Bridges v. Poe

487 F.Supp.3d 1250

Stacey BRIDGES, Plaintiff,

v.J.C. POE, Jr., et al., Defendants.

Charity Tessener, Plaintiff,

v.J.C. Poe, Jr., et al., Defendants.

Jessica Rainer, Plaintiff,

v.J.C. Poe, Jr., et al., Defendants.

Whitley Goodson, Plaintiff,

v.J.C. Poe, Jr., et al., Defendants.

Megan Dunn, Plaintiff,

v.J.C. Poe, Jr., et al., Defendants.

Allison Mann, Plaintiff,

v.J.C. Poe, Jr., et al., Defendants.

7:19-cv-00529-LSC

7:19-cv-01314-LSC

7:19-cv-01392-LSC

6:19-cv-01399-LSC

7:19-cv-01571-LSC

7:19-cv-01961-LSC

United States District Court, N.D. Alabama, Western Division.

Signed September 9, 2020

Andrew C. Allen, Law Offices of Andrew C. Allen, LLC, Homewood, AL, James Franklin Ozment, Frank Ozment Attorney at Law, LLC, Birmingham, AL, Michele Elaine Pate, Law Office of Michele E. Pate, Jasper, AL, for Plaintiff.

A. Courtney Crowder, Joseph Randall Latham, Phelps Jenkins Gibson & Fowler LLP, Tuscaloosa, AL, Timothy P. Donahue, Donahue & Associates LLC, Birmingham, AL, for Defendant JC Poe, Jr.

Timothy P. Donahue, Donahue & Associates LLC, Terry A. Sides, Hale Sides LLC, Birmingham, AL, for Defendant Deborah Johnson.

MEMORANDUM OF OPINION

L. Scott Coogler, United States District Judge

Before the Court is Defendant J.C. Poe, Jr.’s ("Poe") Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Third Amended Complaint. (Doc. 68 in Bridges v. Poe et al. , 7:19-cv-00529-LSC.) Plaintiff Stacey Bridges ("Bridges") brought this suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1589 et seq. ("TVPA"), for compensatory and punitive damages for injuries she suffered while confined at the Jasper City Jail (the "Jail"). At the Jail, she alleges she was sexually harassed and raped by jailers Rusty Boyd ("Boyd") and Dennis Buzbee ("Buzbee").¹ She also brings a § 1983 supervisory failure-to-protect claim against Poe, a municipal liability claim against the City of Jasper ("the City"), and a § 1983 conspiracy claim against Poe and others. Lastly, she brings state law claims for assault and battery, negligent hiring, negligent training and supervision, outrage, and violation of ALA. CODE § 14-11-31 (1975), which prohibits municipal employees from engaging in sexual conduct with a person who is in the custody of a municipal jail.

The motion is fully briefed and ripe for decision. For the reasons stated below, the motion is due to be granted in part and denied in part.

I. BACKGROUND²

On February 5, 2017, Bridges began serving a 90-day sentence at the Jail for a misdemeanor conviction. Compl. ¶ 15, ECF No. 59. According to the complaint, Poe was the City's Chief of Police and the final policymaker for the Jail. Id. at ¶ 56. Early in her sentence, Bridges was assigned to work release, and she stayed at another secure facility rather than the Jail. Id. at ¶ 16. When the work release ended, Bridges was confined in the Jail and became a trustee. Id. at ¶ 17. As a trustee, Bridges was able to leave her cell block to perform work under the supervision of her jailers. Id. at ¶ 18. She performed physical labor, such as preparing meals, doing laundry, and cleaning. Id. at ¶ 19. Inmates coveted the position of trustee because it eased the conditions of confinement, which would otherwise restrict them to their cells or cell blocks for twenty-three hours per day. Id. at ¶ 20.

Both male and female jailers guarded inmates in the Jail. Id. at ¶ 24. Male jailers were frequently allowed to guard female inmates without direct supervision and without the presence of female jailers. Id. at ¶ 25. Video cameras surveilled various areas of the Jail and streamed their signals on video monitors located in the central office, where jailers monitored inmates. Id. at ¶ 27. One area surveilled by video cameras was the area where female prisoners showered. Id. at ¶ 28. Bridges alleges that male jailers, including Buzbee, escorted female inmates to and from the showers, where they observed them and encouraged them to provide "a show" while other male jailers watched on the monitors. Id. at ¶ 63.

Bridges also alleges that prior to her incarceration, male jailers engaged in sex with female inmates. Id. at ¶ 29. She states that "[a]t times preceding the events described below and on other occasions," Johnson received reports of ongoing sexual harassment and abuse of female inmates by male jailers, but Johnson "failed and/or refused to act to stop that unlawful act." Id. at ¶ 3. Approximately three years before Bridges's confinement, at least one female inmate lodged an official complaint alleging inappropriate sexual harassment and abuse. Id. at ¶ 30. Additionally, in 2013, the Mayor of Carbon Hill, Alabama was indicted for having sex with female inmates in the municipal jail of that city. Id. at ¶ 31. The Mayor pled guilty to certain crimes in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. Id. According to Bridges's complaint, "Carbon Hill is less than 20 miles away from Jasper, and the Mayor's prosecution was well publicized, thus putting Poe and others on notice that female prisoners were at risk of sexual mistreatment." Id. at ¶ 32.

Shortly after Bridges began serving her sentence, she says it became apparent to her and others that Buzbee sexually desired her. Id. at ¶ 33. He allegedly gave her drugs and tobacco.³ Id. at ¶¶ 34–35. He also allegedly made sexually suggestive comments about Bridges in her presence and in the presence of others. Id. at ¶ 37. According to Bridges, male jailers frequently made salacious remarks about female inmates. Id. at ¶ 60.

After Bridges became a trustee, Buzbee allegedly summoned her to a laundry room on the first floor of the Jail. Id. at ¶ 38. This room contained a storage closet ("the First Floor Closet"). Id. at ¶ 39. Bridges alleges that the City failed to adequately surveil the First Floor Closet and its entry way with video cameras so that someone viewing the monitors could discern who entered or exited the closet. Id. at ¶ 40. Bridges alleges that Buzbee was aware of the First Floor Closet's inadequate surveillance and directed her to join him there. Id. at ¶ 42. After she entered the closet, Buzbee allegedly forcefully groped and kissed her, even though she resisted. Id. at ¶ 43. Bridges says that Buzbee continued to summon her to the First Floor Closet on other occasions where he would forcefully grope, fondle, and kiss her.

The second floor of the Jail contained a storage room ("Second Floor Room") where, among other things, the Jail maintained a freezer for frozen foods. Id. at ¶ 44. As part of her duties as trustee, Bridges loaded and unloaded food stored in the freezer. Id. at ¶ 45. Buzbee allegedly would summon Bridges to the Second Floor Room to assist with loading and unloading food, and once they were alone together, he would forcefully grope, fondle, and kiss her. Id. at ¶¶ 47–48. He also allegedly forced her to perform oral sex on him in the Second Floor Room. Id. at ¶ 49.

The Jail premises also included an outbuilding called the Connex. Id. at ¶ 50. Bridges alleges that the City failed to install video cameras in the Connex to allow surveillance of the entry, exit, and interior of the building. Id. at ¶ 51. She further alleges that Buzbee directed her to accompany him to the Connex on multiple occasions and sexually molested her while they were alone together inside the building. Id. at ¶ 52. Buzbee allegedly tried to have vaginal intercourse with Bridges on one occasion but stopped when she alerted him to the sound of someone approaching. Id. at ¶ 53.

Bridges alleges that Buzbee was not the only jailer who sexually assaulted female inmates. Id. at ¶ 54. She alleges that Boyd assaulted inmates Charity Tessener, Whitley Goodson, Jessica Rainer, and Allison Mann while they were detained in the Jail. Id. Moreover, Bridges alleges that she was not the only inmate assaulted by Buzbee. Id. Buzbee allegedly forced inmates "XYZ" and "ABC" to have sex with him as well. Id. Poe, Johnson, and other jailers allegedly knew about this abuse. Id. Bridges even alleges that Poe "agreed" with Johnson, Buzbee, and Boyd that the jailers could sexually touch the female inmates and condition trustee status on sexual favors. Id. at ¶ 71.

She alleges that, in light of all of the circumstances, the failure of Poe to take measures to keep female inmates such as Bridges safe from sexual attack when such prisoners became trustees directly resulted in Buzbee's sexual assault of Bridges. Id. at ¶ 55. Finally, she alleges that Poe "had actual knowledge of or acted with reckless disregard of the fact" that Bridges would be forced to commit sex acts and that she "would be subjected to a scheme and/or pattern of conduct that would make [her] believe that she would be subject to serious physical harm" if she failed to perform sex acts. (Doc. 59 at ¶¶ 113–14.)

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

In general, a pleading must include "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). However, to withstand a motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), "a complaint must plead ‘enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ " Ray v. Spirit Airlines, Inc. , 836 F.3d 1340, 1347–48 (11th Cir. 2016) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ). "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). A complaint that "succeeds in identifying facts that are suggestive enough to render [the necessary elements of a claim] plausible" will survive a motion to dismiss. Watts v. Fla. Int'l Univ. , 495 F.3d 1289, 1296 (11th Cir. 2007) (quoting Twombly , 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ) (internal quotation marks omitted).

In evaluating the sufficiency of a complaint, this Court first "identif[ies] pleadings that,...