Court Opinion

ID: 9396440
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-05-22 17:01:23.89894+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:19:17.022532
License: Public Domain

NOT PRECEDENTIAL

                       UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                            FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
                                 ___________

                                      No. 23-1063
                                      __________

                               DEVON AUSTIN EARL,
                                    sui juris,
                                      Appellant

                                            v.

   BRANDON HARRIS, Badge #2918, in his individual and official capacity as Police
  Officer of New Castle County Police Department; ALEXANDER PETERSON, in his
     individual and official capacity as Magistrate of Justice of the Peace Court No. 11;
 “CTEMPLE CLERK” (NEW CASTLE CLERK OF THE PEACE), in her individual and
    official capacity as Clerk of New Castle County Justice of the Peace County No. 11;
   JESSICA ZEILMAN, Badge #39344, in her individual and official capacity as Police
 Officer of University of Delaware Police Department; MARIA PEREZ-CHAMBERS, in
  her individual and official capacity as Magistrate of Justice of the Peace Court No. 11;
    KATHERINE L. MAYER, in their individual and official capacity as Judge of New
Castle County Court of Common Pleas for the State of Delaware; CAROL LEMIEUX, in
     her individual and official capacity as Court Clerk of New Castle County Court of
      Common Pleas for State of Delaware; AJ ROOP, in his official capacity as State
Prosecutor of State of Delaware; COLONEL JOSEPH S. BLOCH, in his official capacity
 as Police Chief of New Castle County Police Department; ALAN DAVIS, in his official
capacity as Chief Magistrate of Justice of the Peace Court No. 11; PATRICK OGDEN, in
 his official capacity as Chief of Police University of Delaware; CARL C. DANBERG, in
  his official capacity as Chief Judge of New Castle County Court of Common Pleas for
the State of Delaware; MATTHEW MEYER, in his official capacity as Executive of New
            Castle County; SECRETARY OF DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION; JANA SIMPLER, in her official capacity as Director of Delaware
 Department of Motor Vehicles; DENNIS ASSANIS, in his official capacity as President
    of University of Delaware; GOVERNOR OF DELAWARE; ERIS S. YUAN, in his
       official capacity as CEO of Zoom Video Communications Inc.; NEW CASTLE
  COUNTY, a municipal corporation; STATE OF DELAWARE, a federal corporation;
 UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE, a state-assisted Delaware corporation; NEW CASTLE
       COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT, a municipal corporation; NEW CASTLE
      COUNTY JUSTICE OF THE PEACE COURT NO. 11, a municipal corporation;
        DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR VEHICLES, a federal municipal
    corporation; DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION; NEW CASTLE
     COUNTY COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, a municipal corporation; ZOOM VIDEO
                 COMMUNICATIONS INC., a domestic Delaware corporation
                      ____________________________________

                     On Appeal from the United States District Court
                                for the District of Delaware
                         (D.C. Civil Action No. 1-22-cv-01026)
                     District Judge: Honorable Richard G. Andrews
                      ____________________________________

                    Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
                                    May 19, 2023

                Before: KRAUSE, PHIPPS, and SCIRICA, Circuit Judges

                              (Opinion filed: May 22, 2023)
                                     ___________

                                        OPINION *
                                       ___________

PER CURIAM

        Devon Austin Earl, who identifies himself as an adult Moorish-American

National, appeals the District Court’s orders dismissing his complaint and denying

reconsideration. For the reasons detailed below, we will affirm the District Court’s

judgment.

        According to Earl’s complaint and the documents attached to it, defendant New

Castle County Police Officer Brandon Harris pulled over Earl’s automobile in March

2020 because his “insurance was flagged.” ECF No. 2 at 10. Earl was charged with

failure to have required insurance, see 21 Del. C. § 2118, and having a fictitious or

*
 This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not
constitute binding precedent.
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canceled registration, see 21 Del. C. § 2115. ECF No. 2-7. Instead of attending his court

dates, Earl filed various documents that distinguished between “Devon-Austin: Earl” and

“DEVON AUSTIN EARL,” alleged that Delaware had failed to join an indispensable

party, stated that he did not consent to the proceedings, accused Delaware of “employing

its war powers against its citizenry,” ECF No. 2-6, and claimed that because Delaware

did not respond to his initial filings, it was in default and was required to dismiss the

case, see ECF No. 2-10. Eventually, Earl’s driver’s license was suspended and a warrant

was issued for his arrest. See ECF No. 2-12. He was later arrested at his place of

employment. See ECF No. 2 at 17.

       Earl then filed a complaint alleging that more than 20 defendants—police officers

who detained and arrested him, judges and clerks who were involved in his criminal

proceedings, the State of Delaware and several of its departments, New Castle County,

and Zoom Video Communications, among others—violated his rights under federal and

state law. After granting leave to proceed in forma pauperis, the District Court screened

the complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) and dismissed it. See ECF No. 7. The Court

determined that the judges, as well as the clerks who were supporting the judges, were

protected by judicial immunity; that the State of Delaware, its departments, and its

officials who were sued in their official capacities were protected by Eleventh

Amendment immunity; that Earl had failed to allege Monell liability against the

municipal defendants; that any claim against Officer Harris was time-barred; that Zoom

was not a state actor for purposes of § 1983; and that Earl had failed to state any claim for

violation of state law. The Court gave Earl the opportunity to amend the complaint, but

                                              3
instead, Earl filed a motion for reconsideration, arguing that it would not be to his benefit

to amend. The Court denied the motion and dismissed the complaint with prejudice.

Earl appealed.

       We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We exercise plenary review. See

Allah v. Seiverling, 229 F.3d 220, 223 (3d Cir. 2000). To survive dismissal, “a complaint

must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is

plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl.

Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)).

       We agree with the District Court’s analysis in full. In lieu of reproducing the

District Court’s reasoning, we will address additional arguments that Earl has raised in

his brief. First, Earl argues that, because he was not traveling for profit, the defendants

had no right to stop him or insist that he maintain a driver’s license, insurance, or

registration. However, the Supreme Court has long recognized a state’s right to use its

police powers to “require the registration of such vehicles and the licensing of their

drivers,” Hendrick v. State of Maryland, 235 U.S. 610, 622 (1915), and to require

motorists to carry insurance, see Ex parte Poresky, 290 U.S. 30, 32 (1933) (per curiam),

and Delaware has done so, see 21 Del. C. §§ 2115, 2118. Thus, the premise underlying

much of his case—that the initial stop was illegitimate—is baseless.

       Earl also argues that the judges were not entitled to judicial immunity because he

did not consent to their jurisdiction. See Br. at 8. While a judge is not immune for

actions “taken in the complete absence of all jurisdiction,” Mireles v. Waco, 502 U.S. 9,

12 (1991) (per curiam), the judges here were exercising jurisdiction conferred by statute,

                                               4
see 21 Del. C. § 703; 11 Del. C. § 2701(b). Further, personal jurisdiction is established

by a “defendant’s physical presence before the court,” State v. Korotki, 418 A.2d 1008,

1012 (Del. Super. Ct. 1980); cf. Holloway v. Brush, 220 F.3d 767, 773 (6th Cir. 2000)

(stressing that lack of personal jurisdiction does not abrogate judicial immunity); whether

Earl consented to the criminal proceedings is of no consequence.

       Next, Earl contends that the state defendants were not protected by Eleventh

Amendment immunity because he is not a citizen of Delaware. However, the Eleventh

Amendment “bars all private suits against non-consenting states in the federal courts,” In

re Venoco LLC, 998 F.3d 94, 109 (3d Cir. 2021), irrespective of the plaintiff’s

citizenship, see Del. River Joint Toll Bridge Comm’n v. Sec’y Pa. Dep’t of Lab. &

Indus., 985 F.3d 189, 193 (3d Cir. 2021).

       Earl also argues that he can raise constitutional claims under the theory of

respondeat superior. See Br. at 16. That is incorrect. See Chavarriaga v. N.J. Dep’t of

Corr., 806 F.3d 210, 227 (3d Cir. 2015) (stating that a plaintiff “cannot predicate liability

on her § 1983 claims on a respondeat superior basis”).

       Finally, Earl objects to the fact that a document he filed with the caption

“objection to Richard G. Andrews’ memorandum opinion,” ECF No. 9, was treated as a

motion for reconsideration. There was no error. Courts construe filings based on their

function, not their label, see United States v. Fiorelli, 337 F.3d 282, 288 (3d Cir. 2003),

and Earl’s motion sought reconsideration of the District Court’s dismissal order.

       For these reasons and those expressed by the District Court, we will therefore

affirm the District Court’s judgment.

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