United States District Court, D. Colorado
RECOMMENDATION ON MOTION TO PARTIALLY DISMISS THE
SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT (#50)
N.
Reid Neureiter United States Magistrate Judge
Presently
before the Court is Defendants Sgt. Leach and Matt Elbe's
Motion to Partially Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint
(Dkt. #50), in which Sgt. Leach and Matt Elbe ask the Court
to dismiss Plaintiff Nicholas Jason Hall's claims brought
against them in their official capacities pursuant to
Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Chief Judge Philip A. Brimmer referred
the motion to me for recommendation on May 14, 2019. (Dkt.
#52.) Having carefully considered the briefing, the record,
the discussion at the June 27, 2019 Motions Hearing
(see Dkt. #59), and the applicable law, the Court
recommends that the motion be granted for the reasons
discussed below.
Background
This
case is brought by Mr. Hall, who is proceeding pro se,
[1]
relating to his treatment by staff at the Weld County Jail in
Greeley, Colorado. Mr. Hall submitted his pro se Complaint
alleging a violation of his civil rights pursuant to 42
U.S.C. § 1983. (Dkt. #1.) Upon review of his Prisoner
Complaint by Magistrate Judge Gordon P. Gallagher, Mr. Hall
was ordered to file a second amended complaint if he wanted
to pursue his claims in this action. (Dkt. #27.) Mr. Hall
submitted his Second Amended Complaint on March 1, 2019,
(Dkt. #32) in which Mr. Hall states that his right to
practice his “sincerely held religious beliefs was
violated by Matt Elbe in the month of May 2017.” Mr.
Hall alleges:
I was denied a Qu'ran and was not allowed to observe
Ramadan. Since my incarceration at the Weld County Jail I
have been denied the opportunity to atten[d] Ju'mah and
have been denied access to an Imam. The right to practice my
sincerely held religious beliefs is protected by the
1st amendment and the free exercise clause. I was
also denied access to halal meals. Matt Elbe is in charge of
the issuance of religious material, diets, and clergy.
(Dkt. #32 at 6). With respect to Sergeant Leach, Mr. Hall
alleges that his
right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment was
violated when Sgt. Leach self admittedly struck me about the
head, face, neck, and arms over 25 times. This excessive
force was unprovoked and not necessary. This occurred in
September 2017. My right to be free of cruel and unusual
punishment by means of excessive force is protected by the
8th amendment.
(Dkt. #32 at 7).
Defendants
submitted their Motion to Dismiss on May 14, 2019. (Dkt.
#50.) Defendants state that Mr. Hall's Second Amended
Complaint is ambiguous as to whether the claims are asserted
against them solely in their individual capacity or in both
their individual and official capacities, but assume the
claims are asserted against them in their official capacities
and seek dismissal of the official capacity claims. While Mr.
Hall did not file a response specifically in opposition to
the Motion to Dismiss, he filed a Motion for Summary Judgment
on May 18, 2019 (Dkt. #54) in which he asked the court to
deny the Motion to Dismiss.[2]
“[A]
district court may not grant a motion to dismiss for failure
to state a claim merely because [a party] failed to file a
response.” Issa v. Comp USA, 354 F.3d 1174,
1177 (10th Cir. 2003) (internal quotation marks and citation
omitted). “This is consistent with the purpose of Rule
12(b)(6) motions as the purpose of such motions is to test
the sufficiency of the allegations within the four corners of
the complaint after taking those allegations as true.”
Id. at 1177-78. (internal quotation marks and
citations omitted). “Consequently, even if a plaintiff
does not file a response to a motion to dismiss for failure
to state a claim, the district court must still examine the
allegations in the plaintiff's complaint and determine
whether the plaintiff has stated a claim upon which relief
can be granted.” Id.
Sergeant
Leach and Lieutenant Elbe are officers employed by the Weld
County Sherriff's Office and seek dismissal of the claims
made against each of them in their official capacity.
Official capacity claims are, in effect, claims against the
individual's governmental employer - in this case, Weld
County. Specifically, Lt. Elbe seeks dismissal of the claim
asserted against him for an alleged violation of Mr.
Hall's right to free exercise of religion under the First
Amendment of the United States Constitution, and Sgt. Leach
seeks dismissal of the claim against him for alleged use of
excessive force in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of
the United States Constitution. Defendants argue dismissal is
warranted because Mr. Hall failed to allege in his Second
Amended Complaint that any policy or custom of Weld County
resulted in his alleged injuries.
Legal
Standard
Federal
Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) permits the Court to dismiss
for “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be
granted.” The purpose of a motion to dismiss pursuant
to Rule 12(b)(6) is to test “the sufficiency of the
allegations within the four corners of the complaint after
taking those allegations as true.” Mobley v.
McCormick, 40 F.3d 337, 340 (10th Cir. 1994);
Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) (stating that a complaint may be
dismissed for “failure to state a claim upon which
relief can be granted”). “The court's
function on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion is not to weigh potential
evidence that the parties might present at trial, but to
assess whether the plaintiff's complaint alone is legally
sufficient to state a claim for which relief may be
granted.” Sutton v. Utah State Sch. for the Deaf
& Blind, 173 F.3d 1226, 1236 (10th Cir. 1999)
(citation omitted). To withstand a motion to dismiss pursuant
to Rule 12(b)(6), “a complaint must contain enough
allegations of fact to state a claim for relief that is
plausible on its face.” Robbins v. Oklahoma,
519 F.3d 1242, 1247 (10th Cir. 2008) (quoting Bell
Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)).
See also Shero v. City of Grove, Okla., 510 F.3d
1196, 1200 (10th Cir. 2007) (“The complaint must plead
sufficient facts, taken as true, to provide ‘plausible
grounds' that discovery will reveal evidence to support
the ...