DANIELS v. CITY OF PITTSBURGH

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

JOYCE DANIELS, ) ) Plaintiff, ) Civil Action No. 18-1019 ) v. ) Judge Cathy Bissoon ) CITY OF PITTSBURGH, et al., ) ) Defendants. )

ORDER Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 27) will be denied. As to Monell liability, Defendants demand too much of Plaintiff at this stage in the proceedings. As Plaintiff’s counsel aptly observes, the case-decisions cited by Defendants were resolved at later stages. Plaintiff has stated plausible claims for relief, and Defendants’ arguments are rejected, without prejudice to renewal on summary judgment.

Likewise, and for the reasons stated in Plaintiff’s Opposition Brief (Doc. 35), Defendants’ arguments for dismissal of the wrongful-death claim(s) are denied, without prejudice.

Last is Defendants’ challenge to Plaintiff’s having framed her Monell claims under the rubric of the 14th Amendment. As a practical matter, parties routinely present, and courts routinely consider, Monell liability as an entity unto itself, without reference to a constitutional provision. At least some courts have confronted such claims under the guise of the 14th Amendment1; and, even assuming Plaintiff has “gotten it wrong,” the debate is one of semantics, not substance. Cf. Vitol S.A., Inc. v. Publicker Indus., Inc., 1986 WL 8828, *2 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 13, 1986) (even where a plaintiff “misconceive[s] the proper legal theory of [her] claim,” it cannot properly be dismissed if there appear viable grounds for relief) (citation omitted).

Accordingly, Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 27) is DENIED.

August 27, 2019 s\Cathy Bissoon Cathy Bissoon United States District Judge cc (via ECF email notification): All Counsel of Record

1 See, e.g., Laniado v. County of Ocean, 2019 WL 3451705, *7 (D. N.J. July 31, 2019) (discussing Monell claim, regarding excessive force, under 4th and 14th Amendments) (claim dismissed on other grounds); Simmons v. Roxbury Police Dep’t, 2017 WL 5188060, *9 (D. N.J. Nov. 9, 2017) (same).