Opinion ID: 3151035
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Richardson’s Complaints

Text: Richardson filed a complaint alleging that on July 7, 2010, the Anchorage Police Department responded to the theft of a laptop computer reported by a Best Buy employee. According to Richardson, this employee “conspired” with an Anchorage police officer to “present a fraudulent line up on or about July 8,” at which Richardson was identified as a perpetrator. Richardson alleged that on July 8, this officer perjured himself by filing a false complaint against Richardson accusing him of third-degree theft. This theft charge against Richardson was ultimately dismissed. Richardson further claimed that this false complaint caused the Anchorage police to “de[s]cend upon [Richardson’s] property and . . . [make] an unreasonable search and seizure[].” Along with the Best Buy employee and the police officer who responded to the alleged theft, Richardson named the State of Alaska, the Anchorage Police Department, the Municipality of Anchorage, the “Dimond Center Best Buy,” and the “Best Buy Corp[o]ration” as defendants.2 Seeking millions of dollars in damages, he alleged numerous causes of action including obstruction of justice, extortion, trespass, unlawful arrest, and false imprisonment. 1 We refer to the suit before Judge Easter as “the first suit” and the suit before Judge Rindner as “the second suit,” because that is the order in which the court accepted them for filing. However, as we discuss in Part IV.A.2, the effective filing date of the second suit is at issue in this appeal. 2 When discussing the first suit, we will use “the Municipality” to refer collectively to the Municipality of Anchorage and the Anchorage Police Department. And we refer to Best Buy Stores LP and the Best Buy employee collectively as “Best Buy.” -4- 7061
Richardson filed a separate complaint based on events beginning late in the evening of July 13, 2010, when the Anchorage police allegedly arrived at Richardson’s home. According to Richardson, the police initially arrived without a warrant and entered his residence without permission. Richardson claimed that the police obtained a warrant early the next morning and sent a police canine into the crawl space of the residence, where Richardson was hiding. By Richardson’s account, he got into a “fist fight” with the canine, sustained dog bite injuries to his arms and legs, and was transported to the hospital for treatment. After being released from the hospital, Richardson was booked at the Anchorage Correctional Complex, but the charges against him were ultimately dismissed. Richardson alleged the same causes of action as in his first complaint and similarly sought millions of dollars in damages. Richardson named the State of Alaska, the Municipality of Anchorage, the Anchorage Police Department, fifteen police officers who purportedly participated in his arrest, and “K-9 Jimmy Lee” as defendants.3