Geta Barr v. Florence Johnson


Case: 18-12981 Date Filed: 06/06/2019 Page: 1 of 14 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 18-12981 ________________________ D.C. Docket No. 2:16-cv-01340-VEH GETA BARR, Plaintiff - Appellant, versus FLORENCE JOHNSON, TRINA PAULDING, CITY OF CENTER POINT, THOMAS HENDERSON, JOHN WATKINS, Defendants - Appellees. ________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ________________________ (June 6, 2019) Case: 18-12981 Date Filed: 06/06/2019 Page: 2 of 14 Before ROSENBAUM, BRANCH, and DUBINA, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Plaintiff/Appellant Geta Barr (“Barr”), a small business owner, sues a host of local government officials along with the City of Center Point, Alabama (“the City”), advancing procedural due process claims relating to their involvement in the sudden closure of her businesses. The district court entered summary judgment for the defendants, finding that Barr was untimely in raising her claims. After review, we share the district court’s sentiment that Barr could have more effectively advanced her arguments earlier in the proceedings; however, we conclude that she stated a claim for a predeprivation due process violation sufficient to preserve the issue for appeal and that it was error for the district court to grant summary judgment on the merits of her procedural due process claim. Accordingly, we reverse and remand. I. Barr is a Jamaican immigrant who currently lives in Birmingham, Alabama, and works as a cosmetologist, a barber, and an income tax preparer. At the time this conflict began, she operated 2 storefronts: At 1849 Center Point Parkway, she operated a cosmetology salon, and nearby at 1687 Center Point Parkway, she operated a barbershop (henceforth referred to as “1849” and “1687”). It appears 2 Case: 18-12981 Date Filed: 06/06/2019 Page: 3 of 14 that she also ran her tax service, seasonally, from the 1849 location, although the tax service is not relevant to this appeal. All three of these services operated under the same roof at 1849 from 2008–2014. When Barr split the locations, she determined that she did not need a license from the Jefferson County Barber Commission (“JCBC”) at 1849, and she did not need a license from the Alabama Board of Cosmetology at 1687. Shortly thereafter, Barr attested that JCBC inspections at 1687 became very frequent, beginning for our purposes on July 25, 2014, when Inspector Kay Wallace of the JCBC arrived to inspect 1687. This was followed by another inspection of 1687 by JCBC Inspector and co-defendant Trina Paulding on August 19, 2014, while Barr was out of state. Paulding found a student barber working without a required supervisor and issued Barr a $50 citation. Two days later, again with Barr absent, Wallace returned for an inspection and found another unlicensed individual braiding a client’s hair. Four days after that, on August 25, Paulding returned to 1687 and issued Barr a written summons to appear before the JCBC the following morning. She complied and requested a postponement to later appear with her attorney. However, later that day, city officials ...

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