Townsend v. Coffee County

854 F. Supp. 2d 1345, 2011 WL 7693033, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 154906
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Georgia
DecidedAugust 9, 2011
DocketNo. CV 511-008
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 854 F. Supp. 2d 1345 (Townsend v. Coffee County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Townsend v. Coffee County, 854 F. Supp. 2d 1345, 2011 WL 7693033, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 154906 (S.D. Ga. 2011).

Opinion

ORDER

LISA GODBEY WOOD, Chief Judge.

Presently before the Court is Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). For the reasons stated herein, Defendants’ motion is GRANTED.

BACKGROUND

For purposes of this Motion to Dismiss, the allegations in Plaintiffs Complaint are taken as true. See Powell v. Lennon, 914 F.2d 1459, 1464 (11th Cir.1990). On December 2, 2008, Plaintiff Tiffany Townsend, a black female, was driving with a passenger in Coffee County, Georgia. While stopped at a red light, Plaintiff observed a black male driver approaching the intersection with sparks coming from his vehicle. As he came to a stop, Plaintiff approached to inquire if the driver was safe and to advise him to move his vehicle from the roadway. The driver moved his vehicle to a parking lot across the street. Plaintiff followed him and exited her vehicle to inquire again whether he needed assistance. A white female motorist also pulled into the parking lot and proceeded toward the male driver.

[1349]*1349At that time, law-enforcement officer Lieutenant Julie Phillips pulled into the parking lot and ordered Plaintiff to return to her vehicle. Plaintiff immediately headed back to her vehicle. As Plaintiff was walking, Coffee County Sheriffs Deputy Wayne Grantham also pulled into the parking lot. Defendant Grantham ordered Plaintiff to stop. Plaintiff, confused as to which officer’s instructions she should follow, informed Grantham that Lieutenant Phillips had instructed her to return to her vehicle and that she was doing so.

As Plaintiff proceeded to her vehicle, Grantham unholstered his service revolver and told Plaintiff to place her hands on the back of his patrol car and to spread her legs. Grantham did not address the other female motorist who had stopped in the parking lot. Grantham approached Plaintiff, grabbed her arm, placed his weapon to her head, and handcuffed her. Plaintiff asked Defendant why he was treating her differently from the white female motorist. Plaintiff “recalls Defendant Grantham’s [response] being, “I don’t want her ... I just want you.” Plaintiff began to weep in the parking lot while handcuffed. After leaving the scene, Plaintiff presented herself at Coffee Regional Medical Center, where her arm was placed in a sling, and she received pain medication and treatment for emotional distress.

Plaintiff filed suit based on this incident against both Deputy Grantham, individually and in his official capacity, and Coffee County. She initially filed her Complaint in the Superior Court of Coffee County, Georgia, and Defendants removed the case to federal court. Plaintiff asserts claims against Deputy Grantham, individually and in his official capacity, for false arrest/false imprisonment (Count I); against Grant-ham for assault and battery (Count II);1 against Grantham, in his individual and official capacities, for negligent/intentional infliction of emotional distress (Count III); and against both Grantham and Coffee County under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of her Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendment rights (Count IV).2 Plaintiff also seeks punitive damages against Grantham (Count V). Defendants now move to dismiss all counts of Plaintiffs Complaint.

LEGAL STANDARD

A 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss tests the sufficiency of a plaintiffs complaint. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). The Court must accept the factual allegations in the complaint as true, but is not bound to accept as true any “legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949-50, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)) (internal quotation marks omitted).

To state a claim for relief, the pleadings must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2). That statement serves to “give the defendant ‘fair notice of what the plaintiffs claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.’ ” Tellabs, Inc. v. Makor Issues & Rights, Ltd., 551 U.S. 308, 319, 127 S.Ct. 2499, 168 L.Ed.2d 179 (2007) (quoting Dura Pharm., Inc. v. Broudo, 544 U.S. 336, 346, 125 S.Ct. 1627, 161 L.Ed.2d 577 (2005)). This is a liberal pleading standard [1350]*1350that “do[es] not require that a plaintiff specifically plead every element of a cause of action.” Roe v. Aware Woman Ctr. for Choice, Inc., 253 F.3d 678, 683 (11th Cir.2001). Rather, a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss should only be granted if the plaintiff is unable to articulate enough facts “to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 545, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

DISCUSSION

I. Section 1983 Claims

Plaintiff asserts federal-law claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against both Defendants for violations of her federal constitutional rights.

A. Defendant Coffee County

The Eleventh Circuit has rejected the notion that a Georgia county can be liable under § 1983 for the actions of members of a sheriffs office, finding that, pursuant to the Georgia Constitution, a sheriffs office is independent from the county in which it operates. Grech v. Clayton Cnty., 335 F.3d 1326, 1332, 1335 (11th Cir.2003). Sheriffs are agents of the state of Georgia, rather than of the counties. Id. at 1333. “In contrast to the State, counties have no authority or control over, and no role in, Georgia sheriffs’ law enforcement function.” Id. at 1336. By extension, sheriffs deputies are likewise not considered county actors. See id. (“Georgia courts have concluded that sheriffs’ deputies are employees of the sheriff and not the county.”). “Georgia courts also speak with unanimity in concluding that a defendant county cannot be held liable for the tortious actions of the sheriff or his deputies in performing their law enforcement activities.” Id. at 1337 (citing Wayne Cnty. Bd. of Comm’rs v. Warren, 236 Ga. 150, 223 S.E.2d 133, 134 (1976)); see also Lamb v. Davis, CV208-160, 2009 WL 982037, at *1 (S.D.Ga. Apr. 10, 2009) (Alaimo, J.) (“The Sheriffs Department, rather than the county government in the county where the department is located, is responsible for the law enforcement functions and acts of the Sheriffs deputies.”).

The Grech court explained further that a county “is not liable for § 1983 violations except for those policies and customs for which the county entity has some control and responsibility.” Id. at 1343. A county will not be held liable for a deputy’s actions on a theory of respondeat superior.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
854 F. Supp. 2d 1345, 2011 WL 7693033, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 154906, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/townsend-v-coffee-county-gasd-2011.