Filed Date: Aug. 4, 2014
Closed Date: May 1, 2017
Clearinghouse coding complete
On August 4, 2014, a 71-year old grandmother living in Washington, DC filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the District of Columbia. The plaintiff, represented by the non-profit organization Equal Justice Under Law, sought compensatory damages, punitive damages, costs, and reasonable attorneys' fees, claiming that her constitutional rights were violated. Specifically, the plaintiff claimed that the police verbally and physically abused her during a search of her home that was conducted despite the fact that she was under no suspicion of any wrongdoing.
The incident happened on October 27, 2012 when two officers were on patrol and passed the plaintiff's home and saw three men near her property "outside the fence line." One of the men was the plaintiff's grandson. After conversing with the men, the three were arrested for possession of an open container of alcohol and possession of synthetic marijuana. A handgun was also found. One of the other men admitted that all of the illicit items belonged to him and no charges were pressed against the plaintiff's grandson.
Even though no charges were pressed against the plaintiff's grandson, the police sought to search the plaintiff's home on the basis that there might have been evidence related to illegal firearms in the home. According to the plaintiff's complaint, the search warrant application was vague and did not specify any specific reason for searching the home. Furthermore, the complaint alleges that the basis given for the warrant was inadequate.
Both before and after obtaining the warrant, the plaintiff alleged that she was kept from entering her home and treated abusively by the police. After the search did not turn up anything illegal, the plaintiff claims that she reentered her home to find that it had been torn apart by the police.
On September 16, 2014, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss. They argued that the officers' conduct was lawful, that the officers conduct was protected by qualified immunity, and that plaintiff failed to allege a Monell claim against the Metropolitan Police Department.
The plaintiff filed an amended complaint on September 25, 2015, which added several officer defendants to the action.
On September 30, 2016, Judge Randolph D. Moss ruled on the defendants' motion to dismiss, granting in part and denying in part. 211 F. Supp. 3d 150 (D.D.C. 2016). Specifically, the Court found that the officers had failed to establish the following: (1) that the firearm found gave them probable cause to conduct a warrantless arrest; (2) that the protective sweep of the home was lawful; and (3) that the application for the warrant for the subsequent search was supported by probable cause. The Court did find, however, that all defendants who executed the search except for one acted lawfully. Finally, the Court found that the plaintiff's complaint adequately alleged that the purportedly unconstitutional search of the home was the result of the District's "pattern policy, and practice" of an affiant officer falsely claiming that his training and experience led him to believe that evidence of a crime would be present.
On May 1, 2017, the parties stipulated to a dismissal of the case pursuant to a private settlement agreement. The case is now closed.
Summary Authors
Brian Dressel (2/5/2015)
Eva Richardson (1/30/2019)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4212927/parties/lane-v-district-of-columbia/
Adams, Corliss Vaughn (District of Columbia)
Addo, Michael K. (District of Columbia)
Amato, Maria-Claudia T. (District of Columbia)
Anderson, Steven J. (District of Columbia)
Armstrong, Joel Demetrius (District of Columbia)
Moss, Randolph Daniel (District of Columbia)
Adams, Corliss Vaughn (District of Columbia)
Addo, Michael K. (District of Columbia)
Amato, Maria-Claudia T. (District of Columbia)
Anderson, Steven J. (District of Columbia)
Armstrong, Joel Demetrius (District of Columbia)
Baker, Melissa Lael (District of Columbia)
Baker, Denise J. (District of Columbia)
Barksdale, Charles Beverly (District of Columbia)
Bender, Robyn Renee (District of Columbia)
Beydoun, Ali Abed (District of Columbia)
Beyer, Wayne C. (District of Columbia)
BISCEGLIE, KYLE C. (District of Columbia)
Blecher, Matthew Robert (District of Columbia)
Block, Alan S. (District of Columbia)
Bojanowski, Timothy J. (District of Columbia)
Bolden, Melvin W. (District of Columbia)
Bravo, Mariana del (District of Columbia)
Bruckheim, Michael P. (District of Columbia)
Bryant, Benjamin Egan (District of Columbia)
Bush, Nicholas Alan (District of Columbia)
Caspari, Matthew W. (District of Columbia)
Causey, William Frederick (District of Columbia)
Chambers, Darrell (District of Columbia)
Chang, William (District of Columbia)
Chhe, Soriya R. (District of Columbia)
Copeland, Chad Wayne (District of Columbia)
Coughlin, Charles Joseph (District of Columbia)
Cullen, Alicia Marie (District of Columbia)
Cumming, Gregory Martin (District of Columbia)
Dansby, Joshua Wade (District of Columbia)
Davy, Michelle Hamilton (District of Columbia)
DeBerardinis, Robert A. (District of Columbia)
DeMarco, Juliane T. (District of Columbia)
Dickerson, Rahsaan J (District of Columbia)
Donkor, Patricia B. (District of Columbia)
Drummey, Jane (District of Columbia)
Efros, Ellen A. (District of Columbia)
Featherstone, Kerslyn D. (District of Columbia)
Feldon, Gary Daniel (District of Columbia)
Ferster, Andrea C. (District of Columbia)
Finkhousen, Aaron J. (District of Columbia)
Fischer, Michael John (District of Columbia)
Fisher, David (District of Columbia)
Frost, Shana Lyn (District of Columbia)
Gainey, Shameka L. (District of Columbia)
Gasper, George A. (District of Columbia)
Gemmill, Helen L. (District of Columbia)
George, Laura (District of Columbia)
Gere, Elizabeth Sarah (District of Columbia)
Gill, Ronald William (District of Columbia)
Glover, Eric Sebastian (District of Columbia)
Gonzalez, Joseph A. (District of Columbia)
Graham, Grace (District of Columbia)
Guest, Nathan Andrew (District of Columbia)
Hardy, Tasha Monique (District of Columbia)
Hill, Dana E. (District of Columbia)
Holsman, Jennifer L. (District of Columbia)
Jackson, Toni Michelle (District of Columbia)
Jackson, Catherine Anne (District of Columbia)
Jackson, David A. (District of Columbia)
Jara, Ana Lorraine (District of Columbia)
Jefferson, Dwayne C. (District of Columbia)
Johnson, Holly Michelle (District of Columbia)
Johnson, Wyneva (District of Columbia)
Jones, Shermineh C. (District of Columbia)
Jones, Patricia Ann (District of Columbia)
Kantor, Jayme (District of Columbia)
Karpinski, Alex (District of Columbia)
Kennedy, Scott Patrick (District of Columbia)
Kim, Brian Gook-hyun (District of Columbia)
Knapp, Sarah L. (District of Columbia)
Koger, Thomas Louis (District of Columbia)
Lanzdorf, Michael J. (District of Columbia)
Latterell, Richard Allan (District of Columbia)
Lee, Julie Steptoe (District of Columbia)
Lerner, Jacques P. (District of Columbia)
Levinson-Waldman, Ariel B. (District of Columbia)
Litos, Stephanie (District of Columbia)
Love, Richard S. (District of Columbia)
Madigan, Patrick Thomas (District of Columbia)
Maloney, Paul J. (District of Columbia)
Martin, Brant (District of Columbia)
Matini, Shana Lyn (District of Columbia)
McKinley, Erica Taylor (District of Columbia)
McQuinn, Urenthea (District of Columbia)
Medley, Philip Alexander (District of Columbia)
Mercer, John F. (District of Columbia)
Montee, Amanda (District of Columbia)
MORGAN, FREDERICK M. (District of Columbia)
Mullen, Martha J. (District of Columbia)
Naini, Ali (District of Columbia)
Naso, Chad Alan (District of Columbia)
Nathan, Irvin B (District of Columbia)
Okereke, Christina (District of Columbia)
Oxendine, Patricia Ann (District of Columbia)
Parker, Charlotte Wartman (District of Columbia)
Parris, Lori S. (District of Columbia)
Parsons, Keith David (District of Columbia)
Pham, Tram T. (District of Columbia)
Phillips, E. Louise (District of Columbia)
Pittman, Lucy E. (District of Columbia)
Pittman, Jonathan H. (District of Columbia)
Pivec, Mary E. (District of Columbia)
Pollak, Cary D. (District of Columbia)
Porter, Veronica A. (District of Columbia)
Pressley, Monique Daniel (District of Columbia)
Rezneck, Daniel Albert (District of Columbia)
Rich, Robert Joseph (District of Columbia)
Rickman, George E. (District of Columbia)
Risher, Conrad Z. (District of Columbia)
Rosenbloom, Douglas Stuart (District of Columbia)
Roundtree, Portia M. (District of Columbia)
Rushkoff, Bennett C. (District of Columbia)
Saindon, Andrew J. (District of Columbia)
Schifferle, Carl James (District of Columbia)
Seabrook, Linda Ann (District of Columbia)
Simmons, Jack M. (District of Columbia)
Skeeles-Shiner, Heather R. (District of Columbia)
STONE, DAVID S. (District of Columbia)
Struck, Daniel P. (District of Columbia)
Swann, Sally Lotz (District of Columbia)
Taylor, Leah Brownlee (District of Columbia)
Towns, James Anthony (District of Columbia)
Utiger, Robert C. (District of Columbia)
Valdes, Leticia L. (District of Columbia)
Valentine, George C. (District of Columbia)
VALENTINE, ELIZABETH (District of Columbia)
Vricos, James H. (District of Columbia)
Walls, Brenda J. (District of Columbia)
Washington, Alicia D. (District of Columbia)
WEINGARTEN, MARC P. (District of Columbia)
Williams, Zuberi Bakari (District of Columbia)
Wiseman, Benjamin Michael (District of Columbia)
Wright, Allie M. (District of Columbia)
Yong, Esther (District of Columbia)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4212927/lane-v-district-of-columbia/
Last updated July 23, 2023, 3:10 a.m.
State / Territory: District of Columbia
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Key Dates
Filing Date: Aug. 4, 2014
Closing Date: May 1, 2017
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
71-year-old private citizen and grandmother whose home was allegedly searched illegally and without cause.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Attorney Organizations:
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
The District of Columbia (Washington, DC, District of Columbia), City
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Constitutional Clause(s):
Unreasonable search and seizure
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Issues
General:
Discrimination-basis:
Race:
Affected Sex or Gender: