Opinion ID: 447979
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Claims against the private party under Sec. 1983.

Text: 41 The plaintiffs allege that their rights were violated pursuant to a customary plan and agreement which existed between the defendant restaurant owner, Mr. Schneiter, and the defendant sheriff and his deputy sheriffs whereby the deputies would arrest any person named or fingered by Mr. Schneiter and put them in jail without a formal complaint or a charge and without the existence of probable cause. As explained in Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970), in order to maintain a 1983 action it not only must be demonstrated that a constitutional right was violated but also that this violation occurred under the color of state law. Id. at 150, 90 S.Ct. at 1604. Private parties have been found subject to liability under Sec. 1983 when engaged in a conspiracy with one or more parties acting under the color of state law. See, e.g., Brucar v. Rubin, 638 F.2d 987 (7th Cir.1980). The involvement of a state official in such a conspiracy plainly provides the state action essential to show a direct violation of the petitioner's Fourteenth Amendment equal protection rights whether or not the actions of the police were officially authorized or lawful.... Moreover, a private party involved in such a conspiracy even though not an official of the State, can be liable under Sec. 1983. Adickes, 398 U.S. at 152, 90 S.Ct. at 1605 (citations omitted). In order to establish a conspiracy, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the state officials and the private party somehow reached an understanding to deny the plaintiffs their constitutional rights. See Id. 42 The plaintiffs point to two statements, one allegedly made by Mr. Schneiter as the plaintiffs left the restaurant threatening that he would take care of them in his own way and to another statement made by one of the arresting police officers stating that, if he were the plaintiffs, he would sue. Besides the alleged statements made by the defendants, the plaintiffs presented no other evidence, and admit in their interrogatories that they are without any other evidence in support of their conspiracy claim. Further, in affidavits submitted by the defendants, they all state that they have had no previous contact with one another. 43 A conspiracy may be demonstrated by circumstantial evidence, Hampton v. Hanrahan, 600 F.2d 600 (7th Cir.1979); however, mere allegations of a conspiracy are insufficient to withstand a motion to dismiss. See e.g., Tarkowski v. Robert Bartlett Realty, 644 F.2d 1204, 1206 (7th Cir.1980); Dieu v. Norton, 411 F.2d 761 (7th Cir.1969). It is not unreasonable to assume that since there is conflicting evidence in the record as to what occurred at the restaurant on the night of the plaintiffs' arrest, it is possible that Mr. Schneiter may very well have given less than reliable information regarding the incident at the restaurant to the police officers. However, providing false information to an arresting officer is not, by itself, sufficient to state a claim against that private party under Sec. 1983. Butler v. Goldblatt Bros., Inc., 589 F.2d 323, 326-27 (7th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 841, 100 S.Ct. 82, 62 L.Ed.2d 53 (1979); see also Arnold v. International Business Machines, 637 F.2d 1350 (9th Cir.1981). Bare allegations of certain statements made by the defendants without, as the plaintiffs admit, any other proof of a conspiracy, is insufficient to sustain a conspiracy claim. In order to sustain a Sec. 1983 action against a private individual, there must be some evidence of some concerted effort or plan between the private party (i.e. Schneiter) and the state officials (i.e. the Sheriff's department). Upon our examination of the parties' motions and affidavits in support of summary judgment, we are unable to discover a sufficient issue of fact, nor has any been referred to at oral arguments or in the parties' briefs, to support the theory that a customary plan existed between Mr. Schneiter and the sheriff department to arrest persons at the beckon of Mr. Schneiter. See e.g., Smith v. Brookshire, 519 F.2d 93 (5th Cir.1975). Therefore, we hold the dismissal of Mr. Schneiter from the Sec. 1983 action was appropriate. 44 Count IV of the plaintiffs' complaint asked the district court to invoke its pendent jurisdiction over a claim against Mr. Schneiter alleging false arrest and imprisonment. The district court in this case obviously did not consider this count since it dismissed all the plaintiffs' Sec. 1983 federal question claims. However, since we are reversing the district court on several of the Sec. 1983 claims against the defendant deputy sheriffs, a question does exist as to whether the pendent jurisdiction of the district court may reach the false arrest and imprisonment claims against Mr. Schneiter, who now must be considered a pendent party to this action since we have dismissed the federal claim against him. In considering this question, we note that in order to establish pendent party jurisdiction, the constitutional requirements of the federal judicial power, derived from Article III of the Constitution, must be satisfied, and any statutory limits must be considered. See Owen Equip. & Erection Co. v. Kroger, 437 U.S. 365, 371-72, 98 S.Ct. 2396, 2401-02, 57 L.Ed.2d 274 (1978); Aldinger v. Howard, 427 U.S. 1, 96 S.Ct. 2413, 49 L.Ed.2d 276 (1976); United States ex rel. Hoover v. Franzen, 669 F.2d 433, 439-40 (7th Cir.1982). 45 The constitutional prong, which requires that there must be a federal claim of sufficient substance and that both the federal and state claims arise from a common nucleus of operative fact ... [such that the plaintiff] would ordinarily be expected to try [his claims] ... in one judicial proceeding ... (United Mine Workers v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715, 725, 86 S.Ct. 1130, 1138, 16 L.Ed.2d 218 (1966)), is satisfied in this case. However, the posture of the case where, such as here, a pendent party is involved must also be considered. In Aldinger v. Howard, 427 U.S. 1, 16-17, 96 S.Ct. 2413, 2421-2422, 49 L.Ed.2d 276 (1976), the Supreme Court refused to extend the pendent party jurisdiction of the federal courts in a Sec. 1983 action to cover common law claims against a municipality. 26 Aldinger based its holding on the language used in Sec. 1343 [the statute conferring jurisdiction on federal district courts over civil rights cases] together with the scope of Sec. 1983. Aldinger, 427 U.S. at 17, 96 S.Ct. at 2422 (explanation added). Since municipal corporations were not considered to be persons within the meaning of Sec. 1983 and the jurisdictional grant of authority under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1343(3) was, and still is, restricted to actions authorized by law, the Court concluded that Congress intended to further restrict the jurisdictional authority of district courts by refusing to allow joinder of a municipality as a pendent party in a Sec. 1983 action. See Lykins v. Pointer, Inc., 725 F.2d 645, 648 (11th Cir.1984). 46 Contrary to the opinion expressed by Judges Posner and Gibson, this case presents an analogous situation to Aldinger and thus is controlled by its holding. Similar to the position of the municipal corporation in Aldinger, Mr. Schneiter is not subject to suit under Sec. 1983 since he is a private party. Only when a private party's actions can be tied to those of a state official does this constitute sufficient state action to provide a cause of action under Sec. 1983. Since we have held that the quantum of evidence introduced was insufficient to support a conspiracy claim and thus was properly disposed of on summary judgment, all that remains is the pendent common law claim against Mr. Schneiter. To exercise pendent party jurisdiction on remand of this case over the common law claims against Mr. Schneiter, a person who would not otherwise be in federal court but for the jurisdictional grant of authority contained in Sec. 1343 over the other Sec. 1983 parties, would be inconsistent with the Supreme Court's decision in Aldinger. 47 In his opinion Judge Posner argues that pendent party jurisdiction exists in this case because of the closeness of the claims and the convenience of the forum. However, the fact remains that Aldinger was decided on the issue of whether a pendent party can be brought into federal court solely on the coattails of another being sued in federal court. [T]he addition of a completely new party would run counter to the well-established principle that federal courts, as opposed to state trial courts of general jurisdiction, are courts of limited jurisdiction marked out by Congress. Aldinger, 427 U.S. at 15, 96 S.Ct. at 2420. [T]he extension of Gibbs to this kind of pendent 'party jurisdiction' ... presents rather different jurisdictional considerations. Id. 48 Resolution of a claim of pendent party jurisdiction, therefore, calls for careful attention to the relevant statutory language. As we have indicated, we think a fair reading of the language used in Sec. 1343, together with the scope of Sec. 1983, requires a holding that the joinder of a municipal corporation, like the county here, for the purposes of asserting a state law claim not within federal diversity jurisdiction, is without statutory jurisdiction of the district court. 49 Id. at 17, 96 S.Ct. at 2421-2422. As stated earlier, the fact that a private party is involved does not provide the requisite state action and 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1343(3) provides that jurisdiction exists for Sec. 1983 claim only to redress constitutional deprivation taken under color of any state law. Cf. Finch v. Mississippi State Medical Ass'n, Inc., 585 F.2d 765, 780 (5th Cir.1978) (no pendent party jurisdiction over private party in a Sec. 1983 action); Miletich v. Raley, 593 F.Supp. 124 (D.Nev.1984); Watkins v. Roche, 529 F.Supp. 327, 332-33 (S.D.Ga.1981); see also, Hampton v. City of Chicago, 484 F.2d 602, 610-11 (7th Cir.1973) (no pendent party jurisdiction over city in Sec. 1983 action). The refusal to extend jurisdiction over a private party is a logical application of the Aldinger decision, and the case cited by Judge Posner is easily distinguished from the fact situation set forth herein. 27 50