Wanjiku v. Johnson County

173 F. Supp. 3d 1217, 2016 WL 1255621
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedMarch 29, 2016
DocketCase No. 15-cv-02658-DDC-TJJ
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 173 F. Supp. 3d 1217 (Wanjiku v. Johnson County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wanjiku v. Johnson County, 173 F. Supp. 3d 1217, 2016 WL 1255621 (D. Kan. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Daniel D. Crabtree, United States District Judge

This matter comes before the Court on defendants Lenexa Police Department and Detective Steve Grigsby’s Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim (Doc. 8) and defendant Johnson County, Kansas’ Motion to Dismiss for Insufficient Service of Process, Failure to State a Claim, and Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction (Doc. 11). Plaintiff Erick Gachuhi Wanjiku, proceeding pro se, opposes both motions. See Docs. 13, 14. For reasons explained below, the Court grants defendants’ motions and dismisses the case.

I. Background

A. Plaintiffs Complaint

.The Court takes the following facts from plaintiffs Complaint' (Doc. 1) and views them in the light most favorable to him. S.E.C. v. Shields, 744 F.3d 633, 640 (10th Cir.2014) (explaining that -the court must “accept as true all well-pleaded factual allegations in the complaint and view them in the light most favorable to the [plaintiff]” (citation and internal quotation marks omitted)). When the Court considers a pro se litigant’s pleadings, it construes them liberally and holds them to a “less stringent standard” than ones drafted by lawyers. Hall v. Bellmon, 935 F.2d 1106, 1110 (10th Cir.1991). But, the Court may not provide “additional factual allegations to round out a plaintiffs complaint or construct a legal theory on a plaintiffs behalf.” Whitney v. New Mexico, 113 F.3d 1170, 1173-74 (10th Cir.1997); see also Hall, 935 F.2d at 1110 (“[I]f the court can reasonably read the pleadings to state a valid claim on which the plaintiff could prevail, it should do so despite the plain- ' tiffs failure to cite proper legal authority, his confusion of various legal theories, his poor syntax and sentence construction, or his unfamiliarity with pleading requirements. At the same time, we do not believe it is the proper function of the district court to assume the role of advocate for the pro se litigant.”).

[1222]*1222Plaintiff brings this civil action under 28 U.S.C: § 1343' alleging violations of his civil rights. Doc. 1 at 3. Specifically, he claims that Johnson County, Kansas detained him for a year without reason, the Lenexa Police Department arrested him on a false allegation, and Detective Grigsby “conspired with private citizens to alter and destroy evidence.” Doc. 1 at 3^4. Plaintiff seeks actual damages and punitive damages in an unspecified amount. Id. at 4. He previously presented these claims in another lawsuit, but the Court dismissed that case. See Doc. 1 at 5; Wanjiku v. Johnson Cty., Kansas, No. 14-2001-RDR, 2014 WL 821285, at *2 (D.Kan. Mar. 3, 2014); Wanjiku v. Johnson Cty., Kan., No. 14-cv-02001-RDR-JPO, 2014 WL 2611454, at *2 (D.Kan. June 11, 2014). The Court addresses the facts alleged, in, and the procedural history of the previous suit, below.

B. Previous Lawsuit

A district court can take judicial notice of its own decisions and records in a prior case involving the same parties without converting a motion to dismiss the later case into a motion for summary judgment. See Merswin v. Williams Cos., Inc., 364 Fed.Appx. 438, 441 (10th Cir.2010); see also Tal v. Hogan, 453 F.3d 1244, 1264 n. 24 (10th Cir.2006) (explaining that a court may take judicial notice of facts in its own files and facts which are a matter of public record without converting a Rule 12(b)(6) motion into one for summary judgment). And the Court does so here.

Plaintiff previously presented nearly identical claims in 2014 in his Civil Com-plaintf filed in Wanjiku v. Johnson County, Kansas, Case No. 14-cv-02001-RDR-JPO (D. Kan. Jan. 3, 2014), ECF No. 1 (the “2014 Complaint”).2 In plaintiffs 2014 Complaint, he alleged that defendants “prosecuted, detained and destroyed evidence” that was crucial to proving his innocence and “destroyed and disposed” of his personal property. 2014 Complaint at 3. He also contended that “Detective Steve Gri[g]sby conspired with private citizens to destroy evidence, ... tampered with evidence ... and threatened [plaintiffs] friend so that he could testify against [plaintiff].” Id. at 8. Plaintiff sought monetary relief in excess of $20,000,000 and asked the Court to prosecute those who committed crimes against him. Id. at 4. He requested monetary damages because of the pain he and his family sustained, including: “mental anguish, lost wages, defamation of character and [l]ong term effects of being jailed.” Id. at 4. He also asserted that he had complained of prosecutorial misconduct “to the office of the disciplinary administrator who dismissed [his] allegations.” Id. at 5.

The Court dismissed plaintiffs claims in his 2014 lawsuit against defendant Lenexa Police Department for failing to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The Court also dismissed plaintiffs claims against defendant Steve Grigsby without prejudice for insufficient service of process. See Wanjiku, 2014 WL 821285, at *2. And the Court dismissed plaintiffs claims against defendant Johnson County, Kansas without prejudice for insufficient service of process. See Wanjiku, 2014 WL 2611454, at *2.

II. Legal Standards

Defendants move to dismiss plaintiffs claims under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), (5), and (6).

A. Rule 12(b)(1)

Under Rule 12(b)(1), a defendant may move to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1). Federal courts must have a statutory or constitutional basis to exercise ju[1223]*1223risdiction. Davenport v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No. 14-cv-2124-JAR-JPO, 2014 WL 3361729, at *1 (D.Kan. July 9, 2014). And, without jurisdiction, a court must dismiss the case. Id. Plaintiff bears the burden to establish that jurisdiction is proper and thus bears the burden to show why the Court should not dismiss the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Id.; see also Kinney v. Blue Dot Servs., 505 Fed.Appx. 812, 814 (10th Cir.2012) (explaining that the “court may not assume that a plaintiff can establish subject matter jurisdiction; it is the plaintiffs burden to prove it”).

Generally, a Rule 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss consists of either a facial attack or a factual attack. Davenport, 2014 WL 3361729, at *1. The Tenth Circuit has explained the difference between the two:

First, a facial attack on the complaint’s allegations as to subject matter jurisdiction questions the sufficiency of the complaint. In reviewing a facial attack on the complaint, a district court must accept the allegations in the complaint as true. Id. Second, a party may go beyond allegations contained in the complaint and challenge the facts upon which subject matter jurisdiction depends. When reviewing a factual attack on subject matter jurisdiction, a district court may not presume the truthfulness of the complaint’s factual allegations.

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173 F. Supp. 3d 1217, 2016 WL 1255621, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wanjiku-v-johnson-county-ksd-2016.