Torrence v. Sims

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS TEXARKANA DIVISION SHANNON TERRELL TORRENCE PLAINTIFF v. Civil No. 4:20-cv-04062 SHERIFF OBIE SIMS; LAFAYETTE COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT; THEARDIS EARLY; and LAFAYETTE COUNTY, ARKANSAS DEFENDANTS ORDER Before the Court is a Motion to Dismiss filed by Separate Defendant Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office. ECF No. 13. Plaintiff has not responded, and the time to do so has passed. The Court finds the motion ripe for consideration. This is a civil rights action filed by Plaintiff pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 , which centers around events that allegedly happened while he was incarcerated at the Lafayette County Detention Center. Plaintiff alleges that Defendants were deliberately indifferent to his medical needs, denied him due process under the Fourteenth Amendment, and violated the Arkansas Civil Rights Act. Separate Defendant Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office argues that it should be dismissed from this lawsuit because it is not an entity that is subject to suit under § 1983. The sheriff of an Arkansas county is an elected official under Ark Code Ann. § 14-14-1301(a) (5). However, there is no Arkansas statute that empowers a “sheriff’s office” to sue or be sued or establishes the office as a body corporate. Under Arkansas law, “[a]bsent statutory authority or incorporation,” an artificial entity has no capacity to sue or be sued. See Fausett and Co., Inc. v. Bogard, 285 Ark. 124, 126 , 685 S.W.2d 153, 155 (1985). Therefore, the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office is not an entity capable of being sued. See Wade v. Tompkins, 73 Fed. Appx. 890, 893 (8th Cir. 2003) (citing Dean v. Barber, 951 F.2d 1210 , are not usually considered legal entities subject to suit under § 1983). Accordingly, the Court finds that Separate Defendant Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department's Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 13) should be and hereby is GRANTED. Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department is dismissed as a Defendant in this case. IT IS SO ORDERED, this 20th day of April, 2021. /s/ Susan O. Hickey Susan O. Hickey Chief United States District Judge