Stagemeyer v. County of Dawson, Ne.

205 F.Supp.2d 1107

Douglas W. STAGEMEYER, individually and as parent and next friend; and Matthew D. Stagemeyer, by and through his parent and next friend, Plaintiffs, v. COUNTY OF DAWSON, NEBRASKA; Kurt R. McBride, individually and in his official capacity as Deputy County Attorney of Dawson County, Nebraska; Elizabeth F. Waterman, individually and in her official capacity as County Attorney of Dawson County, Nebraska; Lt. Gregory L. Vandenberg, individually and in his official capacity as a Lieutenant with the Nebraska State Patrol; Mike Dowling, individually and in his official capacity as a Trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol; Kenneth C. Ayers, individually and in his official capacity as a Trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol; C.T. Phaby, individually and in his official capacity as a Trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol; K. Moody, individually and in his official capacity as a Trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol; D. Covert, individually and in his official capacity as a Trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol; C. Carter, individually and in his official capacity as a Trooper with the Nebraska State Patrol; Capt. Parrish, individually and in his official capacity as a Captain with the Nebraska State Patrol; and Tom Nesbitt, individually and in his official capacity as Superintendent with the Nebraska State Patrol, Defendants.

No. 7:01CV5003.

United States District Court, D. Nebraska.

March 25, 2002.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

John F. Recknor, Randall L. Wertz, Recknor & Associates, Lincoln, NE, for Plaintiffs.

Randall L. Goyette, Baylor, Evnen Law Firm, Lincoln, NE, Melanie J. Whittamore-Mantzios, Atty. General's Office, Lincoln, NE, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

KOPF, District Judge.

Plaintiffs, a former school board president and his son, bring this action for money damages against state police officers and county attorneys who allegedly violated Plaintiffs' rights under federal and state law when police performed an illegal search and seizure at a New Year's Eve party that led to criminal prosecution, but not conviction, of both Plaintiffs. Pending before the court is a Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss¹ (filing 20) filed by defendants County of Dawson; Kurt R. McBride, individually and in his official capacity as Deputy County Attorney; and Elizabeth F. Waterman, individually and in her official capacity as County Attorney of Dawson County, Nebraska. Also pending is a motion for summary judgment filed by defendants McBride and Waterman individually based on the merits, qualified immunity, and "state law good faith immunity." (Filing 36.)²

I. FACTS

A. The Parties

Defendant Dawson County is a political subdivision of the State of Nebraska; defendant Elizabeth F. Waterman is the Dawson County Attorney; and defendant Kurt R. McBride is the Dawson Deputy County Attorney. (Filing 41, Amended Complaint ¶¶ 8-10; Filing 21, Aff. Elizabeth F. Waterman ¶ 1; Filing 21, Aff. Kurt R. McBride ¶ 1.) Plaintiffs allege that the defendants were acting under the "color of law," both individually and in their official capacities, and as "policy makers." (Filing 41 ¶¶ 8-10.) Plaintiff Douglas Stagemeyer was the president of the Eustice-Farnham School Board at the relevant time, and plaintiff Matthew Stagemeyer is Douglas Stagemeyer's son.

B. The Incident

Plaintiffs allege that on December 31, 1999, they were invited guests at David and Janet Bendler's residence, Plum Creek Canyon # 12-C, Dawson County, Nebraska. (Filing 41, Amended Complaint; Filing 46, Aff. Douglas W. Stagemeyer ¶¶ 2-3.) At approximately 11:40 p.m. on that date, Nebraska State Patrol Lieutenant Vandenberg received a dispatch from the Patrol's North Platte, Nebraska, office informing him that an anonymous female caller had reported that a party at which minors were consuming alcohol was taking place at the above address. At approximately 12:30 a.m. on January 1, 2000, Lieutenant Vandenberg and five other Nebraska State Patrol Troopers arrived at the Bendler residence, at which time Lieutenant Vandenberg observed several vehicles parked adjacent to a metal outbuilding. Some of the vehicles were surrounded or occupied by individuals that appeared to be minors, several of whom ran away from the officers as they got out of their patrol vehicles. The individuals who ran from the officers either entered the metal outbuilding, entered the Bendler residence, or ran from the property. (Filing 27, Aff. Gregory L. Vandenberg ¶¶ 2-5.)

The officers escorted several of the individuals to the outbuilding for identification. At that time, Lieutenant Vandenberg observed the following:

I observed a beer can lying on the ground outside the outbuilding. The interior of the outbuilding contained several chairs and card tables, a long table of food and snacks, a stereo system, a poker chip container, and numerous empty and partially full beer cans and bottles. There was a large garbage can in the outbuilding that was nearly full of empty beer cans and bottles. On the floor under the food table were two partially full garbage bags that also contained a combination of empty beer cans and bottles. A partially full liter bottle of Jack Daniels was found in a corner of the outbuilding.

There were puddles of alcohol on the floor of the outbuilding. There were two separate puddles of vomit inside the building and ... another puddle of vomit outside the building on the concrete driveway.

(Id. ¶¶ 6-7.)

The officers identified 34 minors ranging from 14 to 19 years of age. Of the preliminary breath tests that were obtained from each minor, all but two tested positive for alcohol. One of the minors testing negative for alcohol was plaintiff Matthew Stagemeyer. (Filing 46, Aff. Douglas W. Stagemeyer ¶ 14.) The officers then accompanied seven "minors with control over the numerous vehicle's [sic] parked on the Bendler property" to their vehicles, in which the officers found illegal fireworks and numerous cans and bottles of beer and hard liquor. (Filing 27, Aff. Gregory L. Vandenberg ¶ 8.)

Lieutenant Vandenberg has testified by affidavit that during his investigation at the Bendler residence, plaintiff Douglas Stagemeyer engaged in conversation with Vandenberg as follows:

[P]laintiff Douglas Stagemeyer approached me and engaged in unsolicited conversation. Mr. Stagemeyer told me that he was a guest of the Bendlers who host a New Years [sic] eve party each year. Mr. Stagemeyer reported that at approximately 8:30 p.m., he went outside the Bendler's residence to the outbuilding and discovered minors drinking alcohol and attempting to conceal it. Mr. Stagemeyer then stated that he was sorry that he did not confront the minors about their alcohol consumption, but explained that he didn't want to embarrass his own children who were in attendance at the party.

Mr. Stagemeyer explained that his son, Matthew Stagemeyer, age 18, while present at the party, had not consumed any alcohol, although his daughter, Erica Stagemeyer, age 18, had consumed alcohol at the party. Mr. Stagemeyer further explained that although his son did not care that he came to the out-building, his daughter didn't like it when he was present at parties that she attended. Mr. Stagemeyer also stated that after seeing the minors consuming alcohol in the outbuilding, he returned to the Bendler residence, resumed watching television with the Bendlers, and later participated in shooting off fireworks. At one point, Mr. Stagemeyer asked me if it were true that by sucking on a penny one could defeat a breath test for alcohol, and stated that he had witnessed some of the minors doing that earlier in the evening.

(Filing 27, Aff. Gregory L. Vandenberg ¶¶ 9-10.)

Plaintiff Douglas Stagemeyer disputes much of Lieutenant Vandenberg's version of events, stating that: one of the buildings on the Bendler property was set up for an alcohol-free New Year's Eve party for area teenagers, including several cans of pop, brown bottles of creme soda and root beer, and bottles of non-alcoholic champagne; Douglas Stagemeyer did not observe beer cans and bottles outside or inside the building, nor did he observe puddles of alcohol and vomit on the floor; and the state troopers ordered that the adults who were in the Bendler's home (including Douglas Stagemeyer) gather in the building, after which the troopers searched vehicles that were parked on the edge of a public road, which was 50 yards from the outbuilding. Stagemeyer claims that the troopers brought the products of their warrantless vehicle searches to the outbuilding and that Trooper Dowling escorted Stagemeyer to Lieutenant Vandenberg and instructed Stagemeyer to speak to the Lieutenant. Stagemeyer told Vandenberg that he was a guest at the Bendler residence, but Stagemeyer did not tell Vandenberg that he had observed teenagers drinking alcohol during the evening, nor did he apologize for not confronting the minors about drinking alcohol. Stagemeyer "never allowed or encouraged juveniles to engage in behaviors such as consuming alcohol." (Filing 46, Aff. Douglas W. Stagemeyer ¶¶ 1-21, 39.)

The incident described above occurred without a search warrant and without consent of the property owners or Plaintiffs. (Filing 41, Amended Complaint ¶ 20; Filing 46, Aff. Douglas W. Stagemeyer ¶ 7.) The officers did not issue any citations after their investigation that evening, although Lieutenant Vandenberg told the partygoers and parents who had arrived to pick up their minor children that all information collected would be forwarded to the Dawson County Attorney's office for possible prosecution. None of the police officers contacted or conferred with anyone from the Dawson County Attorney's office —including defendants Waterman and McBride—before or during the investigation. (Filing 27, Aff. Gregory L. Vandenberg ¶¶ 11-12; Filing 21, Aff. Elizabeth F. Waterman ¶ 5; Filing 21, Aff. Kurt R. McBride ¶ 5.)

C. The School Board Meeting

As a result of the...