Sims v. Marion County, Alabama
6:18-cv-01967
| N.D. Ala. | Apr 30, 2019Background
- In December 2017, county sheriff’s deputies and city police officers went to Billy Ray Sims’s home in the early morning hours; they did not identify themselves and walked onto his property shining flashlights into his house.
- Sims, believing they were intruders, armed himself but did not raise his weapon; officers fired on Sims, who was shot multiple times and died before receiving medical care.
- Plaintiffs filed a First Amended Complaint asserting § 1983 claims (Counts I–IV) and other causes of action; Defendants moved to dismiss in part under Rule 12(b)(6).
- Defendants argued the § 1983 counts failed to identify the specific constitutional bases, that a Fourth Amendment unlawful search/seizure claim was implausible and abated by Sims’s death, and that several individual plaintiffs lacked standing.
- The Court allowed Plaintiffs 10 days to amend the complaint to specify the constitutional bases for § 1983 claims, denied dismissal of the unlawful search/seizure claim at the pleading stage (including on abatement grounds), and dismissed all individual plaintiffs except Melissa Ann Sims in her capacity as administratrix of Sims’s estate for lack of standing and failure to state a claim.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether § 1983 counts sufficiently plead the constitutional/federal right violated | Plaintiffs say the complaint gives adequate notice and ask leave to amend if more specificity is required | Defendants say the counts fail to identify the constitutional/federal rights violated | Court: Grant leave to amend; Plaintiffs must specify the constitutional basis within 10 days |
| Whether facts plead a plausible Fourth Amendment unlawful search/seizure claim | Plaintiffs contend officers’ entry/search of the home without identification supports a Fourth Amendment claim | Defendants contend the allegations do not plausibly constitute a search/seizure and the claim abated on decedent’s death | Court: Denied dismissal on sufficiency and on abatement; factual issues for later stages |
| Whether Sims’s § 1983 claim abated at death under Alabama survivorship law | Plaintiffs argue the constitutional violation caused Sims’s death and thus wrongful-death route is available | Defendants assert the claim abated as an unfiled personal injury action under Ala. Code §6–5–462 | Court: Survival/abatement question premature; wrongful-death § 1983 claim may proceed via personal representative |
| Whether individual heirs (other than administratrix) have standing to bring individual § 1983 claims | Plaintiffs argue Alabama wrongful-death remedies conflict with § 1983 and heirs should recover individual compensatory damages | Defendants say only the personal representative has standing under Alabama law | Court: Only Melissa Ann Sims (administratrix) has standing; other individual plaintiffs dismissed for lack of standing/failure to state a § 1983 claim |
Key Cases Cited
- Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009) (pleading standard: factual allegations must permit plausible inference of liability)
- Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007) (complaint must state a plausible claim for relief)
- West v. Atkins, 487 U.S. 42 (1988) (§ 1983 requires a person acting under color of state law to have deprived plaintiff of a federal right)
- Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989) (§ 1983 is not itself a source of substantive rights; must identify underlying constitutional right)
- Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980) (warrantless home entries and searches are presumptively unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment)
- Estate of Gilliam ex rel. Waldroup v. City of Prattville, 639 F.3d 1041 (11th Cir. 2011) (apply state survivorship law to § 1983 actions; wrongful-death statute may provide path when violation caused death)
- Robertson v. Wegmann, 436 U.S. 584 (1978) (§ 1983’s purpose includes compensation for deprivation of federal rights)
- Hecksel v. Robertson, 420 F.3d 1254 (11th Cir. 2005) (adult survivors generally cannot bring individual § 1983 claims for injuries that are derivative of an alleged constitutional wrong against a decedent)