Pickens v. Hendricks et al

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
ASHEVILLE DIVISION
CIVIL CASE NO. 1:21-cv-00030-MR
BRANDON PICKENS, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
vs. )
)
STEVEN HENDRICKS, et al., ) ORDER
)
Defendants. )
_______________________________ )
THIS MATTER is before the Court on:
1. The Plaintiff’s pro se Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment on
Defendant Hendricks’ Motion to Dismiss [Doc. 36];
2. The Plaintiff’s pro se Motion to Relate, Motion to Amend the
Court’s Scheduling Order and Motion to Modify the Court’s Discovery
Guidelines for this case [Doc. 39];
3. The Plaintiff’s pro se Notice of Subpoena [Doc. 40] that was
docketed as a Motion;
4. The Plaintiff’s pro se Request for Court to Specify the Particulars
of the Discovery and Modify Discovery [Doc. 41] that was docketed as
a Motion;
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5. The Plaintiff’s pro se Application to Proceed in District Court
Without Prepaying Fees or Costs [Doc. 42];
6. The Plaintiff’s pro se Request for Extension of Time to Complete
Discovery [Doc. 47];
7. Defendants J.D. Lambert, Jeff May, Katherine Lewis, and
Western Surety Company’s Motion to Stay Litigation [Doc. 48]; and
8. The Plaintiff’s pro se Motion for an Order Compelling Discovery
and Response in Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Stay Litigation
[Doc. 49].
I. INTRODUCTION
The pro se incarcerated Plaintiff filed this civil rights action pursuant to
42 U.S.C. § 1983, addressing incidents that allegedly occurred during a
January 20, 2018 traffic stop involving the Plaintiff and his passenger,
Marcus Hyatt.1 The Complaint passed initial review on the Plaintiff’s claims
against Defendants J.D. Lambert, Jeff May, and Katherine Lewis, who are
all Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) deputies, for the traffic stop
and Plaintiff’s subsequent detention; false arrest and false imprisonment; the
search of the vehicle and of Plaintiff’s personal property; and against
1 Hyatt and his girlfriend, Ashley Barrett, who was detained in a separate vehicle stop,
filed a separate action that is presently pending in this Court, Hyatt v. Miller, Case No.
1:19-cv-00250-MR-WCM.
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Lambert, May, Lewis, and Officer Steven Hendricks for the Plaintiff’s body
cavity search pursuant to an allegedly defective warrant. [Docs. 1, 13]. The
Court exercised supplemental jurisdiction over the Plaintiff’s North Carolina
claims of false arrest, false imprisonment, assault and battery, and trespass
to chattel, and for recovery on BCSO’s surety bond against Western Surety
Company. [Doc. 13].
Defendant Hendricks filed a Motion to Dismiss for failure to state a
claim that was granted after the Plaintiff was provided the opportunity to
respond. [Doc. 34; see Docs. 25, 26, 30, 32]. The Plaintiff now asks the
Court to alter or amend the Judgment granting Defendant Hendricks’ Motion
to Dismiss [Doc. 36]. Defendant Hendricks has filed a Response [Doc. 43],
and the Plaintiff has filed a Reply [Doc. 45].
After filing the Motion to Alter or Amend, the Plaintiff asked to Court to:
treat this action as “related to” Hyatt v. Miller, Case No. 1:19-cv-250, because
both cases involve “the same incident” and Hyatt is a witness in the instant
case [Doc. 39 at 1]; “stay [the] scheduling order” in this action “until [the
Court] reviews Plaintiff’s Motion to Alter or Amend….” [Doc. 39 at 1; Doc.
46]; clarify the discovery rules and “modify the discovery guidelines” to allow
the Plaintiff to send up to 25 questions to each party [Doc. 39 at 3; Doc. 40];
issue a subpoena to BCSO for materials including bodycam and dashcam
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footage [Doc. 40]; and extend the time to complete discovery [Doc. 47]. The
Defendants filed their own Motion to Stay this action, including its obligation
to respond to the Plaintiff’s discovery requests, pending the resolution of
Hyatt v. Miller, because both cases arise out of the same facts and
occurrences. [Doc. 48; see Doc. 44 (noting that “[a] determination as to the
Hyatt v. Miller matter may be dispositive of this matter also….”)]. The Plaintiff
filed a Response stating that a stay should be granted only as to dispositive
motions and a trial, but that discovery should proceed. [Doc. 49]. He asks
the Court to compel the Defendants to respond to his outstanding discovery
requests. [Id.]. He has also filed an IFP Application in which he appears to
ask the Court to excuse him from paying the costs of discovery. [Doc. 42].
II. DISCUSSION
A. Motion to Alter or Amend
In his Motion to Alter or Amend, the Plaintiff seeks relief pursuant to
Rule 59(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. He argues that, in
granting Defendant Hendricks’ Motion to Dismiss, the Court overlooked his
allegation that the search warrant application contained information that was
taken from a template that had been used in prior cases, upon which
Hendricks should not have relied in obtaining the search warrant in Plaintiff’s
case. [Docs. 36, 45].
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Rule 59(e) provides that a judgment may be altered or amended in
order: “(1) to accommodate an intervening change in controlling law; (2) to
account for new evidence not available at trial; or (3) to correct a clear error
of law or prevent manifest injustice.” Pacific Ins. Co. v. Am. Nat’l Fire Ins.
Co., 148 F.3d 396, 403 (4th Cir. 1998). Rule 59(e) is considered an
“extraordinary remedy” which the Fourth Circuit has cautioned should be
used only “sparingly” in exceptional circumstances. Id.
The Plaintiff’s contention that the Court overlooked the template
allegation is incorrect; the Court liberally construed and considered all of the
Plaintiff’s allegations, including the template allegation that is quoted
verbatim in its Order. [Doc. 34 at 5]. The Court determined that the
Complaint’s conclusory and speculative allegations were insufficient to state
a claim that Hendricks deliberately or recklessly included false material
statements in the warrant application in violation of the Fourth Amendment,
and granted Hendricks’ Motion to Dismiss. [Id.]. The Plaintiff’s disagreement
with that conclusion provides no basis for Rule 59(e) relief. Accordingly, the
Plaintiff’s Motion to Alter or Amend is denied.
B. Motions to Stay
The parties agree that this case addresses the same incident and
includes many of the same claims as Hyatt v. Miller, and that this action
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should be stayed until Hyatt v. Miller is resolved. [Docs. 39, 44, 48]. While
the Defendants ask the Court to stay this action in its entirety [Doc. 48], the
Plaintiff states that he would like to proceed with discovery so that he may
continue to gather information about the case, and he seeks to stay only
dispositive motions and a trial [Doc. 49].
A court has the inherent authority to stay proceedings of a case, which
is “incidental to the power inherent in every court to control the disposition of
the causes on its docket with economy of time and effort for itself, for
counsel, and for litigants.” Landis v. N. Am. Co., 299 U.S. 248, 254 (1936).
The determination of whether to grant a motion to stay requires a balancing
“of various factors relevant to the expeditious and comprehensive disposition
of the cases of action on the court’s docket.” United States v. Georgia Pac.
Corp., 562 F.2d 294, 296 (4th Cir. 1977). “The party seeking a stay must
justify it by clear and convincing circumstances outweighing potential harm
to the party against whom it is operative.” Williford v. Armstrong World
Indus., Inc., 715 F.2d 124, 127 (4th Cir. 1983).
The Court finds that the interests of justice and judicial economy favor
staying this action until Hyatt v. Miller is resolved.2 Allowing discovery to
2 Hyatt v. Miller proceeded to a trial in March 2021 and the jury reached a partial verdict.
[1:19-cv-250, Docs. 132, 134]. The parties stipulated that the Court may act as factfinder
for all outstanding issues, which have been briefed. [1:19-cv-250, Docs. 137-141].
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proceed during the stay, as the Plaintiff requests, would result in
unnecessary expense and would defeat the purpose of the stay.
Accordingly, the parties’ Motions seeking a stay of these proceedings will be
granted, except insofar as the Plaintiff requests that discovery be excepted
from the stay, which request is denied.
The parties shall file a Status Report within 30 days of the Court’s
issuance of its judgment in Hyatt v. Miller, informing the Court of the instant
case’s status and whether any of the issues in the instant case have been
resolved.
C. Remaining Motions
The Plaintiff’s Motions to extend the scheduling order deadlines [Docs.
39, 47]; to modify the Court’s discovery guidelines [Doc. 39, 41]; for the
issuance of subpoenas [Doc. 40], and to compel discovery [Doc. 49], are
denied as moot in light of this case’s stay.
The Court will briefly address the IFP Application in which the Plaintiff
appears to ask the Court to excuse him from paying the costs of discovery.
[Doc. 42]. A litigant is ordinarily required to pay his own litigation expenses,
even if he is indigent. See generally United States v. MacCollom, 426 U.S.
317, 321 (1976) (“The established rule is that the expenditure of public funds
is proper only when authorized by Congress....”). The Plaintiff will therefore
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be required to pay the costs of discovery when the stay is lifted and the case
resumes. Accordingly, the IFP Application is denied.
III. CONCLUSION
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that:
1. The Plaintiff’s pro se Motion to Alter or Amend Judgment on
Defendant Hendricks’ Motion to Dismiss [Doc. 36] is DENIED.
2. Defendants J.D. Lambert, Jeff May, Katherine Lewis, and
Western Surety Company’s Motion to Stay Litigation [Doc. 48] is
GRANTED.
2. The Plaintiff’s pro se Motion to Relate, Motion to Amend the
Court’s Scheduling Order and Motion to Modify the Court’s
Discovery Guidelines for this case [Doc. 39] is GRANTED IN
PART and DENIED IN PART as stated in this Order.
3. The Plaintiff’s pro se Notice of Subpoena [Doc. 40]; Request for
Court to Specify the Particulars of the Discovery and Modify
Discovery [Doc. 41]; Request for Extension of Time to Complete
Discovery [Doc. 47]; and Motion for an Order Compelling
Discovery [Doc. 49] are DENIED AS MOOT.
4. The Plaintiff’s pro se Application to Proceed in District Court
Without Prepaying Fees or Costs [Doc. 42] is DENIED.
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5. This matter is STAYED pending the Court’s issuance of its
judgment in Hyatt v. Miller, 1:19-cv-00250-MR-WCM, after which
the parties shall have thirty (30) days within which to file a
Status Report informing the Court of the instant case’s status and
whether any of the issues in this case have been resolved.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Signed: July 9, 2022
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