Guerriero v. Town of Hanover
Guerriero v. Town of Hanover
Opinion of the Court
The plaintiff, Richard Guerriero, appeals from a judgment dismissing his amended complaint against the town of Hanover. He maintains that his complaint sufficiently alleged violations of: (1) articles 4 and 29 of the Declaration of Rights of the Massachusetts Constitution (Declaration of Rights); (2) the full faith and credit clause, United States Constitution Art. IV, § 1 (full faith and credit clause); and (3) the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act, G. L. c. 12, § 11I. We affirm.
Discussion
. On appeal, "[w]e review the allowance of a motion to dismiss de novo."
Curtis
v.
Herb Chambers I-95, Inc
.,
Guerriero alleges the following. In May, 2014, "the Vermont Superior Court issued a Certificate of Expungement related to certain matters regarding [the plaintiff] that had occurred in Vermont in 1996." In December, 2015, the Hanover, Massachusetts, police department sent an information request regarding Guerriero to the Burlington, Vermont, police department. In response, the Burlington police department sent the Hanover police department information that was subject to the 2014 expungement order. A few months later, the Burlington police department notified the Hanover police department that the information was sent in error, and asked the Hanover police department to destroy the information and cease considering it. The Hanover police department declined to destroy the records. In June, 2016, the Vermont Superior Court issued another Certificate of Expungement relating to a different matter "regarding [the plaintiff] that had occureed [ sic ] in Vermont in 1996."
Counts I and II of the amended complaint allege violations of art. 4 and art. 29 of the Declaration of Rights; count III of the plaintiff's amended complaint alleges a violation of the full faith and credit clause.
In his appellate brief, Guerriero assumes that there is a direct right of action under both the Declaration of Rights and the Federal full faith and credit clause. This suggestion is made without citation to controlling authority. This "abbreviated and conclusory claim does not rise to the level of appellate argument."
Adams
v.
Adams
,
It appears from the briefs that the genesis of this dispute lies in the request of the town of Hanover (town) for information pertaining to the plaintiff's application for a gun permit, and the town's claim that it has the right to retain the information in connection with that application. However, Guerriero did not appeal from the denial of the permit, he has not made any allegations concerning the permit, and that issue is not before us.
Count IV of the amended complaint does allege a violation of G. L. c. 12, § 11I, which would provide a vehicle for any claims of constitutional violations. However, the town is a municipality and is immune from claims under § 11. See
Howcroft
v.
Peabody
,
Even if the town fell within the statute's coverage, Guerriero fails to allege sufficient facts to show the requisite existence of "threats, intimidation, or coercion." See
Planned Parenthood League of Mass., Inc
. v.
Blake
,
The complaint was properly dismissed.
Judgment affirmed .
Article 4 of the Declaration of Rights states:
"The people of this [C]ommonwealth have the sole and exclusive right of governing themselves, as a free, sovereign, and independent state; and do, and forever hereafter shall, exercise and enjoy every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not, or may not hereafter, be by them [expressly] delegated to the United States of America in Congress assembled."
Article 29 provides in pertinent part:
"It is essential to the preservation of the rights of every individual, his life, liberty, property, and character, that there be an impartial interpretation of the laws, and administration of justice. It is the right of every citizen to be tried by judges as free, impartial and independent as the lot of humanity will admit."
For example, there is varying authority within the circuits of the United States Court of Appeals whether, or to what extent, a claimed violation of the full faith and credit clause may be brought under
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.