Funches v. City Of Petersburg, VA Circuit Court, No. 3:2013cv00819 - Document 21 (E.D. Va. 2014)

Court Description: MEMORANDUM OPINION. Signed by District Judge Henry E. Hudson on 09/03/14. (kyou, )(copy mailed to Pro se party)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA Richmond Division CLERK, U.S. DISTRICT COURT t RICHMOND. VA ROBERT L. FUNCHES, > Plaintiff, Civil Action No. 3:13CV819-HEH CITY OF PETERSBURG, VA CIRCUIT COURT, Defendant. MEMORANDUM OPINION (Dismissing 42 U.S.C. § 1983 Action) Robert L. Funches, a Virginia inmate proceeding pro se and informa pauperis, filed this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action.1 The matter is before the Court for evaluation pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2). A. Preliminary Review Where an individual is proceeding informa pauperis, this Court must dismiss the action if the Court determines the action (1) "is frivolous" or (2) "fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted." 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). The first standard includes claims based upon '"an indisputably meritless legal theory,'" or claims where the "'factual The statute provides, in pertinent part: Every person who, under color of any statute ... of any State . .. subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law.... 42 U.S.C. § 1983. contentions are clearly baseless.'" Clay v. Yates, 809 F. Supp. 417, 427 (E.D. Va. 1992) (quoting Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 327 (1989)). The second standard is the familiar standard for a motion to dismiss under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). "A motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) tests the sufficiency of a complaint; importantly, it does not resolve contests surrounding the facts, the merits of a claim, or the applicability of defenses." Republican Party ofN.C. v. Martin, 980 F.2d 943, 952 (4th Cir. 1992) (citing 5A Charles A. Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1356 (1990)). In considering a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, a plaintiffs well-pleaded allegations are taken as true and the complaint is viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Mylan Labs., Inc. v. Matkari, 7 F.3d 1130, 1134 (4th Cir. 1993); see also Martin, 980 F.2d at 952. This principle applies only to factual allegations, however, and "a court considering a motion to dismiss can choose to begin by identifying pleadings that, because they are no more than conclusions, are not entitled to the assumption of truth." Ashcroftv. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 679 (2009). The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure "require[ ] only 'a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,' in order to 'give the defendant fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.'" BellAtl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (second alteration in original) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41,47 (1957)). Plaintiffs cannot satisfy this standard with complaints containing only "labels and conclusions" or a "formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action." Id. (citations omitted). Instead, a plaintiff must allege facts sufficient "to raise a right to relief above the speculative level," id. (citation omitted), stating a claim that is "plausible on its face," id. at 570, rather than merely "conceivable." Id. "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." Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (citing BellAtl. Corp., 550 U.S. at 556). In order for a claim or complaint to survive dismissal for failure to state a claim, therefore, the plaintiff must "allege facts sufficient to state all the elements of [his or] her claim." Bass v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 324 F.3d 761, 765 (4th Cir. 2003) (citing Dickson v. Microsoft Corp., 309 F.3d 193, 213 (4th Cir. 2002); Iodice v. United States, 289 F.3d 270, 281 (4th Cir. 2002)). Lastly, while the Court liberally construes pro se complaints, Gordon v. Leeke, 574 F.2d 1147, 1151 (4th Cir. 1978), it will not act as the inmate's advocate and develop, sua sponte, statutory and constitutional claims that the inmate failed to clearly raise on the face of his complaint. See Brock v. Carroll, 107 F.3d 241, 243 (4th Cir. 1997) (Luttig, J., concurring); Beaudett v. City ofHampton, 775 F.2d 1274, 1278 (4th Cir. 1985). B. Summary of Allegations Funches contends that his conviction for rape and abduction "was set aside by the court, declared null and void." (Compl. 1-2, ECF No. I.)2 Nevertheless, Funches states that "these charges remain on [his] record." (Id. at 2.) Funches claims the continued presence of the charges on his record violate[s] his constitutional rights. (Id. at 2-3.) Funches names the "City of Petersburg, Va. Circuit Court" as the sole defendant. (Id. at 1.) 2The Court corrects the capitalization in the quotations to Funches's Complaint. 3 C. Analysis In order to state a viable claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege that a person acting under color of state law deprived him or her of either a constitutional right or a right conferred by a law of the United States. See Dowe v. Total ActionAgainst Poverty in Roanoke Valley, 145 F.3d 653, 658 (4th Cir. 1998) (citing 42 U.S.C. § 1983). The Circuit Court for the City of Petersburg is not a person for the purposes of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See Oliva v. Bayer, No. 98-1696, 1998 WL 637405, at *1 (4th Cir. Sept. 11, 1998) ("[T]he Defendant court system is not as a person defined by ... § 1983). Accordingly, the action will be dismissed without prejudice. An appropriate Order will accompany this Memorandum Opinion. M. Date:&pT^20JV Richmond, Virginia /s/ HENRY E. HUDSON UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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