Nicolaison v. Maas
- Joan Ericksen
- 0:18-cv-00743
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 3
In Nicolaison v. Maas, Judge Ericksen dismissed the action without prejudice and denied Nicolaison’s applications to waive fees and obtain appointed counsel.
Wayne Nicolaison’s lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice; his application to proceed without paying filing fees and motion for appointed counsel were denied. Warren Maas remained the defendant in the dismissed action.
What happened
Nicolaison v. Maas concerned Wayne Nicolaison’s civil-rights lawsuit against Warren Maas, who had represented Nicolaison in civil-commitment proceedings from 1991 to 1992. Nicolaison alleged that Maas conspired with the Hennepin County prosecutor’s office to confine him indefinitely and violated his right to remain silent during psychiatric interviews.
The court considered a magistrate judge’s recommendation to dismiss the case. The recommendation identified several reasons: the claim was filed too late, Nicolaison did not allege that Maas acted under state authority as required for this type of civil-rights claim, and the claim was barred by a rule from Heck v. Humphrey. The recommendation also stated that any request for release would be an unauthorized second or successive detention challenge.
Judge Joan N. Ericksen adopted the recommendation and dismissed the action without prejudice. She also denied Nicolaison’s application to proceed without paying filing fees and denied his motion for appointed counsel.
The detailed version
- Nicolaison v. Maas · No. 0:18-cv-00743
- Joan Ericksen
- July 10, 2018
Background
Wayne Nicolaison, described as an involuntary patient of the Minnesota Sex Offender Program, sued Warren Maas under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal civil-rights statute. Nicolaison alleged that Maas represented him in civil-commitment proceedings from 1991 to 1992 and later conspired with the Hennepin County prosecutor’s office to indefinitely commit or confine him. Nicolaison claimed that this violated his due-process right to remain silent during psychiatric interviews used in the commitment process.
Nicolaison also applied to proceed without paying filing fees and moved for appointment of counsel.
Report and Recommendation
Magistrate Judge Tony N. Leung recommended that the court dismiss the action without prejudice, deny the application to proceed without paying filing fees, and deny the motion to appoint counsel.
The recommendation concluded that the complaint failed to state a claim for relief. It identified two independent reasons: the six-year statute of limitations barred the § 1983 claim, and Nicolaison had not pleaded facts showing that Maas acted under color of state law while representing him, as § 1983 requires.
The recommendation also concluded that the rule from Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994), barred Nicolaison’s claim. In addition, although Nicolaison did not request release from detention, the recommendation stated that any intended request for release would be a second or successive detention challenge requiring authorization from the Eighth Circuit. Nicolaison had not sought that authorization.
Objection and ruling
Nicolaison objected to the recommendation, specifically arguing that the limitations period had not expired. The court stated that even if that objection were correct, the recommendation had identified additional grounds for dismissal. Nicolaison had not objected to those additional grounds, and the court concluded that each independently warranted dismissal.
Judge Joan N. Ericksen reviewed the record, adopted the recommended disposition, and ordered that the action be dismissed without prejudice. The court also denied Nicolaison’s application to proceed without paying filing fees and denied his motion to appoint counsel.
Disposition
- The action was dismissed without prejudice.
- The application to proceed without paying filing fees was denied.
- The motion to appoint counsel was denied.
The order did not decide the underlying due-process allegations on their merits.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.