Opinion ID: 2745532
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Initial Complaint and Subsequent Dismissal

Text: On July 17, 2012, Grider filed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights complaint against four defendants: (1) attorneys Phyllis Cook and Syed Muhammad Faisal Afzal, 1 individually and in their official capacities as Broward County assistant public defenders, (2) the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, and (3) Broward County. In his initial complaint, Grider alleged that he was subjected to an unlawful psychiatric program that was imposed upon him without notice, a hearing, or an opportunity to object. He claimed that Cook, his public defender in criminal court, obtained an order declaring Grider incompetent to stand trial without Grider’s consent and with full knowledge that Grider was not mentally ill. Grider claimed 1 The record includes references to this attorney that misspell his name. The Florida Bar directory indicates that the correct spelling of his name is Syed Muhammad Faisal Afzal. 2 Case: 14-11658 Date Filed: 10/24/2014 Page: 3 of 13 that Afzal, his public defender in mental health court, ignored Grider’s instructions for him to file a motion for reconsideration of the incompetency ruling. Grider also alleged that while in the custody of Broward County Sheriff’s Office, he suffered numerous due process violations, including being medicated against his will. Grider alleged that the actions of Cook, Afzal, Broward County, and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office were part of an established custom or policy and were the result of a conspiracy against Grider. On September 5, 2012, the magistrate judge recommended that Grider’s initial complaint be dismissed for failure to state a claim. Grider objected. The district court overruled Grider’s objections, adopted the magistrate judge’s report, and dismissed Grider’s complaint with prejudice. B. First Appeal and Remand to Grant Grider Leave to Amend Grider timely appealed the dismissal of his initial complaint. On appeal, this Court noted that Grider had been charged with first degree arson and that he had received a competency hearing. Grider v. Cook, 522 F. App’x 544, 546 n.2 (11th Cir. 2013).2 We held that the district court did not err in dismissing Grider’s complaint for failure to state a claim. Id. at 548. With regard to public defenders Cook and Afzal, this Court noted that “the Supreme Court has held that public defenders do not act under color of state law 2 While the record does not reveal the date, Grider was convicted of arson and willful damage to a dwelling. In June 2013, he was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. 3 Case: 14-11658 Date Filed: 10/24/2014 Page: 4 of 13 when performing a lawyer’s traditional functions as counsel to a defendant in a criminal proceeding, and thus, they are not liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for such actions.” Id. at 547 (quotations omitted). We then held that Cook and Afzal may not be sued under § 1983 for their actions taken in connection with representing Grider before the state trial and mental health courts. Although Grider attempted to bring Cook and Azfal [sic] within the realm of § 1983 by alleging that they conspired with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and Broward County to intentionally embarrass and harass him, Grider provided nothing more than a “general conclusory allegation of conspiracy” which will not support such a claim. Id. (citations omitted). With regard to the municipal defendants, this Court held that Grider failed to state a claim because he “stated nothing more than conclusory allegations of constitutional violations” and “provided a formulaic recitation of a claim” without pleading “any specific facts about any policy or custom that resulted in his alleged constitutional deprivation.” Id. at 547-48. However, we held that the district court erred by dismissing the complaint with prejudice. Id. at 548. Specifically, we noted that in an amended complaint, “Grider could submit additional facts to support his conclusory allegations of a conspiracy or a county ‘pattern’ or ‘practice’ that led to the violation of his constitutional rights.” Id. Accordingly, we vacated the district court’s dismissal 4 Case: 14-11658 Date Filed: 10/24/2014 Page: 5 of 13 with prejudice and remanded to allow Grider an opportunity to amend his complaint. C. Amended Complaint and Subsequent Dismissal Upon remand, Grider filed an amended complaint that dropped public defender Afzal as a defendant but kept as defendants public defender Cook, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, and Broward County. The amended complaint also added as defendants (1) attorneys Sandra Mullgrav and Kevin Raudt, individually and in their official capacities; and (2) John Does 1-10, whose identities Grider did not know. Mullgrav, from the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel, 3 represented Grider as court-appointed counsel in the state criminal proceedings when public defender Cook withdrew from her representation of Grider. When Mullgrav withdrew from her representation of Grider, the state court appointed Raudt, from the same office, to represent Grider. Grider’s amended complaint, filed on December 26, 2013, consisted of a § 1983 claim and a state-law claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. In regard to the § 1983 claim, Grider alleged that his arrest “was the direct result of a program of psychiatric programming and behavior modification therapy that has been carried out surreptitiously and without [his] consent since at least 2008.” 3 In his pleading and brief, Grider refers to this office as the “Office of Regional Conflict Counsel.” 5 Case: 14-11658 Date Filed: 10/24/2014 Page: 6 of 13 Grider again alleged that he was subjected to numerous due process violations, including being medicated with “mind altering drugs against his will.” Grider did not identify the individuals who were carrying out the alleged program as early as 2008, but he alleged that a conspiracy against him grew over time to include the following: Cook, his public defender in criminal court; the Broward County Law Office of the Public Defender; Mullgrav and Raudt, his conflict counsel; Michael Robinson, the Florida criminal court trial judge; Broward County; the Broward County Sheriff’s Office; and John Does 1-10. While Grider did not name Judge Robinson as a defendant, Grider alleges Judge Robinson found him incompetent to stand trial in April 2012, and that Grider’s case was transferred to a mental health court. In his amended complaint, Grider still did not plead any specific facts supporting the conspiracy allegations, other than an allegation that attorney Cook and Judge Robinson agreed to conspire against Grider during a sidebar at the competency hearing on April 23, 2012. Grider alleged that, because the Broward County Sheriff’s Office and Broward County have had “actual and constructive notice of Plaintiff’s grievances” and “have continued in their conspiracy unabated,” the alleged wrongful actions were taken pursuant to an official policy or custom. To support the existence of an official policy or custom, Grider identified four individuals—by 6 Case: 14-11658 Date Filed: 10/24/2014 Page: 7 of 13 their initials, not by their full names—whom he alleged received similar psychiatric treatment. Grider also alleged that he “identified, based upon his own experience, at least two high profile cases in Broward County that involved the same psychiatric programming and that were carried out prior to Defendant’s incarceration.” On February 18, 2014, the magistrate judge issued a report recommending dismissal of Grider’s amended complaint for failure to state a claim. Grider once again objected. On March 25, 2014, the district court adopted the magistrate judge’s report and dismissed Grider’s amended complaint as conclusory and for failing to allege “any facts supporting his claims.” 4 Similarly, Grider failed to state a claim against the municipal defendants because, although he alleged “the existence of a policy of ‘psychiatric programming,’” Grider did “not plead enough facts to support a plausible inference of such a policy sufficient to withstand dismissal.”