Source: http://openjurist.org/149/f3d/1190/billy-v-bewley
Timestamp: 2015-10-09 07:13:19
Document Index: 400802268

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1983', '§ 1291', '§ 1983', '§ 1983', '§ 1983', '§ 1983', '§ 1983', '§ 1983', '§ 1983']

149 F3d 1190 Billy v. Bewley | OpenJurist
149 F. 3d 1190 - Billy v. Bewley Home
149 F3d 1190 Billy v. Bewley 149 F.3d 1190
98 CJ C.A.R. 2797
Billy v. BEWLEY, Plaintiff-Appellant,v.CITY OF DUNCAN, a Municipal Corporation; Dale Anderson,Chief of Police, individually and as employee of the City ofDuncan; Glen Harris, individually and as employee of theCity of Duncan; Chris Ray, individually and as employee ofthe City of Duncan; Richard Hodges, individually and asemployee of the City of Duncan; Herbert Jennings,individually and as employee of the City of Duncan; AndrewJ. Lapine, Jr., an individual acting in conspiracy withthose acting under color of law, Defendants-Appellees.
Nos. 97-6274, 97-6321.
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously to grant the parties' request for a decision on the briefs without oral argument. See Fed.R.App.P. 34(f); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. These cases are therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
In appeal No. 97-6274, plaintiff Billy Bewley, proceeding pro se, appeals the district court's orders granting dismissal and summary judgment to defendants on his amended complaint alleging causes of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and certain state law claims. In appeal No. 97-6321, plaintiff appeals the district court's award of costs to defendants. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and following a thorough review of the record, we affirm.
This case arises out of two incidents during which plaintiff contends he was the victim of conduct by defendants in violation of his civil rights. On April 30, 1994, plaintiff's Doberman Pinscher dog died as a result of being shot with a tranquilizer dart by City of Duncan animal control officer, defendant Glenn Harris. The incident started with a telephone call to 911 by plaintiff's neighbor, defendant Andrew J. Lapine, Jr., reporting that plaintiff's dog was loose in the neighborhood and menacing people attending a nearby auction. Defendants Chris Ray and Richard Hodges, City of Duncan police officers, responded and, according to their reports, found that plaintiff's dog was agitated and pacing a fence in plaintiff's yard. The officers reported that the fence could not contain the dog and it went back and forth into plaintiff's yard at will. The officers then requested that animal control be dispatched to the location.
After several unsuccessful attempts on the part of the police dispatcher to locate plaintiff, Officers Ray and Hodges, and Animal Control Officer Harris, assisted by Officers Jerry Wilson and Bart Riley, tried, without success, to catch the dog in a pole noose. During this time, the dog charged the officers showing its teeth. After pursuing the animal through the neighborhood, the dog finally returned to plaintiff's yard. The officers then directed Harris to shoot the dog with a tranquilizer gun. Following the shot, the dog went into the house through a broken door. Because a dog hit with this tranquilizer must receive veterinary attention quickly, the police officers authorized Harris to enter plaintiff's residence to retrieve the dog once they were sure that the shot had taken effect. Harris, accompanied by Sgt. Hodges, then entered the back of plaintiff's house into a room described by Sgt. Hodges as "a dog room" littered with animal waste, food, and trash. Harris removed the animal and transported it to a veterinarian, where despite treatment, unfortunately, it died. The police officers cited plaintiff for allowing an animal to run at large. He was adjudged guilty in municipal court.
The second incident involves a traffic citation issued to plaintiff by City of Duncan police officer, defendant Herbert Jennings, for failure to come to a complete stop at a stop sign. Following a protest of the citation, plaintiff was acquitted in municipal court. Plaintiff appears to claim that these incidents were in furtherance of a city wide conspiracy to harass him and his family.
II. No. 97-6274
Plaintiff brought this § 1983 civil rights action alleging that defendants' conduct during the dog incident and the traffic incident was in violation of his constitutional rights under the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and Fourteenth Amendments. The district court granted defendant Lapine's motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) and granted summary judgment to the remaining defendants.
Plaintiff identifies eleven issues on appeal. Because many of his issues are overlapping and repetitive, we combine them as follows: (1) the district court erred in dismissing defendant Lapine; (2) the court erred in granting summary judgment to the City of Duncan, Police Chief Dale Anderson and Police Office Herbert Jennings on plaintiff's § 1983 civil rights claims; (3) the court erred in granting summary judgment to the remaining defendants on plaintiff's § 1983 civil rights claims; (4) the district court erred in granting summary judgment to defendants on plaintiff's § 1983 conspiracy claim; and (5) the district court erred in denying plaintiff's motion to recuse.1
A. Dismissal of Mr. Lapine
Plaintiff contends that the district court erred in dismissing his claims against Mr. Lapine under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. We review a dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) de novo. See Yoder v. Honeywell Inc., 104 F.3d 1215, 1224 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 118 S.Ct. 55, 139 L.Ed.2d 19 (1997). We will uphold the dismissal "when it appears that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of the claims that would entitle him to relief, accepting the well-pleaded allegations of the complaint as true and construing them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff." Id. (further quotation omitted). As a pro se litigant, we construe plaintiff's complaint liberally. See Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520, 92 S.Ct. 594, 30 L.Ed.2d 652 (1972).
Here, the district court granted Mr. Lapine's motion to dismiss based on its conclusion that Mr. Lapine was not a state actor. Moreover, the court determined that plaintiff failed to set forth specific factual allegations that state a cause of action against Mr. Lapine as a private person conspiring with a person acting under color of state law for the purpose of depriving plaintiff of his constitutional rights. We agree.
A civil rights plaintiff proceeding under § 1983 must allege and prove that "(a) some person has deprived him of a federally protected right, and (b) the person who has deprived him of that right acted under color of state law." Houston v. Reich, 932 F.2d 883, 890 (10th Cir.1991). Unless a complaint alleges both elements, it does not state a claim under § 1983. "In order to hold a private individual liable under § 1983 for a constitutional violation requiring state action, a plaintiff must show ... that the individual's conduct is 'fairly attributable to the State.' " Pino v. Higgs, 75 F.3d 1461, 1465 (10th Cir.1996) (quoting Lugar v. Edmondson Oil Co., 457 U.S. 922, 937, 102 S.Ct. 2744, 73 L.Ed.2d 482 (1982)). Under Lugar,
[f]irst, the deprivation must be caused by the exercise of some right or privilege created by the State or by a rule of conduct imposed by the state or by a person for whom the State is responsible.... Second, the party charged with the deprivation must be a person w