripe for intervention. Plaintiffs’ evidence reflects a dogged determination born of concerted effort to take action against the Snells, whatever the means, knowing that the district attorney would not become involved because of a lack of evidence. Whether the plaintiffs can prove their allegations at trial given defendants’ contrary evidence is another matter, but that is left for a trial consistent with this opinion.

Snell v. Tunnell, 920 F.2d at 702 (emphasis supplied). The Tenth Circuit linked Asbury with the conspiracy throughout its opinion. E.g., id. at 677, 680, 682, 686 & n. 13, and 700-01. The conspiracy claim against Asbury is also well-grounded in case law as cited by the Tenth Circuit. See Dixon v. City of Lawton, 898 F.2d 1443, 1449 n. 6 (10th Cir.1990); Cameo Convalescent Center, Inc. v. Senn, 738 F.2d 836, 841 (7th Cir.1984), cert. denied sub nom., 469 U.S. 1106, 105 S.Ct. 780, 83 L.Ed.2d.775 (1985); Hampton v. Hanrahan, 600 F.2d 600, 621 (7th Cir.1979), rev’d in part on other grounds, 446 U.S. 754, 100 S.Ct. 1987, 64 L.Ed.2d 670 (1980). Further, the Tenth Circuit has generally warned elsewhere that “caution is advised in any pre-trial disposition of conspiracy allegations in civil rights actions.” Clulow v. Oklahoma, 700 F.2d 1291, 1303 (10th Cir.1983), overruled on other grounds by Garcia v. Wilson, 731 F.2d 640, 648-49 (10th Cir.1984) (en banc). The Court finds that there is a factual and legal basis for the conspiracy claim against defendant Asbury.

Asbury argues that plaintiffs’ conspiracy claim is still legally insufficient because it essentially theorizes that the Oklahoma Department of Human Services conspired with itself since all of the alleged co-conspirators are employees of that governmental entity. The other alleged co-conspirators have now been dismissed from the suit. However, had Judge Brown, the Associate District Judge in Oklahoma County, been dismissed due to absolute immunity, then his dismissal on this ground would defeat Asbury’s theory because “[ijmmuni[720]*720ty does not change the character of the judge’s action or that of his co-conspirators.” Dennis v. Sparks, 449 U.S. 24, 28-29 & n. 5, 101 S.Ct. 183, 186-87 & n. 5, 66 L.Ed.2d 185 (1980). After reviewing the transcript of the relevant hearing on January 29, 1988, however, the Court concludes that Judge Brown was dismissed on the merits, and not due to absolute immunity. See Snell v. Tunnell, 698 F.Supp. at 1543 n. 1.

This is the first time that this argument, regarding the intracorporate conspiracy exception to conspiracy liability, has been presented in this case. There is support for this position under 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3) (law forbidding conspiracy to deprive persons of equal protection of the laws or equal privileges and immunities under the laws), although the conspiracy alleged in this case is under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (law forbidding deprivation of rights, privileges, immunities under color of state law). See, e.g., Dombrowski v. Dowling, 459 F.2d 190, 196 (7th Cir.1972) (holding under 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3) that a discriminatory business decision does not reflect the collective judgment of two or more executives of the same firm in order to support a conspiracy judgment); Runs After v. United States, 766 F.2d 347, 354 (8th Cir.1985) (holding under 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3) that individual members of a Tribal Council, acting in their official capacity, cannot conspire when they act together in taking official action); Herrmann v. Moore, 576 F.2d 453, 459 (2d Cir.) (holding pursuant to 42 U.S.C.

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Bluebook (online)
792 F. Supp. 718, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20658, 1991 WL 335097, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/snell-v-asbury-okwd-1991.