William Dinneen v. Robert E. Williams

In a second amended complaint filed in the District Court, it was alleged that defendant at 9:30 p. m., arrested and imprisoned plaintiff for approximately twenty hours, telling the latter that defendant would file a charge of carrying a concealed weapon in violation of a state law, and that plaintiff was released the next day. It is claimed defendant was and represented himself to be a police officer of Los Angeles. It is pleaded that defendant had no probable cause to believe and did not believe that plaintiff had committed a crime. There are no “facts” pleaded as a basis, but there are bald conclusions that the action was in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, implemented by the Third Civil Rights Act. 2**There was no attempt to set up diversity of citizenship between the parties. The trial court allowed a motion to dismiss upon the ground of lack of jurisdiction. This holding was clearly right. The complaint stated a claim of false imprisonment cognizable only by state law.

The pleader is a lawyer. It appears on the face of the pleading that he has had at least two opportunities to make allegations of any “facts” which would differentiate this from a cause cognizable in a…