Opinion ID: 2973848
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: the michigan supreme court justices

Text: This Court may affirm the decision of the district court on any grounds, including one not considered by the district court. Nat’l Ass’n of Letter Carriers, 330 F.3d at 750. Defendants Michigan Justices raised a defense under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).
The district court made no findings with respect to Defendants Michigan Justices’ 12(b)(6) motion, so there is no district court analysis to review on this issue. In analyzing a 12(b)(6) motion, this Court accepts as true all well-pleaded factual allegations, and this Court views the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Benzon v. Morgan Stanley Distributors, Inc., 420 F.3d 598, 602 (6th Cir. 2005).
The Rooker-Feldman doctrine and collateral estoppel adequately dispose of Plaintiff’s claims. We address the issue of Plaintiff’s purported claim against Defendants Michigan Justices to note that Plaintiff fails to state a claim against Defendants Michigan Justices. Plaintiff mentions Defendants Michigan Justices only once in her complaint;15 in the Parties and Jurisdiction section, Plaintiff alleges, “Defendants [Michigan Justices] was [sic] at all times relevant hereto Justice’s [sic] sitting for the Michigan Supreme Court, were state actors under color of law and acted wholly without subject matter jurisdiction . . . . Plaintiff seeks no monetary damages against these defendant’s [sic].” (J.A. at 6-7). Plaintiff does not allege any action on the part of Defendants Michigan Justices; she only alleges that they were without subject matter jurisdiction, ostensibly in the divorce proceedings between Mary and Edward. Assuming arguendo that these Defendants were without jurisdiction, this fact only goes to whether these Defendants have absolute immunity when sued for their judicial acts.16 See Stump, 435 U.S. at 356-57 (explaining that the common law absolute immunity for judges may be inapplicable when a judge acts in the clear absence of all jurisdiction). Plaintiff still needs to allege that these Defendants, while without jurisdiction, engaged in conduct that was actionable. Plaintiff makes no such allegations, either factual or legal. As a result, Plaintiff does not make any cognizable claim against Defendants Michigan Justices. Moreover, Plaintiff never mentions these Defendants in the counts of her complaint; Counts I through IV specifically address Defendants Braverman and McCormick, and Count V addresses no Defendants at all. Finally, while Plaintiff states that she does not seek monetary damages from these Defendants, she never states what relief she does in fact seek from them. In short, Plaintiff only alleges that Defendants Michigan Justices were without jurisdiction, and while this may negate absolute immunity when these Defendants are sued for their judicial acts, it does not state a claim. 15 Plaintiff only lists Defendants Michigan Justices in her complaint in Case No. 04-70613. 16 A state judge has two potential forms of immunity. First, under the common law, all judges of superior or general jurisdiction are absolutely immune for their judicial acts. Stump v. Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349, 355-56 (1978). Second, under the Eleventh Amendment, a state official has absolute immunity when sued in her official capacity. Will v. Michigan Dept. of State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 71 (1989). Both forms of absolute immunity are subject to certain exceptions. Because the issue of whether either form of immunity applies depends on the nature of the claim, and because Plaintiff makes no claim in her complaint, we will refrain from analyzing immunity. No. 04-1708 McCormick v. Braverman, et al. Page 15