Sweat v. Butler

90 F. Supp. 3d 773, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28317, 2015 WL 1020608
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Tennessee
DecidedMarch 9, 2015
DocketNo. 14-1253
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 90 F. Supp. 3d 773 (Sweat v. Butler) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sweat v. Butler, 90 F. Supp. 3d 773, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28317, 2015 WL 1020608 (W.D. Tenn. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS BY DEFENDANT, CITY OF CRUMP, TENNESSEE

J. DANIEL BREEN, Chief Judge.

Plaintiffs, Tara Sweat and Jeremy Hunter Sweat, brought this action against the City of Crump, Tennessee, and Larry Butler, a former Crump police officer, in a complaint filed on September 26, 2014, alleging violations of 42' U.S.C. § 1983 and Tennessee tort law. (Docket Entry ! (“D.E.”) 1.) Before the Court is the October 20, 2014, motion of Crump to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), (D.E. 7), to which Plaintiffs have responded, (D.E. 9).

I. Legal Standard

Rule 12 permits a court to dismiss a complaint for “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). When considering a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, a district court should “construe [the] complaint in the light most favorable” to the non-moving party and accept all “well-pled allegations as true.” Terry v. Tyson Farms, Inc., 604 F.3d 272, 274 (6th Cir.2010) (citing Jones v. City of Cincinnati, 521 F.3d 555, 559 (6th Cir.2008)). A claim is well-pled when “it contains ‘either direct or inferential allegations respecting all material elements’ necessary for recovery under a viable legal theory.” Phil. Indem. Ins. Co. v. Youth Alive, Inc., 732 F.3d 645, 649 (6th Cir.2013) (quoting Terry, 604 F.3d at 275-76). The facts in the complaint must “allow[ ] the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (citing Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). The Court “need not accept as true legal conclusions or unwarranted factual infer-[778]*778enees, and conclusory allegations or legal conclusions masquerading as factual allegations will not suffice.” Youth Alive, Inc., 732 F.3d at 649 (quoting Terry, 604 F.3d at 275-76). The complaint, therefore, must “contain[] sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Reilly v. Vadlamudi, 680 F.3d 617, 622-23 (6th Cir.2012) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937).1

II. Facts Alleged

Plaintiffs made the following allegations in their complaint. On September 27, 2013, Tara Sweat was driving to work when Butler performed a traffic stop on her vehicle. (D.E. 1 ¶¶ 7-8.) After she “pulled over at the first well-lit area, a nearby gas station[,] ... Butler approached [her] vehicle with his gun drawn, telling her to ‘get the f — k out of the car.’ ” (Id. ¶¶ 9-10.) The officer would not tell her “why [she] was pulled over,” and, while “yelling, cursing, and spitting in her face,” he “forcibly pull[ed her] from the car” without allowing her to unbuckle her seat-belt, which' caused “bruising and abrasions.” (Id. ¶¶ 11-12.) After Butler performed field sobriety tests, he arrested Ms. Sweat for driving under the influence. (Id.' ¶ 14.) While Ms. Sweat was handcuffed in the back of Butler’s patrol car, her son, Jeremy Hunter Sweat, stopped his vehicle, containing a minor passenger, at the gas station “to make sure his [m]other had not had a car accident.” (Id. ¶¶ 14-15.) Butler then “drew his firearm” on Mr. Sweat and the passenger, and he yelled, cursed, and “order[ed] them to immediately leave.” (Id. ¶¶ 16-17.) The local hospital eventually performed a consensual blood draw on Ms. Sweat. (Id. ¶ 19.)

The next day, Sweat’s husband submitted a complaint with the Crump Police Department and reviewed a video recording of the events. (Id. ¶ 20.) The charges were eventually abandoned and dismissed. (Id. ¶ 21.) About a month after Sweat’s arrest, Butler was “terminated for violation of the personal conduct policy” due to his involvement in a domestic dispute, during the course of which “he stated that he was ‘untouchable’ because he was a police officer.” (Id. ¶¶ 22-23.)

Plaintiffs also claim that, prior to September 27, 2013, “Butler was alleged to have provided alcohol to a minor and allowed her to drive his squad car” and that “he was reported to have purchased beer while on duty.” (Id. ¶ 24.) Further, they state that, “[u]pon information and belief,” [779]*779the officer had engaged in “improper and illegal conduct while employed with other departments.” (Id. ¶ 25.) The Sweats also maintain that, “[t]o [their] knowledge, ... Butler was never meaningfully disciplined for his use of force against [them].” (Id. ¶26.) According to Plaintiffs, “the video depicting the incident was erased [ ]or destroyed, presumably to cover up the incident and impede civil action on it.” (Id. ¶ 27.)

III. Analysis

A. Applicable Law

The Sweats assert claims against Crump pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988 arising out of violations of their rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. (Id. ¶¶ 1, 38^14.) Chapter 42, section 1983 of the United States Code was enacted to “protect[ ] citizens from violations of their federal rights by state officials.” Bradley v. Reno, 749 F.3d 553, 558 (6th Cir.2014). “Section 1983 creates no substantive rights, but merely provides remedies for deprivations of rights established elsewhere.” Flint ex rel. Flint v. Ky. Dep’t of Corr., 270 F.3d 340, 351 (6th Cir.2001) (citing Oklahoma City v. Tuttle, 471 U.S. 808, 105 S.Ct. 2427, 85 L.Ed.2d 791 (1985)). To invoke these remedies, “a plaintiff must set forth facts that, when construed favorably, establish (1) the deprivation of a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States (2) caused by a person acting under color of state law.” Heyerman v. Cnty. of Calhoun, 680 F.3d 642, 647 (6th Cir.2012) (quoting Sigley v. City of Parma Heights, 437 F.3d 527, 533 (6th Cir.2006)).

A municipality or other local governmental entity is considered a “person” under the statute and may therefore be held liable for its actions depriving a plaintiff of her federal rights — commonly referred to as “Monell liability.” Bd. of Cnty. Comm’rs of Bryan Cnty., Okl. v. Brown, 520 U.S. 397, 403, 117 S.Ct. 1382, 137 L.Ed.2d 626 (1997) (citing Monell v. N.Y.C. Dept.

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90 F. Supp. 3d 773, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28317, 2015 WL 1020608, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sweat-v-butler-tnwd-2015.