Legal Memorandum: Cause of Action for a § 1983 Violation

Issue: When does a plaintiff have a cause of action under 42 U.S.C. 1983?

          A complaint states a cause of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by alleging facts that, read in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, state a claim for violation of civil rights by the defendants who were acting under state law. Beckham v. Grand Affair of N.C., Inc., 671 F. Supp. at 420 (W.D.N.C. 1987).  In a § 1983 conspiracy case, the defendant is entitled to dismissal only by a showing that there is no set of facts to support the plaintiff’s allegation that the defendant engaged in a conspiracy, under color of state law, to deprive the plaintiff of a constitutional right.  Id.

When the plaintiff alleges that the defendant was involved in a conspiracy that culminated in an unconstitutional deprivation of due process by a wrongful arrest and unlawful search and seizure of property, the plaintiff’s allegations are sufficient to state a § 1983 cause of action.  Id.  Likewise, a plaintiff’s allegation that each of the defendants agreed to a conspiracy, along with allegations of the defendants’ actions and the defendants’ positions in a conspiracy, is sufficient to withstand a motion to dismiss.  Liner v. DiCresce, 905 F. Supp. 280, 286 (M.D.N.C. 1994).  The elements of a conspiracy may be established by circumstantial evidence, as long as the evidence leads to the inference that the defendants “positively or tacitly came to a mutual understanding to try to accomplish a common and unlawful plan.”  Hinkle v. City of Clarksburg, 81 F.3d 416, 421 (4th Cir. 1996).  Allegation of […]