Williams v. Clark, 2:14-cv-00414

Background

Plaintiff James Williams, proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, sought leave to amend his complaint and add parties in a §1983 action arising from alleged Fourth and other constitutional violations by LVMPD officers and Clark County officials.
The court had previously screened Williams's initial complaint, dismissing most claims with leave to amend, and Williams did not timely file an amended complaint as ordered.
Williams moved for leave to file a 127-page amended complaint (Dkt. #31), but the court denied it as duplicative and futile for the same reasons as the Screening Order.
In a separate motion, Williams proposed a 59-page amended complaint naming about 25 defendants, including LVMPD, asserting charges under federal and Nevada statutes and various amendments.
The court ruled that many proposed claims were time-barred, repetitive, or inadequately pled, and that Williams failed to cure pleading deficiencies identified in the Screening Order.
The court recommended denying leave to amend for most claims, but granting limited amendments under the Fourth Amendment for excessive force (Firestine, LaVassieur) and unreasonable seizure of property (Clark, Firestine, LaVassieur, Fincher, Le Heay, Kompman, Johnson), and granted limited party-join or service extensions for certain officers.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether leave to amend should be granted.	Williams seeks to add numerous claims/defendants to vindicate rights.	Amendment is duplicative, futile, and fails to cure pleading defects.	Leave to amend denied for most claims; futile to reinstate dismissed claims.
Whether Counts are time-barred under §1983.	Counts cover conduct from 2009 onward, within limitations period.	Counts prior to March 20, 2012 are time-barred; many counts are untimely.	Counts I–III, VI, VII time-barred; partial denial for IV, V, IXXX prior to 2012.
Whether proposed §1983 claims against private actors/Monell claims survive.	Alleges conspiracy and official capacity liability for municipal actors.	Monell claims inadequately pled; private actors not shown to act under color of state law; LGAA immunity applies.	Monell and private-actor §1983 claims fail; LVMPD/municipal claims denied.
Whether the proposed Fourth Amendment claims (false arrest, excessive force, seizure of property) survive.	Proposed amendment states false arrest, excessive force, and seizure of property by officers.	Most allegations are implausible or lack state action; some claims may state plausible facts.	False arrest: Count XXVI may state a claim; excessive force: allowed for Firestine/LaVassieur (Count XVII); others denied.
Whether LVMPD should be added as a party and discovery/extension orders are appropriate.	LVMPD should be liable; discovery should proceed to identify Doe defendants.	LVMPD not liable absent a viable Monell claim; discovery tools adequate to identify defendants.	Add/joinder denied except for Officer Clark; service extension granted for unserved officers; LVMPD denied for additional party status.

Key Cases Cited

Florence v. Bd. of Chosen Freeholders, 132 S. Ct. 1510 (2012) (strip searches permissible in certain settings; not per se unconstitutional)
Bull v. City & Cnty. of San Francisco, 595 F.3d 964 (9th Cir. 2010) (en banc; context on strip searches and related standards)
Starr v. Baca, 652 F.3d 1202 (9th Cir. 2011) (pleading standards; notice requirements for underlying facts)
Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007) (plausibility standard; more than labels/conclusions required)
Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009) (plausibility standard; basic pleading requirements under Rule 8)
Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89 (1964) (probable cause required for warrantless arrests)
Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989) (objective reasonableness standard for excessive force claims)
Monell v. Dept. of Soc. Serv. of City of N.Y., 436 U.S. 658 (1978) (local government §1983 liability requires official policy or custom)
Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. 261 (1985) (statutes of limitations applied to §1983 actions)
Denton v. Hernandez, 504 U.S. 25 (1992) (frivolousness standard in IFP proceedings)