*1 Before POLITZ and STEWART, Circuit Judges, and LITTLE [*] , District Judge CARL E. STEWART, Circuit Judge:
This case involves the appellants’ challenge to the district court’s denial of their motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s claims brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state tort law. For the reasons stated below, we affirm the district court’s ruling.
F ACTUAL AND P ROCEDURAL H ISTORY The appellee, Cherie Shipp (Shipp) was involved in an abusive marriage with her husband, Dalton Shipp (“Dalton”) in Shreveport, Louisiana. To escape her husband’s abuse, Shipp moved into her sister’s house near Minden, Louisiana. When Dalton learned of her whereabouts, he made several threatening phone calls to her, which she reported to deputies of the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office (WPSO). Dalton also on several occasions drove by Shipp’s sisters house, which Shipp reported to defendant Steve Cropper (“Cropper”), a Webster Parish deputy. Cropper advised that he would do nothing about Dalton.
Shipp then moved to her cousin’s residence in Dubberly, which is also in Webster Parish. Dalton went to the house in Dubberly, attacked Shipp by beating her with a telephone that he ripped from the wall, and hit her with his fist. He threatened that if she reported the incident to law enforcement, she would “find herself in the hospital.” After physically abusing her, Dalton took some items belonging to Shipp and her cousin, placed the items in his automobile, and drove off. Despite Dalton’s warning, Shipp called the WPSO. Deputy Cropper came to the scene and took a report, but made no immediate effort to arrest Dalton.
Several days later, Deputy Cropper approached Dalton about returning the items he took from Shipp’s cousin’s residence, but did not arrest him. Dalton was later allowed to turn himself in, and he was charged with simple criminal damage to property and simple battery, both misdemeanor offenses. As a condition of bail, the court ordered that Dalton stay away from Shipp. Later that day, he pleaded guilty to both offenses, and the court ordered him to seek immediate counseling. The court set sentencing for a later date.
Shipp obtained a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) which prohibited Dalton from having any contact with her. After Deputy Cropper served Dalton with the TRO, Dalton made several abusive and threatening phone calls to Shipp, which Shipp reported to the WPSO. She was told that nothing could be done about the phone calls, and despite his violations of the TRO and the bail order, the WPSO did not arrest Dalton.
Dalton failed to appear in court for sentencing on the criminal charges, and a bench warrant for his arrest was issued. Although Dalton subsequently appeared in court to answer other criminal charges at the Webster Parish courthouse, deputies nonetheless failed to arrest Dalton for violating the TRO and conditions of bail.
Approximately four months after Dalton failed to appear at the scheduled sentencing hearing, he tracked down Shipp at her other sister’s house and talked Shipp out of the house and into his car. Once in the car, Dalton sped away with Shipp’s feet dragging the ground. She attempted to jump out of the car, but Dalton grabbed her by the head. Dalton drove Shipp to a house he had leased in Webster Parish.
Shipp’s sister telephoned her mother, Carolyn Gates, who reported the incident to the WPSO. Defendant Betty Shipp [1] was the dispatcher who received the phone call. Apparently, Betty Shipp hung up the telephone without conducting an inquiry into the particulars of the incident. Betty Shipp advised Deputy Cropper of the phone call. He chose to take no action, despite his knowledge of Dalton’s propensity for violent behavior. Neither Cropper nor Betty Shipp dispatched information to alert the other deputies.
After having her phone call terminated by the WPSO, Shipp’s mother called the Minden Police Department, which dispatched an emergency alert and radioed the WPSO. Shipp’s mother then picked up Jerry Gates, Shipp’s father, and drove to the Webster Parish courthouse. They observed Deputy Cropper standing idly outside the courthouse. Cropper advised Mr. Gates that he intended to do nothing to apprehend Dalton. After they discussed where Dalton may be located with Shipp, Mr. Gates denounced Cropper’s unwillingness to act, and told him that he was heading to the leased house. Deputy Cropper and another deputy pursued Mr. Gates.
Subsequently, Mr. Gates and four deputies arrived at the house. When the deputies made no effort to enter the house, Mr. Gates attempted to approach the house, but was restrai ned by the deputies. Cropper then knocked on the door, explaining that he had to ascertain whether Shipp was in the house voluntarily with Dalton. No one inside answered Cropper’s knock.
Mr. Gates observed what he believed to be a silhouette on the curtain of Dalton with a gun. Mr. Gates again attempted to approach the house, but the deputies ordered him back. A shot rang out from the house and the deputies immediately retreated to their vehicles to put on armored vests. Another shot ranged out as the deputies remained crouched behind their cars.
Inside the house, Dalton had raped Shipp. After shooting her in the chest with a 12-gauge shotgun, he shot himself. Shipp staggered to the door and unsuccessfully attempted to open it. She screamed for help, but none of the deputies responded. Shipp eventually staggered out a side door holding her entrails in her hands.
As she exited the house, Shipp’s mother and a deputy raced to her aid. Mr. Gates also dashed towards Shipp, but he was abruptly intercepted by Cropper. At Cropper’s order, another deputy handcuffed Mr. Gates and removed him from the scene.
Shipp was transported to the hospital, where emergency surgery was performed on her. She was hospitalized for several weeks, followed by rehabilitation, therapy, and follow-up surgery. Dalton recovered from his wounds and was subsequently charged with aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, and attempted second degree murder. As of the date of this opinion, he is currently being detained in Webster Parish jail pending trial, but has been permitted on several occasions to leave the jail and roam relatively unfettered throughout Webster Parish. Since the incident, the WPSO has not imposed any discipline on any deputy.
In February 1997, Shipp and Mr. Gates filed an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in federal
district court against Sheriffs Royce McMahon and Theodore Riser,
[2]
and WPSO deputies Shipp and
Cropper (“defendants”). Shipp and Mr. Gates claimed that the defendants violated their federal
constitutional due process and equal protection rights. Shipp and Gates also alleged claims based
on Louisiana state tort law. The defendants moved to be dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6). In January
1998, the magistrate judge filed a report recommending that: (1) all of Shipp’s federal constitutional
claims, with the exception of the Equal Protection claim and the related failure to train claim, be
dismissed with prejudice; (2) all federal claims by plaintiff Jerry Gates be dismissed with prejudice,
and (3) all claims against Sheriff Theodore L. Riser be dismissed with prejudice, and (4) the motion
be denied in all other aspects. The district court adopted the magistrate judge’s findings and
recommendation. The district court also exercised supplemental jurisdiction over the state tort law
claims and ordered Shipp to file a reply responding to deputies Cropper and Shipp’s defense of
qualified immunity (“Schultea reply”). After reviewing Shipp’s reply to the qualified immunity issue,
the district court found that Shipp had met the heightened pleading standard articulated in Schultea
*6
v. Wood,
S TANDARD OF R EVIEW
Denials of motions to dismiss on qualified immunity grounds are appealable collateral orders
when based on issues of law. See Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 525, 105 S.Ct. 2806, 86
L.Ed.2d 411 (1985); Champagne v. Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office,
D ISCUSSION
*7 The defendants argue that the district court erred when it denied their motion to dismiss. Specifically, the defendants assert that Shipp did not comply with Schultea because she failed to plead discriminatory motive for her equal protection claim with the requisite specificity. Furthermore, the defendants maintain that Shipp failed to plead causation sufficiently. The defendants also claim that the court erroneously rejected their claim of qualified immunity. Finally, the defendants argue that the court improperly exercised jurisdiction over the pendent state law tort claims.
I. Heightened Pleading Requirement
Rule 8(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires a short and plain statement of the
claim showing that the plaintiff is entitled to relief. Pursuant to Rule 8(a), a complaint will be deemed
inadequate only if it fails to (1) provide notice of circumstances which give rise to the claim, or (2)
set forth sufficient information to outline the elements of the claim or permit inferences to be drawn
that these elements exist. See General Star Indemnity, Co. v. Vesta Fire Ins., Corp.,
Our de novo review of the pleadings, in particular Shipp’s reply to the defendants’ assertion
of qualified immunity, reveals that Shipp has sufficiently pleaded discriminatory motive and causation.
In her reply, Shipp essentially provides a fact specific historical account of the defendants’ failure to
respo nd to Shipp and her mother and father’s complaints about Dalton. She also details the
defendants’ failure to arrest Dalton for his violation of the TRO and conditions of bail. The deputies
were also aware of Dalton’s propensity for violence. To comply with the court’s Schultea order,
Shipp pleaded that the defendants’ failure to act was attributable to discriminatory motive, and that
the defendants’ failure to act caused her injuries. Although Shipp’s pleadings do not identify direct
evidence of discriminatory intent, the “specific, nonconclusory factual allegations” requirement does
not prevent a plaintiff from relying on circumstantial evidence. See Warnock v. Pecos County, Texas,
Nevertheless, the defendants claim that Shipp fails to meet Schultea’s specificity requirement because Shipp does not show that the defendants violated any statute or ordinance. The defendants also claim that Shipp does not show that some other citizen received protective services that Shipp was denied. The defendants also allege that Shipp does not plead that the defendants said anything that can be deemed as exhibiting invidious discrimination. Finally, the defendants assert that Shipp’s injuries were caused solely by Dalton, and thus Shipp does not show causation.
However, the defendants misread Schultea’s specificity requirement. Schultea does not require the level of specificity the defendants assert. The level of specificity advanced by the defendants is similar to the “clear and convincing” standard which the Supreme Court rejected in Crawford-El. In that case, the Court observed that “[n]either the text of § 1983 or any other federal *9 statute, nor the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, provides any support for imposing the clear and convincing burden of proof at the summary judgment phase.” Therefore, if such a heightened standard of proof is not required at summary judgment or at trial to show discriminatory intent, it follows that such a heightened standard should not be applied to determine whether a claim survives a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. Therefore, Shipp’s reply meets Schultea’s requirement.
II. Qualified Immunity
The defendants claim that the district court erred when it ruled that they were not entitled to
qualified immunity during the motion to dismiss phase. In order to survive a motion to dismiss,
Shipp’s allegations must portray an objectively unreasonable violation of a clearly established right.
See Warnock,
First, to show that a right is clearly est ablished, the plaintiff does not have to refer to
precedent that is directly on point, or that declares that the conduct in question is unlawful. Rather,
the right is clearly established if based on pre-existing law, the unlawfulness of the conduct in question
is apparent. See Doe v. Independent School Dist.,
Shipp’s Schultea reply contends that the WPSO’s failure to implement policies and training to address domestic violence amounts to a violation of Equal Protection. Apparently, because a substantial number of victims of domestic violence are women, Shipp contends that WPSO’s practices have an adverse impact on women.
To determine whether Shipp articulated a clearly established right, we begin by recognizing
as a general matter, that the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits a state
from engaging in intentionally discriminatory conduct that has a disparate impact on women unless
the state can sho w an “exceedingly persuasive justification for that action.” See United States v.
Virginia,
Although, the defendants point out that there is no constitutional violation when the most that
can be said is that the police stood by and did nothing, see McKee
Under the second prong of the qualified immunity analysis, the plaintiff must show that the defendant’s violation of a clearly established right was objectively unreasonable. See Sanchez v. Swyden, 139 F.3d 464, 467 (5 Cir. 1998). Whether the defendants’ conduct was objectively reasonable depends on the circumstances controlling the defendants as well as clearly established law in effect at the time of the defendants’ actions. Id. In the instant case, Shipp claims that the WPSO
adopted polices and customs that discriminated against women victims of domestic violence. Shipp also claims that deputies Shipp and Cropper intentionally declined to arrest Dalton, in spite of his known propensity for violence and his known violation of the TRO and conditions of bail. Shipp also claims that the deputies had encountered Dalton on several occasions with knowledge that a warrant had been issued for his arrest, but yet the deputies declined to arrest him. Our 12(b)(6) analysis confines us to accept these allegations as true, and thus we find that the alleged conduct was not objectively reasonable. Therefore, we affirm the district court’s ruling to deny the defendants’ assertion of qualified immunity at this juncture. [4]
Because we are of the view that Shipp’s Equal Protection claims should be allowed to proceed, we affirm the district court’s decision to retain supplemental jurisdiction over Shipp’s state law claims. See 28 U.S.C. § 1367.
C ONCLUSION
We AFFIRM the district court’s rulings, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
AFFIRMED.
Notes
[*] Chief Judge of the Western District of Louisiana, sitting by designation.
[1] The pleadings do not indicate whether Deputy Betty Shipp is related to the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s husband.
[2] Sheriff Riser succeeded Sheriff McMahon after the rape and shooting incident.
[3] In McKee, the court held that the plaintiff’s Equal Protection claim failed to survive summary judgment because the plaintiff provided insufficient evidence to show that the police department’s policies intentionally discriminated against women victims of domestic abuse. That result is not controlling here since the burden of proof under Rule 56(c) is substantially higher than that required under Rule 12(b)(6).
[4] Our ruling should not be interpreted as relieving the plaintiff of the obligation of producing
sufficient evidence beyond the face of the pleadings to sustain her claims. “Summary judgment serves
as the ultimate screen to weed out truly insubstantial lawsuits prior to trial.” Crawford El, 523 U.S.
574,