Van Horn v. Salvation Army

Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit·Decided May 7, 2026·No. 24-3126·Unpublished

Opinion

FILED

United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT May 7, 2026

Christopher M. Wolpert

Clerk of Court

CHRISTOPHER A. VANHORN,

Plaintiff - Appellant,

v. No. 24-3126 (D.C. No. 2:23-CV-02009-DDC-ADM)

SALVATION ARMY; BLANCHE (D. Kan.) RIDING; KELLY F. KELLER; MEGAN BROWN, in her individual and official capacity; GREGORY BARNETT, in his individual and official capacity; TANNER EDDINGS, in his individual and official capacity; CHAD HODGE, in his individual and official capacity; DAVID MARTIN, in his individual and official capacity; KEITH DRILL, in his individual and official capacity; CITY OF MISSION, KANSAS,

Defendants - Appellees.

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

Before HARTZ, MORITZ, and ROSSMAN, Circuit Judges.

After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined

*

unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist in the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.

Appellant Christopher VanHorn was involved in an altercation at a Salvation Army store that led to state court convictions of disorderly conduct and criminal trespass. Based on these events, Mr. VanHorn filed a federal lawsuit against numerous defendants alleging claims under federal civil rights laws and state law. 1 The district court dismissed the federal claims without prejudice and declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims. Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm.

I. Background 2 A. State Court Proceedings In January 2022, Mr. VanHorn entered a Salvation Army store in Mission, Kansas. One of the store employees, Appellee Kelly Keller, asked Mr. VanHorn to wear a face mask. Mr. VanHorn refused, saying that Ms. Keller could not force him to wear a mask. He then took out his cell phone and started video recording.

Because Mr. VanHorn declined to put on a mask, Ms. Keller asked him to leave. She explained it was the store’s policy that those inside must wear a mask. Mr. VanHorn did not leave; he engaged with other patrons in the store and continued recording. He asked Ms. Keller why he could not shop at the store, and she

Because Mr. VanHorn is a pro se litigant, we construe his pleadings liberally 1

but do not act as his advocate. See Yang v. Archuleta, 525 F.3d 925, 927 n.1 (10th Cir. 2008).

2 We take these facts from the Amended Complaint, see R. vol. II at 127-67, and the district court order’s undisputed recitation, see id. at 397-403. We cite the district court order in the appellate record, id., but it is also available at VanHorn v. Salvation Army, No. 23-2009, 2024 WL 1256245 (D. Kan. Mar. 25, 2024).

responded, “because you don’t have a mask on sir.” R. vol. II at 398 (internal quotation marks omitted). Ms. Keller then instructed Appellee Blanche Riding, the store manager, to call the police. Ms. Riding made the call while Mr. VanHorn continued to have conversations with other store patrons. Ultimately, Mr. VanHorn left the store.

On his way out, Mr. VanHorn encountered City of Mission police officers.

Appellee Officer Megan Brown asked Mr. VanHorn if he was the person inside the Salvation Army store who refused to wear a mask. Mr. VanHorn confirmed he was and said he was leaving. He then asked if he was being detained. Appellee Officer Gregory Barnett said yes, for possibly trespassing. Mr. VanHorn asked how that could be when he had left a public store. Officer Barnett told him that he did not leave when asked. He then told Mr. VanHorn that he was not free to leave until Officer Barnett spoke with the store employees.

Appellee Officer Tanner Eddings arrived and approached the group. Officer Eddings told Mr. VanHorn he would have to go to jail if the Salvation Army pursued trespassing charges against him. Officer Eddings then went inside the store, where Ms. Keller, Ms. Riding, and an unknown patron told him Mr. VanHorn had been asked to leave at least ten times. Officer Eddings told Ms. Keller that they could take Mr. VanHorn to jail for disorderly conduct and asked if Ms. Keller wanted to pursue trespassing charges against him. Ms. Keller responded, “[Y]ep, get him out of here.” R. vol. II at 400 (internal quotation marks omitted).

Officer Eddings directed Officer Brown to arrest Mr. VanHorn for disorderly conduct and trespassing. Officer Brown did so. Appellee Officer Chad Hodge arrived, assessed the situation, and determined Mr. VanHorn should be held in jail for 18 hours. Mr. VanHorn tried to show the officers the video on his phone, but they refused to watch the footage and took him to the county jail.

In February 2022, at the City of Mission Municipal Court, Appellee Judge Keith Drill arraigned Mr. VanHorn. Following the arraignment, Appellee David Martin, a City of Mission Prosecutor, pursued disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing charges against him. At the bench trial, the Salvation Army employees and the City of Mission officers testified. Judge Drill found Mr. VanHorn guilty of criminal trespass and disorderly conduct.

Mr. VanHorn timely appealed the convictions to the Johnson County district court. He argued he was wrongly convicted because he never received a copy of his charging offenses or the complaint. He also argued the Municipal Court improperly arraigned him twice. On August 21, 2023, the Johnson County district court upheld Mr. VanHorn’s convictions.

B. Federal Proceedings Mr. VanHorn filed the federal lawsuit underlying this appeal asserting federal and state law claims against ten defendants (the Defendants). 3 In his Amended

3 Defendants are the Salvation Army store, Ms. Riding, and Ms. Keller (collectively, the Salvation Army Defendants); Officer Brown, Officer Barnett, Officer Eddings, and Officer Hodge (collectively, the Mission Officers); and

Complaint, Mr. VanHorn asserts thirteen claims—ten counts under federal law, including § 1985(3), § 1983, and the Declaratory Judgment Act; and three counts under state law. The Salvation Army Defendants moved to dismiss under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), and the Mission Defendants filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(c). The district court granted both motions, resolved all federal claims without prejudice, declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims, and dismissed the case.

This timely appeal followed.

II. Discussion Mr. VanHorn urges reversal on four grounds. First, the district court should have exercised diversity jurisdiction over the state law claims. Second, the district court improperly treated the Mission Defendants’ Rule 12(c) motion as one under Rule 12(b)(6). Third, the district court erred in granting the Salvation Army Defendants’ Rule 12(b)(6) motion on the § 1983 and § 1985 claims. And fourth, the district court erred by dismissing a § 1983 due process claim against the Mission Defendants. We discuss each in turn and discern no error.

A. Diversity Jurisdiction The Amended Complaint asserted federal question jurisdiction, supplemental jurisdiction, and diversity jurisdiction. After dismissing the federal claims, the district court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims.

Prosecutor Martin, Judge Drill, and the City of Mission, Kansas (collectively, and together with the Mission Officers, the Mission Defendants).

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