2 2

- 9 5 6

- cv Demarest v. Underhill 

## UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT 

# SUMMARY ORDER

RULINGS BY SUMMARY ORDER DO NOT HAVE PRECEDENTIAL EFFECT. CITATION TO A SUMMARY ORDER FILED ON OR AFTER JANUARY 1, 2007, IS PERMITTED AND IS GOVERNED BY FEDERAL RULE OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE 32.1 AND THIS COURT ’ S LOCAL RULE 32.1.1. WHEN CITING A SUMMARY ORDER IN A DOCUMENT FILED WITH THIS COURT, A PARTY MUST CITE EITHER THE FEDERAL APPENDIX OR AN ELECTRONIC DATABASE (WITH THE NO TATION “ SUMMARY ORDER ” ). A PARTY CITING A SUMMARY ORDER MUST SERVE A COPY OF IT ON ANY PARTY NOT REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL. At a stated term of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, held at the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, in the City of New York, on the 7 th da y of December , two thousand twenty

- two

. PRESENT: GUIDO CALABRESI , GERARD E. LYNCH , WILLIAM J. NARDINI , Circuit Judges.

_____________________________________ David P. Demarest , Plaintiff

- Appellant ,

v. 2 2

- 956 Town of Underhill, a municipality and charter town, Daniel Steinbauer, as an individual and in official capacity as Selectboard Chair, Bob Stone, as an individual and in official capacity, Dick Albertini, as an individual and in official capacity, Seth Fri edman, in official capacity, Marcy Gibson, as an individual and in official capacity, Rick Heh, as an individual and in official capacity, Brad Holden, as an individual and in official capacity, Anton Kelsey, in official capacity, Karen McKnight, as an ind ividual and in official capacity, Nancy McRae, as an individual and in official capacity, Steve Owens, as an individual and in official capacity, Clifford Peterson, as an individual and in official capacity, Patricia Sabalis, as an individual and in offici al capacity, Cynthia Seybolt, as an individual2 and in official capacity, Trevor Squirrell, as an individual and in official capacity, Rita St. Germain, as an individual and in official capacity, Daphne Tanis, as an individual and in official capacity, Walt er “ Ted ” Tedford, as an individual and in official capacity, Steve Walkerman, as an individual and in official capacity, Mike Weisel, as an individual and in official capacity, Defendants

- Appellees , Judy Bond, in official capacity, Peter Brooks, in off icial capacity, Peter Duvall, in official capacity, Barbara Greene, in official capacity, Carolyn Gregson, in official capacity, Stan Hamlet, as an individual and in official capacity, Faith Ingulsrud, in official capacity, Kurt Johnson, in official capaci ty, Michael Oman, in official capacity, Mary Pacifici, in official capacity, Barbara Yerrick, in official capacity, Front Porch Forum, as a Public Benefit Corporation fairly treated as acting under color of law due to past and present factual consideration s while serving the traditional governmental role of providing “ Essential Civic Infrastructure ” ranging from the di stribution of public meeting agendas to the coordination of civilian natural disaster relief efforts , Jericho Underhill Land Trust, as Non

- Pr ofit Corporation fairly treated as acting under color of law due to past and present factual considerations and a special relationship willfully participating in and actively directing acquisition of municipal property by the Town of Und erhill , 1 Defen dants

.

_____________________________________ FOR PLAINTIFF

- APPELLANT: D AVID D EMAREST , pro se , Underhill, VT

. FOR DEFENDANTS

- APPELLEES: K EVIN L. K ITE ( James F. Carroll , on the brief ), Carroll, Boe, Pell & Kite, P.C., Middlebury, VT

.

1 The Clerk of Court is directed to amend the caption of the case as set forth above.3 Appeal from a judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Vermont ( William K. Sessions III , J udge ). UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND
DECREED that the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED

. Plaintiff

- A ppellant David Demarest appeals portions of the dismissal of his pro se 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint by the United States District Court for the District of Vermont (William K. Sessions III, Judge ) . Because we conclude that the relevant portions of the complaint were barred by claim preclusion and the running of the statute of limitations, or otherwise failed to state a valid claim, we affirm

. We assume the parties ’ familiarity with the case , and write against the backdrop of the Vermont Supreme Court’s decisions addressing Demarest’s prior litigation efforts in state court

. See generally Demarest v. To wn of Underhill , 256 A.3d 554 (Vt. 2021); Demarest v. Town of
Underhill , 138 A.3d 206 (Vt. 2016); Demarest v. Town of Underhill , 87 A.3d 439 (Vt. 2013)

. Invoking 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Demarest sued the Town of Underhill, individual defendants working

on behalf of the town (the “Municipal Defendants”) , an online forum, and a land trust, alleging
numerous constitutional violations. The district court dismissed all of Demarest’s claims, in part
for failure to state valid claims and in part on claim preclusi on, statute of limitations, and Rooker

Feldman 2 grounds

.

2 D.C. Ct. of App. v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462 (1983); Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co ., 263 U.S. 413 (1923). Although Rooker

- Feldman relates to subject matter jurisdiction, the district court applied the doctrine to only a narrow subset of Dem arest’s claims and otherwise reached the merits. Because we can bypass Rooker

- Feldman in an appropriate case, see Butcher v. Wendt , 975 F.3d 236, 244 (2d Cir. 2020), we do so here and affirm on other, non

- Rooker

- Feldman grounds.4 Demarest limits his appeal to the Municipal Defendants and a subset of his original claims. 3
Our review is de novo , both generally and with regard to claim preclusion and the statute of
limitati ons. See Melendez v. Sirius XM Radio, Inc

. , 50 F.4th 294, 298 (2d Cir. 2022) ; Ray v. Ray , 22 F.4th 69, 72 (2d Cir. 2021) ; Soules v. Conn. , Dep’t of Emergency Servs. & Pub. Prot. , 882 F.3d 52, 55 (2d Cir. 2018). Under the Full Faith and Credit Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1738, a federal court must apply Vermont claim preclusion law to Vermont state court judgments. See Kremer v. Chem. Constr. Corp. , 456 U.S. 461, 481

– 82 (1982)

. As the Vermont Supreme Court explained in Demarest’s most recent state court action, “[ c ] laim preclusion bars [ re ] litigation of a claim or defense if there exists a final judgment in former litigation in which the parties, subject matter and causes of ac tion are identical or substantially identical .” Demarest , 256 A.3d at 558 (internal quotation marks omitted). In
that case , Demarest had also litigated the same years

- long reclassification dispute that forms the
basis of his current federal suit, and t he Vermont Supreme Court ultimately held that Demarest’s core claims were barred by claim preclusion , as they could have been raised in one of Demarest’s

ea rlier state actions. Because we , like the district court , are bound by decisions of the Vermont Supreme Court on matters of Vermont law, s ee Licci ex rel. Licci v. Lebanese Canadian Bank,
SAL , 739 F.3d 45, 48 (2d Cir. 2013) , we too must conclude that any claim that could have been brought in those earlier state actions is barred by claim preclusion. 4 Thus , any claim that could

3 Accordingly, on appeal, Demarest expressly “stipulates to the dismissal of the Ninth and Tenth causes of action as they relate to the Jericho Underhill Land Trust and Front Porch Forum.” Reply Brief for Appellant at 2. 4 Demarest does not challenge the dis trict court’s determination that the individual Municipal Defendants were in privity with the Town of Underhill, which was the opposing party5 have been brought in the case that gave rise to the Vermont Supreme Court’s decision (which also reached the merits of certain new allegations) is also barred by claim preclusion. We also agree with the district court that the remaining claims are large ly time barred. Demarest filed this lawsuit in June 2021, yet much of the conduct targeted by his complaint dates from long before. Since a § 1983 claim adopts the limitations period for a state personal injury

tort

— which in Vermont is three years, see M orse v. Univ. of Vt. , 973 F.2d 122, 12 5

– 27 (2d Cir. 1992)

— claims accruing before June 2018, which comprise the majority of Demarest’s complaint,
would be time barred. Although Demarest argues that his claims accrued only when a recent Supreme Court decision , Knick v. Twp. of Scott, Pennsylvania , 139 S. Ct. 2162 (2019) , removed an impediment to his pursuing them, he is incorrect : “[a] decision recognizing a cause of action after the period has run does not retroactively interrupt the running of the li mitations period. ” Fiesel v. Bd. of Ed uc . of N.Y.C. , 675 F.2d 522, 524 (2d Cir. 1982) (internal quotation marks omitted).
To the extent Demarest’s First Amendment claims would survive both the time bar and the application of claim preclusion, we conclude that Demarest has otherwise failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. See McCall v. Pataki , 232 F.3d 321, 323 (2d Cir. 2000) (observing that this Court can affirm on any basis supported by the record). Even with the requisite liberal construction afforded to the pleadings and filings of pro se litigants, see McLeod v. Jewish Guild for the Blind , 864 F.3d 154, 156

– 57 (2d Cir. 2017) , the relevant no n - conclusory allegations of the amended complaint do not establish a plausible First Amendment claim , s ee

in his earlier state actions. He has therefore abandoned any argument to the contrary. See Nick’s Garage, Inc. v . Progressive Cas. Ins. Co. , 875 F.3d 107, 122 n.11 (2d Cir. 2017).6 Zherka v. Amicone , 634 F.3d 642, 643 (2d Cir. 2011) (“Private citizens alleging retaliation for their criticism of public officials must show . . . [ an] ‘actual chilling’ of their exercise of their constitutional right to free speech . . . [or] some other form of concrete harm . . . .”); Lawyers’ Comm. for 9/11 Inquiry, Inc. v. Garland , 43 F.4th 276, 284 (2d Cir. 2022) (“[T]he First
Amendment ‘does not impose any affirmative obligation on the government to listen [or] to respond’ to a citizen’s speech.” (quoting Smith v. Arkansas State Highway Emp., Loc. 1315 , 441 U.S. 463, 465 (1979)).
We have considered all of Demarest’s remaining arguments and find them to be unpersuasive . Accordingly, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.
FOR THE COURT:
Catherine O ’ Hagan Wolfe, Clerk of Court