Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/700/1291/117147/
Timestamp: 2019-08-20 00:43:05
Document Index: 705447468

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1983', '§ 2201', '§ 1343', '§ 1981', '§ 1981', '§ 1291']

Ernest E. Clulow, Jr., Plaintiff-appellant, v. State of Oklahoma; Dr. Joe E. Tyler; Dave Faulkner,sheriff, Tulsa County, Oklahoma; Oklahoma Bar Association;stuart B. Strasner, Executive Director; Bill Boswell,general Counsel; William H. Bell, Former President; Johnm. Luttrell, President; Deryl Lee Gotcher, Formerpresident, and Paul M. Vassar, Former General Counsel,o.b.a.: Kenneth Spears, Former Sheriff, Jackson County,oklahoma; Finis Smith; Kenneth Wallace; Unknown Membersof Board of Mental Health, Back to August 1, 1978; Unknownpresent Superintendent of State Hospital at Fort Supply;larry Derryberry, Former Attorney General of Oklahoma,defendants-appellees, 700 F.2d 1291 (10th Cir. 1983) :: Justia
Justia › US Law › Case Law › Federal Courts › Courts of Appeals › Tenth Circuit › 1983 › Ernest E. Clulow, Jr., Plaintiff-appellant, v. State of Oklahoma; Dr. Joe E. Tyler; Dave Faulkner,sh...
Ernest E. Clulow, Jr., Plaintiff-appellant, v. State of Oklahoma; Dr. Joe E. Tyler; Dave Faulkner,sheriff, Tulsa County, Oklahoma; Oklahoma Bar Association;stuart B. Strasner, Executive Director; Bill Boswell,general Counsel; William H. Bell, Former President; Johnm. Luttrell, President; Deryl Lee Gotcher, Formerpresident, and Paul M. Vassar, Former General Counsel,o.b.a.: Kenneth Spears, Former Sheriff, Jackson County,oklahoma; Finis Smith; Kenneth Wallace; Unknown Membersof Board of Mental Health, Back to August 1, 1978; Unknownpresent Superintendent of State Hospital at Fort Supply;larry Derryberry, Former Attorney General of Oklahoma,defendants-appellees, 700 F.2d 1291 (10th Cir. 1983)
US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit - 700 F.2d 1291 (10th Cir. 1983)
Clulow asserts that the action is brought under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985 and 28 U.S.C. § 2201. The district court presumably had jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1343 since all claims for relief revolve around alleged deprivations of civil rights. Relief is sought in the form of money damages, declaratory judgments and a writ of mandamus against the Oklahoma Bar Association. The amended complaint is in six counts, which now will be set forth in more detail as a backdrop for our discussion.
Clulow first argued that the running of the statute should be tolled because the defendants had wrongfully refused to provide him with certain pertinent records until 1977. The court determined that the alleged concealment or withholding of records did not prevent plaintiff from knowing of the existence of his claim. The district judge held that only in such instances would tolling occur, citing Sanders v. United States, 551 F.2d 458 (D.C. Cir. 1977); Portis v. United States, 483 F.2d 670 (4th Cir. 1973); and American Tobacco Co. v. People's Tobacco Co., 204 F. 58 (5th Cir. 1913).
The fifth count was dismissed for lack of federal jurisdiction. The court found that the claim in Count Five was essentially an attempt to appeal the plaintiff's suspension from the practice of law. Such a matter may be reviewed only by the United States Supreme Court on writ of certiorari, the court held, noting that jurisdiction in lower federal courts had been held to be lacking in Doe v. Pringle, 550 F.2d 596 (10th Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 916, 97 S. Ct. 2179, 53 L. Ed. 2d 227; and Gately v. Sutton, 310 F.2d 107 (10th Cir. 1962).5
As to Count Six, the district judge held that the conspiracy claim could not withstand the motion to dismiss because it contained only conclusory allegations of a conspiracy without supporting references to material facts. The court relied on Slotnick v. Staviskey, 560 F.2d 31 (1st Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1077, 98 S. Ct. 1268, 55 L. Ed. 2d 783, noting that Clulow had alleged violations of his constitutional rights by various acts of the several alleged conspirators, but had made no averments to show that the defendants acted in concert.
The district court's dismissal of Count Five, in which Clulow sought relief against the Oklahoma Bar Association and its named officials, must be affirmed. Insofar as Clulow sought in this count to be reinstated to active membership in the Association and to have the record of his suspension expunged, the court correctly ruled that it was without subject matter jurisdiction. It is well established that the lower federal courts do not have jurisdiction to review the decisions of a state's highest court in matters relating to discipline or admission to practice of individual attorneys, such review being available only in the United States Supreme Court on writ of certiorari. Doe v. Pringle, 550 F.2d 596 (10th Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 916, 97 S. Ct. 2179, 53 L. Ed. 2d 227; Gately v. Sutton, 310 F.2d 107 (10th Cir. 1962).6
On its face Clulow's prayer for declaratory relief under this count appears to be within federal jurisdiction since it challenges the general rules and not their particular application. See Younger v. Colorado, 625 F.2d 372 (10th Cir. 1980). However, we find that the dismissal of this portion of Count Five was proper for failure to state a meritorious claim. Clulow asks this court to rule that the Oklahoma Supreme Court may not delegate to the Oklahoma Bar Association its power to discipline attorneys. Clearly the court has retained the ultimate power and merely has utilized the O.B.A. as an officer of the court in enforcing its rules regarding suspension and reinstatement of attorneys. 5 Okla.Stat.App. 1-A, Rules 1, 2, 10 and 11 (1981); see also note 10, infra, for earlier similar provisions.
Clulow also seeks a judgment declaring that suspended attorneys seeking reinstatement cannot be required to meet conditions that are more strict than those that were in effect at the time of suspension. We are referred to no authority supporting this contention other than the ex post facto prohibition of the Constitution.7 We do not agree that the Constitution requires such a rule. The Supreme Court has consistently ruled that the ex post facto provision applies only to criminal prosecutions. See e.g., Galvan v. Press, 347 U.S. 522, 74 S. Ct. 737, 98 L. Ed. 911 (1954) (ex post facto provision not applicable to deportation statute). Even a statute making it a crime to practice medicine after a former felony conviction has been held lawfully applied to one whose prior felony predated the statute because the state's predominant interest was in prescribing the qualifications for admission to the practice of medicine. Hawker v. New York, 170 U.S. 189, 18 S. Ct. 573, 42 L. Ed. 1002 (1898). In Dent v. West Virginia, 129 U.S. 114, 9 S. Ct. 231, 32 L. Ed. 623 (1889), the Court upheld a licensing statute that disqualified a physician who had been in practice for six years. The Court held the law valid because it "was intended to secure such skill and learning in the profession of medicine that the community might trust with confidence those receiving a license under authority of the State." 129 U.S. at 128, 9 S. Ct. at 235. Thus even if we were to consider Oklahoma's newer reinstatement provisions to be penal, the fact that their primary aim is the protection of the public from those incapable of practicing the profession rather than the punishment of incapacitated attorneys would require us to uphold the Oklahoma rules. See United States v. Nasser, 476 F.2d 1111 (7th Cir. 1973).8 Furthermore, procedural changes are not within the scope of the ex post facto prohibition unless their effect is "harsh and arbitrary." Beazell v. Ohio, 269 U.S. 167, 170-71, 46 S. Ct. 68, 69, 70 L. Ed. 216 (1925). Thus as to this ex post facto argument, Count Five is defective again for failure to state a meritorious claim.
In analyzing the immunity issue the first step is to characterize the governmental activity. The Supreme Court has specifically ruled that even informal attorney disciplinary matters presented to the states' highest courts are judicial proceedings. In re Summers, 325 U.S. 561, 65 S. Ct. 1307, 89 L. Ed. 1795 (1945). With regard to particular defendants the rule is that immunity depends upon the specific function being performed. Butz v. Economou, 438 U.S. 478, 511-12, 98 S. Ct. 2894, 2913, 57 L. Ed. 2d 895 (1978); G.M. Leasing Corp. v. United States, 560 F.2d 1011, 1014 (10th Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 435 U.S. 923, 98 S. Ct. 1485, 55 L. Ed. 2d 516. Once the function has been identified, analysis turns to whether and to what degree governmental immunity historically has been afforded for that function. Allred v. Svarczkopf, 573 F.2d 1146 (10th Cir. 1978); McGhee v. Draper, 564 F.2d 902 (10th Cir. 1977).
By this analysis the courts have developed a rule of absolute immunity from suits for damages for prosecutors in their roles of initiating and prosecuting criminal cases. Imbler v. Pachtman, 424 U.S. 409, 96 S. Ct. 984, 47 L. Ed. 2d 128 (1976); Martinez v. Chavez, 574 F.2d 1043 (10th Cir. 1978); Taylor v. Nichols, 558 F.2d 561 (10th Cir. 1977); Atkins v. Lanning, 556 F.2d 485 (10th Cir. 1977). Although this rule has been based on policy grounds concerning the need for vigorous enforcement of the criminal law, similar considerations support extending the rule to cover the analogous activities of the O.B.A. defendants in the instant case. We therefore agree with the courts which have held that bar officials charged with the duties of investigating, drawing up, and presenting cases involving attorney discipline enjoy absolute immunity from damage claims for such functions. See, e.g., Simons v. Bellinger, 643 F.2d 774 (D.C. Cir. 1980); Kissell v. Breskow, 579 F.2d 425 (7th Cir. 1978); Ginger v. Wayne County Circuit Court, 372 F.2d 621 (6th Cir. 1967), cert. denied, 387 U.S. 935, 87 S. Ct. 2061, 18 L. Ed. 2d 998; Clark v. Washington, 366 F.2d 678 (9th Cir. 1966), cert. denied, 375 U.S. 986, 84 S. Ct. 519, 11 L. Ed. 2d 473.10
Congress did not prescribe limitations periods for the Civil Rights Acts. In the absence of such Congressional direction the federal courts apply the most closely analogous state period of limitation. This rule has been uniformly followed in civil rights cases, beginning with O'Sullivan v. Felix, 233 U.S. 318, 34 S. Ct. 596, 58 L. Ed. 980 (1914), and has often been so applied by this court. See e.g., Childers v. Indep. School Dist. No. 1, 676 F.2d 1338, 1342-43 (10th Cir. 1982); Shah v. Halliburton Co., 627 F.2d 1055, 1057-59 (10th Cir. 1980) (action under 42 U.S.C. § 1981); Spiegel v. School Dist. No. 1, 600 F.2d 264 (10th Cir. 1979); Hansbury v. Regents of University, 596 F.2d 944 (10th Cir. 1979). Therefore we turn to the Oklahoma statutes of limitations.
The district court concluded that since the claims sound in tort, the appropriate Oklahoma prescriptive period was that provided by 12 Okla.Stat. Sec. 95(3), which, inter alia, governs actions "for injury to the rights of another, not arising on contract, and not hereinafter enumerated ...." We agree. In Zuniga v. AMFAC Foods, Inc., 580 F.2d 380, 383-84 (10th Cir. 1978), a Sec. 1981 case, we held that the proper mode of analysis begins with characterizing the facts underlying the plaintiff's claim and determining if there is a comparable action under state law. Following this approach we conclude that the plaintiff's claims correspond to tort actions for interference with individual rights. The only Oklahoma statutory provisions that could apply then are the third and fourth subsections of Sec. 95. The fourth subsection provides, inter alia, for a one year prescriptive period for certain torts, namely libel, slander, assault, battery, malicious prosecution, and false imprisonment. Although it could be argued that Clulow's claims are in part similar to a false imprisonment action, we agree with the application of the two year period of the third subsection of Sec. 95. This two year period has been held appropriate in other Sec. 1983 actions. Crosswhite v. Brown, 424 F.2d 495 (10th Cir. 1970); Burgess v. Bryant, 505 F. Supp. 19 (W.D.Okl.1980); Seibert v. McCracken, 387 F. Supp. 275 (E.D.Okl.1974); see also Person v. St. Louis-S.F. Ry., 428 F. Supp. 1148 (W.D.Okl.1976) (applying same statute to action under 42 U.S.C. § 1981).12 This choice is further supported by the fact that most of plaintiff's claims can be characterized as specific torts such as false imprisonment only by rather loose analogy. The more general tort of interference with individual rights covered by Sec. 95(3) is a better analogue. Thus we are persuaded that the two year statute applies to bar Clulow's claims in Counts One through Four unless Clulow's theory on tolling or other avoidance of the limitation applies.
The district court rejected Clulow's contention that continuing torts had been pleaded, characterizing the allegations of the first four counts as isolated events. We agree. Clulow's argument that the events were connected because of the similarity of the alleged due process violations is simply insufficient on its face. Likewise, the argument that the events are related because of the use at each commitment proceeding of evidence of the prior commitments is unavailing. We express no opinion on the propriety of these alleged evidentiary rulings. In any event neither any single alleged practice nor all of them together are sufficient to unite, into one continuing tort, events that were clearly discrete and separated by as much as twelve years. There was no averment in Counts One through Four of a continuing violation of a continuing duty, extending into the two-year period preceding the filing of this action on August 17, 1978. Big Four Foundry Co. v. Hagers, 197 Okl. 409, 172 P.2d 322 (Okl.1946); cf. Western Natural Gas Co. v. Cities Service Gas Co., 507 P.2d 1236, 1242 (Okl.1972), appeal dismissed and cert. denied, 409 U.S. 1052, 93 S. Ct. 559, 34 L. Ed. 2d 506, and cases there cited.
We view this question as one of accrual of the claim, but whether it is one of accrual or tolling, it is to be determined by reference to state law. State law on tolling of the statute of limitations should be followed unless that law is inconsistent with federal law or with the policy which the federal law seeks to implement. Board of Regents v. Tomanio, 446 U.S. 478, 484-86, 100 S. Ct. 1790, 1795, 64 L. Ed. 2d 440 (1980). As the Supreme Court explained in Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, 421 U.S. 454, 95 S. Ct. 1716, 44 L. Ed. 2d 295 (1975), state law on tolling is applicable because
421 U.S. at 464, 95 S. Ct. at 1722 (emphasis added).
That Oklahoma law requires that plaintiffs show concealment of the existence of a cause of action is illustrated by Morris v. Wise, 293 P.2d 547, 55 A.L.R.2d 1033 (Okl.1955). In Morris the plaintiff was injured in an automobile collision. The vehicle that struck the plaintiff's car was occupied by the two defendants who both denied being the driver. The Oklahoma court held that the defendants' refusal to divulge the identity of the driver did not toll the running of the limitation period because "there was no concealment of the cause of action. There was nothing necessary to establish a cause of action that could have been discovered later except who was the driver of the vehicle involved." 293 P.2d at 550. Morris clearly establishes that the rule applied by the district judge here is correct under Oklahoma law. Accord, United Fidelity Life Insur. Co. v. Law Firm, 624 F.2d 145 (10th Cir. 1980) (applying Oklahoma law); Olansen v. Texaco, Inc., 587 P.2d 976, 985 (Okl.1978); Martie v. Martie, 271 P.2d 385 (Okl.1954); Kansas City Life Insurance Co. v. Nipper, 174 Okl. 634, 51 P.2d 741 (Okl.1935).
Here there is no conflict with federal law because our decisions on accrual in cases arising in other areas of federal law show that the basic concealment rule is the same. See, e.g., King & King Enterprises v. Champlin Petroleum Co., 657 F.2d 1147, 1154-56 (10th Cir. 1981) (antitrust), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 1164, 102 S. Ct. 1038, 71 L. Ed. 2d 320; Ohio v. Peterson, Lowry, Rall, Barber & Ross, 651 F.2d 687, 691-94 (10th Cir. 1981) (securities fraud), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 895, 102 S. Ct. 392, 70 L. Ed. 2d 209. This general rule has been followed by other circuits as well. For example, in Rutledge v. Boston Woven Hose & Rubber Co., 576 F.2d 248 (9th Cir. 1978), an antitrust case, the court held that to have the statute tolled on the basis of the defendants' alleged fraudulent concealment of the existence of the claim, the plaintiff would have to show "that he had neither actual nor constructive knowledge of the facts constituting his claim for relief ...." 576 F.2d at 249-250. Explaining further, the court said that the plaintiff was required to "allege facts showing affirmative conduct upon the part of the defendant which would ... lead a reasonable person to believe that he did not have a claim for relief." 576 F.2d at 250.13
In Cope v. Anderson, 331 U.S. 461, 67 S. Ct. 1340, 91 L. Ed. 1602 (1947), the Court dismissed a similar argument in a suit to enforce the statutory liability of shareholders of an insolvent national bank, saying:
331 U.S. at 463-64, 67 S. Ct. at 1341 (citations omitted).16
State limitations periods have been observed in suits for equitable relief under the civil rights acts on several occasions. See, e.g., Zuniga v. AMFAC Foods, Inc., 580 F.2d 380, 387 n. 10 (10th Cir. 1978); Williams v. Walsh, 558 F.2d 667, 670-73 (2d Cir. 1977) (both equitable relief and legal relief by way of damages were sought in Sec. 1983 suit; both remedies denied on state limitations grounds); Madison v. Wood, 410 F.2d 564, 567-68 (6th Cir. 1969); Swan v. Board of Higher Education, 319 F.2d 56, 59 n. 5 (2d Cir. 1963) (per Justice Marshall, then circuit judge) (injunctive and declaratory relief sought); see also Nilsen v. City of Moss Point, 674 F.2d 379 (5th Cir.) rehearing en banc granted, 674 F.2d 390 (1982) (discusses the rule with apparent approval as to cases in which period for laches is perceived to be longer than statutory period; holds that laches may bar action before statute has run). A thorough and authoritative analysis of this question is presented in Williams, in which the Second Circuit discussed Madison and Swan, among other cases. In Swan and Madison the principle of observing the limitations period was followed even though only declaratory or equitable remedies were sought.
The crux of the matter in the instant case is that the civil rights claims are assertable as legal rights, enforceable in actions at law as well as in equity; hence equity's jurisdiction is concurrent, not exclusive.17 And since the plaintiff could have sought relief at law, the statute of limitations period is observed in equity. See Nemkov v. O'Hare Chicago Corp., 592 F.2d 351, 355 (7th Cir. 1979).
First, we note that here we are concerned with two groups of defendants--the Oklahoma Bar Association defendants and the remaining defendants such as the State of Oklahoma, Sheriff Faulkner, Dr. Tyler and defendant Finis Smith. We are persuaded that the allegations as to the Bar Association and its officers fail to state sufficiently any conspiracy by them with the other defendants in the case. The record is simply devoid of any allegations of facts indicating a possible conspiratorial agreement or actions by these two groups. In these circumstances such a conclusory allegation with no supporting factual averments is insufficient as a matter of law to state a claim for conspiracy. See Wise v. Bravo, 666 F.2d 1328, 1333 (10th Cir. 1981); Taylor v. Nichols, 558 F.2d 561 (10th Cir. 1977); Slotnick v. Staviskey, 560 F.2d 31 (1st Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1077, 98 S. Ct. 1268, 55 L. Ed. 2d 783.
We are mindful that caution is advised in any pre-trial disposition of conspiracy allegations in civil rights actions. Fisher v. Shamburg, 624 F.2d 156, 162 (10th Cir. 1980). This case, however, is distinguishable from Fisher. In Fisher the plaintiff alleged a conspiracy among the three defendants related to their actions over a brief interval of time during which they were together in a restaurant's parking lot. From those allegations the trial court found a "slight chance" of concerted action. 624 F.2d at 158. Here the plaintiff has failed to make even such minimal factual averments. The mere fact that Clulow's mental health commitments were regarded by the O.B.A. defendants as relevant to his ability to practice law supports no inference whatsoever of concerted activity; there are no allegations that the O.B.A. defendants participated in any way in the commitment proceedings. Indeed the plaintiff affirmatively avers wholly separate acts alleged to have been committed by the Bar Association defendants and the other defendants, and those acts in no way support an inference of conspiratorial combination.
Considering these two groups of defendants separately, we conclude that the same defenses that were held sufficient in Parts III and IV of this opinion are equally valid here with respect to Count Six. Thus the conspiracy claim against the O.B.A. and its officers must also fail because of their immunity in connection with their functions. The conspiracy claim against the other defendants is barred by the two-year statute of limitations prescribed by 12 Okla.Stat. Sec. 95(3). As to this second group of defendants, the statute of limitations began to run no later than the date of the last overt act allegedly committed in furtherance of the conspiracy. Crosswhite v. Brown, 424 F.2d 495, 496-97 (10th Cir. 1970) (holding untimely, under the Oklahoma limitation, a civil conspiracy claim asserted under Secs. 1983 and 1985). Since there is no connection alleged between the actions of this second group of defendants and the Bar Association defendants, we must focus on the last overt act allegedly done by any of the second group. In Count Four of the amended complaint, referring to a sanity hearing and acts by deputy sheriffs and others, the last act allegedly occurred in 1972. The acts averred in Counts One, Two and Three by Dr. Tyler, former Sheriff Spears and others allegedly occurred prior thereto. We must agree that the conspiracy claim in Count Six is time barred with respect to all of this latter group of defendants, the State of Oklahoma, Sheriff Faulkner, et al.
After the appeal was first noticed, this court determined that a jurisdictional defect was present. We concluded that the order of dismissal was not a final decision under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 because a motion filed by some of the defendants to tax attorneys' fees as costs had not been determined. (We note that outstanding motions for fee awards are no longer to be considered as affecting the finality and appealability of decisions on the merits. Cox v. Flood, 683 F.2d 330 (10th Cir. 1982).) This court on its own motion remanded in part for resolution of this matter. The district court entered an order denying the motion for attorneys' fees on March 12, 1982. Clulow then filed a new notice of appeal on April 5, 1982. No appeal has been taken by any of the defendants from the order denying attorneys' fees
Section 95 generally gives the limitation periods for all actions other than those for recovery of real property. The third subsection provides, inter alia, for a two year period for " [a]n action ... for injury to the rights of another, not arising on contract, and not hereinafter enumerated...." We note additionally that the one year period of the fourth subsection is applicable to actions for false imprisonment
The court also noted Mayes v. Honn, 542 F.2d 822 (10th Cir. 1976), in which we upheld the dismissal of a complaint similar to Clulow's, not on jurisdictional grounds but on the similar basis that the action was an attempt to appeal the state court's rulings and was "not a proper civil rights action in form or substance ...."
Cf. Younger v. Colorado, 625 F.2d 372 (10th Cir. 1980) (federal courts do have jurisdiction to hear cases challenging, on due process or equal protection grounds, the adoption or administration of general rules and regulations governing admission to practice or discipline of attorneys); Mayes v. Honn, 542 F.2d 822 (10th Cir. 1976) (affirming dismissal of similar action not on jurisdictional grounds per se but because "not a proper civil rights action either in form or in substance and ... palpably lacking in merit")
Clulow asserts that all defendants are sued in both their official and individual capacities. I R. 240. The immunity that we have held applicable to the O.B.A. defendants shields them from suit in their individual capacities. In their official capacities with respect to the handling of admissions, suspensions, etc., the O.B.A. acts as an arm of the state, as we have previously discussed. Therefore, a claim for damages against them in their official capacities is barred by the Eleventh Amendment insofar as satisfaction of the claim might be sought from state funds. Harris v. Tooele County School District, 471 F.2d 218, 220; (10th Cir. 1973); Williams v. Eaton, 443 F.2d 422, 428-29 (10th Cir. 1971)
We do not consider the two year limitation period to be so unreasonably short as to defeat federal policy. Cf. Childers v. Indep. School Dist. No. 1, 676 F.2d 1338, 1342-43 (10th Cir. 1982) (rejects application of six month limitation in Oklahoma's Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act as "inconsistent with the broad remedial purposes of the federal civil rights acts")
See also United States v. Kubrick, 444 U.S. 111, 100 S. Ct. 352, 62 L. Ed. 2d 259 (1979) (malpractice claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act accrues when plaintiff knows of the injury and its cause, not at later date when plaintiff also learns that doctor's acts inflicting injury may constitute medical malpractice). Although none of these are civil rights cases, we do not believe that the policies of the civil rights acts would be defeated by applying them in affirming the ruling of the district court on this point
Cf. Russell v. Todd, 309 U.S. 280, 60 S. Ct. 527, 84 L. Ed. 754 (1940)