MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the court on the motions to dismiss of all defendants (Doe. 17, 21, 27, 29, 39, 40), plaintiffs motions for entry of default (Doc. 24, 25, 26, 30, 32, 34, 36, 45, 47, 53, 62), and plaintiffs motions to strike defendants’ motions to dismiss (Doc. 43, 49, 51, 61). Plaintiffs motions to strike will be considered as memoranda in opposition to defendants’ motions to dismiss. After carefully considering the parties’ briefs, the court is prepared to rule. For the reasons set forth below, defendants’ motions to dismiss will be granted and plaintiffs motions for entry of default will be denied.
Factual Background
This is a civil rights action in which plaintiff Durand K. Dickerson seeks to recover damages from various defendants in the aggregate of $37,500,000.00. The following is a brief summary of the underlying dispute.
This ease arises out of a landlord-tenant dispute between Mr. Dickerson and defendants Leavitt Rentals, Paul Leavitt, and Deborah Leavitt. In August 1996, the Leavitts filed suit against Mr. Dickerson seeking to have him evicted from the commercial property owned by the Leavitts. Mr. Dickerson retained defendants Duncan Senecal Law Offices (“Duncan”) and Patrick E. Henderson to represent him in the state court action. The Leavitts retained defendant G. Ronald Bates, Jr., of the firm of Crow, Clothier & Bates (“Crow”) to represent them. The Leavitts ultimately prevailed against Mr. Dickerson in state court. Mr. Dickerson appealed the district court’s judgment to the Kansas Court of Appeals.
In February 1997, after the Leavitts had filed another action against Mr. Dickerson, Mr. Henderson declined to represent Mr. Dickerson. Mr. Dickerson retained defendant Michael J. Waite. On February 28, 1997, Judge Lacey signed a Journal Entry of Judgment ordering Mr. Dickerson evicted from the leased premises. Plaintiff apparently appealed this judgment the same day. Pursuant to the Journal Entry of Judgment, Sheriff Herbert Nye evicted Mr. Dickerson from the Leavitts’ property. Judge Lacey subsequently denied Mr. Dickerson’s motion for stay and temporary injunction.
On April 2,1997, Judge King signed a writ of execution in one of the actions the Leavitts filed against plaintiff. Plaintiff claims he was not properly served with notice of the writ. Plaintiff inquired of Shirley Pendergraft and Lt. Donald Murray of the Sheriffs Department regarding the failure to provide notice. Despite the alleged absence of service on plaintiff, plaintiff filed a motion to stay the order of execution and sale, which the court granted.
On June 27, 1997, after various other legal proceedings, a Sheriffs Sale was held to dispose of plaintiffs property. The Leavenworth Board of County Commissioners and Sheriff Nye apparently were involved in the sale. On July 8, 1997, the court entered judgment against plaintiff in the amount of $9,076.70. Plaintiff appealed this judgment. On August 11, 1997, funds from plaintiff’s bank account were garnished. It is unclear from the factual record whether plaintiffs appeals have been resolved by the Kansas Court of Appeals.
In sum, plaintiff has filed this civil rights action against nearly everyone involved in the above state court cases, including his own attorneys, the Leavitts, the Leavitts’ attorney, two of the judges of the Leavenworth County District Court, the Sheriff who evicted plaintiff pursuant to court order, two employees of the Sheriffs department, as well as the Leavenworth Board of County Commissioners, and its individual members. Plaintiff has filed his complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, alleging violations of his rights protected by the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.
Legal Standards For Motions To Dismiss A Pro Se Litigant’s Complaint
A federal court will construe liberally a pro se litigant’s pleadings.
See Haines v. Kerner,
Defendants move to dismiss this action for lack of subject' matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1), 12(b)(6),
a. Subject Matter Jurisdiction.
Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. Mr. Dickerson, as plaintiff, bears the burden of establishing that the district court has subject matter jurisdiction of his claims.
See Henry v. Office of Thrift Supervision,
b. Failure To State A Claim.
A court may dismiss a complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
See
Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). A court judges the sufficiency of the complaint by accepting as true the well-pleaded factual allegations and drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of plaintiff.
See Shaw v. Valdez,
I. Subject Matter Jurisdiction!Rooker-Feldman Doctrine.
We have reviewed plaintiffs complaint as it relates to all defendants under the
Rooker-Feldman
doctrine.
See District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman,
[A] federal claim is inextricably intertwined with the state-court judgment if the federal claim succeeds only to the extent that the state court wrongly decided the issues before it. Where federal relief can only be predicated upon a conviction that the state court was wrong, it is difficult to conceive the federal proceeding as, in substance, anything other than a prohibited appeal of the state-court judgment.
Pennzoil Co. v. Texaco, Inc.,
Plaintiff argues that he is not claiming that the state court wrongly decided the issues before it. After carefully reviewing plaintiffs amended complaint and his various memoranda, the court finds that plaintiffs federal claims are “inextricably intertwined” with the state court judgments entered by the Leavenworth County District Court. We cannot envision how plaintiff could obtain any relief based on his federal claims without a factual finding that the state court judgments entered against plaintiff were erroneous. Moreover, the state court judgments apparently are on appeal to the Kansas Court of Appeals, which further cautions the court not to exercise jurisdiction in this matter. To the extent plaintiff seeks to challenge the state court rulings on constitutional grounds, his only potential judicial remedy is with the United States Supreme Court.
See Feldman,
For the above reasons, the court concludes that subject matter jurisdiction is not present
II. Motions To Dismiss Of Defendants Waite, Duncan, Henderson, Bates, and Crow (Doc. 21,29, 40).
Plaintiff has filed suit against the attorneys who represented him in the two state court actions (Mr. Waite, Duncan Senecal Law Offices, and Mr. Henderson) and the attorneys who represented the Leavitts (Mr. Bates of Crow, Clothier & Bates). Plaintiffs complaint is brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985, 1986, and 1988. Plaintiff also apparently has included a state law claim for conversion in his complaint (although he represents that he “has not raised any state law causes”).
Section 1983 imposes liability for conduct carried out under the color of state law which deprives a plaintiff of “rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws [of the United States].” 42 U.S.C. § 1983. To prevail on a claim for damages for a constitutional violation pursuant to section 1983, á plaintiff must establish that a defendant acted under color of state law and caused or contributed to the alleged violation.
See Jenkins v. Wood,
Plaintiff argues that defendants acted under color of law because attorneys are officers of the court and are essential to the primary function of administering justice. It is well-established law that a private attorney, though an “officer of the court,” is not a state actor for purposes of section 1983.
See Barnard v. Young,
Plaintiff has named individual defendants Waite, Henderson, and Bates in both their personal and official capacities. These defendants, as private attorneys, are not governmental officials and therefore have no “official capacity.” Plaintiff apparently sues Crow and Duncan based solely on their employment of defendants Bates and Henderson, respectively. Mr. Dickerson cannot base his section 1983 claim on the theory of
respondeat superior
because corporate defendants cannot be held vicariously liable for the acts of their servants under section 1983.
See Taliaferro v. Voth,
Mr. Dickerson also has brought a claim pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1985. After reviewing plaintiffs complaint and memoranda, plaintiff has not set forth any factual allegations which even remotely support a claim under section 1985, subsection (1) (preventing officer from performing duties) or subsection 2 (obstructing justice, intimidating party, witness, or juror). Accordingly, we will construe plaintiffs claim under 1985, subsection 3, which creates a cause of action against persons who conspire to deprive a person or class of persons equal protection or privileges.
See Bisbee v. Bey,
For these same reasons, the court finds that defendants also are entitled to summary judgment with respect to plaintiffs claim pursuant to section 1986. See
Santistevan v. Loveridge,
III. Motion To Dismiss Of Judges Lacey And King (Doc. # 27).
Plaintiff also has filed this action against The Honorable Phillip Lacey and The Honorable David J. King, Judges of the First Judicial District of the State of Kansas, pursuant to the same statutory provisions as the other defendants. A judge is immune from suits for civil damages based on (1) judicial acts (2) for which “the judge has at least a semblance of subject matter jurisdiction.”
Lerwill v. Joslin,
Plaintiff also argues that Judges Lacey and King made no response to plaintiffs complaint against them in their “personal capacity.” As noted above, all of plaintiff’s allegations involve actions of Judges Lacey and King in their judicial or official capacities. Judges Lacey and King are immune from such suits.
IV. Motions To Dismiss Of Defendants Leavenworth Board Of County Commissioners, Eldridge, Navinsky, Adams, Murray, Pendergraft, And Nye (Doc. # 17).
Mr. Dickerson has filed suit against the Board of Commissioners and its individual members Eldridge, Navinsky, and Adams because of the Board’s refusal to allow Mr. Dickerson to reenter the leased premises to recover his property prior to the Sheriffs Sale. The Leavenworth County District Court entered judgment on February 28, 1997. Plaintiff was evicted from the leased premises on that same date. Therefore, plaintiff cannot state a cause of action under section 1983 based on the Board’s actions in precluding plaintiff from reentering the premises pursuant to court order.
See Valdez v. City and County of Denver,
Plaintiff also has named Sheriff Nye in the complaint because he evicted plaintiff from the leased premises. The state court awarded the Leavitts immediate possession and a journal entry of judgment had been entered prior to plaintiffs eviction. Therefore, plaintiff has no cause of action for Sheriff Nye’s actions in simply following a court order. See Valdez, supra.
Plaintiff also has named Sheriff Nye and two employees of the Sheriffs Department, defendants Murray and Pendergraft, because they failed to serve plaintiff with a writ of execution signed by Judge King on April 2, 1997. Although plaintiff apparently was not served, he filed a motion to stay the order of execution and sale, which the court subsequently granted upon the condition that plaintiff post a bond. Plaintiff posted the bond and the sale was stayed. Therefore, plaintiff cannot establish that defendants were the cause of any actionable injury as a result of the alleged failure to serve plaintiff with the writ of execution.
See Board of County Comm’rs v. Brown,
Plaintiff has failed to set forth any facts sufficient to show a violation of the United States Constitution. We also find that plaintiffs section 1985, 1986, and 1988 claims against these defendants are not cognizable for the same reasons as those stated with respect to the attorney defendants. See supra part II.
Plaintiff has sued Sheriff Nye and two employees of the Sheriffs Department in their official capacities, apparently in an attempt to hold the Sheriffs Department liable for its employees’ actions. Plaintiff also has named the individual members of the Board of Commissioners in their official capacity in order to hold the Board hable for its members’ conduct. Official capacity suits “generally represent only another way of pleading an action against an entity of which an officer is an agent.”
Kentucky v. Graham,
V. Motions To Dismiss of Leavitt Rentals, Paul Leavitt, And Deborah M. Leavitt (Doc. # 39).
Mr. Dickerson apparently has named the Leavitts in his amended complaint
We also find that plaintiff’s section 1985, 1986, and 1988 claims against the Leavitts are not cognizable for the same reasons as those stated with respect to the attorney defendants. See supra part II.
Plaintiff has named Paul and Deborah Leavitt in their official capacity. The Leavitts are not governmental officials and therefore have no “official capacity.” Plaintiff apparently sues Leavitt Rentals based solely on their employment or control of defendants Paul and Deborah Leavitt. As noted previously, Mr. Dickerson cannot base his section 1983 claim on the theory of
respondeat superior
because corporate defendants cannot be held vicariously liable for the acts of their servants under section 1983.
See Taliaferro v. Voth,
VI. Plaintiffs State Law Claim.
Plaintiff’s remaining claim against each defendant, except Judges Lacey and King, is a state law claim, apparently based on unlawful conversion of property. Given that no federal question remains in this case and diversity jurisdiction does not exist, the court in its discretion declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over plaintiffs state law claim.
See
28 U.S.C. § 1367;
Sullivan v. Scoular Grain Co.,
VII. Plaintiffs Motions For Default Judgment.
Plaintiff has filed motions for default judgment against most of the defendants. Plaintiff argues that these defendants have failed to plead, answer, or otherwise defend in accordance with the time specified in rule 12(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Each of the defendants filed a motion to dismiss, however, within the required time period. The filing of a motion to dismiss alters the period for filing an answer to ten days after notice of the court’s order denying the motion or postponing its disposition until trial. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(a)(4)(A). Accordingly, plaintiff’s motions will be denied.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the motions to dismiss of defendants Leavenworth Board Of County Commissioners, Eldridge, Navinsky, Adams, Murray, Pendergraft, And Nye (Doc. # 17), G. Ronald Bates, Jr. and Crow, Clothier and Bates (Doe. # 21), Judges Lacey And King (Doc. # 27), Michael J. Waite (Doc. #29), Leavitt Rentals, Paul Leavitt, And Deborah M. Leavitt (Doc. # 39), Duncan Seneeal Law Offices and Patrick E. Henderson (Doc. # 40) are granted.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiff’s motions for entry of default (Doc. 24,25, 26, 30, 32, 34, 36, 45, 47, 53, 62) are denied.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiffs motions to strike defendants’ motions to dismiss (Doc. 43, 49, 51, 61) are denied. These motions have been considered as opposition memoranda to defendants’ motions to dismiss.
Notes
. Plaintiff also claims that the Sheriff's Sale was commenced in violation of plaintiff's due process rights and applicable state statutes. Plaintiff has not offered any well-pleaded factual contentions supporting such a claim.
