Opinion ID: 172896
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: Ms. Phillips vocally disagreed with the actions taken by Coffeyville police officers and officials in connection with a summer 2007 flood. She was concerned that chemical-and-bacteria laden waters had contaminated parts of the city. According to Ms. Phillips, she was wrongly silenced, arrested, charged, threatened, stalked, harassed, and searched for trying to advise officials and warn citizens of potential dangers. Ms. Phillips, a law student proceeding pro se, filed a complaint in federal court listing numerous state tort claims, including negligence, malicious prosecution, false arrest, continuing trespass, intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation, slander, libel, battery, and fraud. She also filed a motion for an emergency order seeking an emergency declaration and injunction to enforce a variety of environmental statutes, a declaration preventing the police from further harassing her, and a declaration that, if she is jailed again, she be placed in county jail where the city defendants will be unable to harm her. Appellees filed for dismissal on two grounds: lack of federal jurisdiction and lack of compliance with Kansas statutory notice requirements. Although Phillips focused on state law torts in her complaint, the district court liberally construed Phillips's complaint as raising both state law claims and federal law claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Given the presence of a federal question, the district court concluded that it could exercise jurisdiction over the case. However, the district court dismissed the entire complaint because Ms. Phillips did not provide Coffeyville with advance notice of her claim, as required by Kan. Stat. Ann. § 12-105b(d). [1] Ms. Phillips appeals this ruling, arguing that the Kansas notice-of-claim statute is unconstitutional and, even if it is constitutional, it does not apply to at least some of her claims.