Cardoso v. City of Brockton
Cardoso v. City of Brockton
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ON CROSS MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Aristides Cardoso, proceeding pro se, filed this blunderbuss 82-page, 16-count Amended Complaint against the City of Brockton, its Mayor, its Chief of Police, and a patrol officer claiming that a municipal custom of “engaging] in a páttern or practice of subjecting Cape Verdeans and African Americans to excessive force, false charges or arrest, and improper searches and seizures” caused his false arrest by defendant Robert Grayson incident to a traffic stop on March 1, 2010.
Discovery deadlines have expired and Grayson and Cardoso now cross move for summary judgment on all counts of the Amended Complaint.
BACKGROUND
The facts, as best the court can discern them, are as follows.
Cardoso’s version of the arrest differs dramatically. Cardoso states that he “did not run the stop sign” and that “[w]hen Officer Grayson returned from the police cruiser [he] told [Cardoso] to get out of the car” and arrested him immediately. Car-doso Aff. ¶¶ 19-22. According to Cardoso, Grayson informed him “that he was under arrest because [he had] filed a Complaint against Officer Stanley David.” Id. ¶20. Cardoso states that he was booked at 12:44 p.m. and “held at the police station for more than six hours.” Id. ¶¶ 28-29. Car-doso afterwards moved from Brockton because “he is frightened that [he] will be shot and killed by [the] Brockton Police ....” Id. ¶¶ 32-33. He claims to suffer “post-traumatic stress” as a result of the arrest, manifested by “anxiety and depression, nightmares, headaches, and nausea.” Id. ¶ 37.
DISCUSSION
Summary judgment is warranted “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. “A dispute is genuine if the evidence about the fact is such that a reasonable jury could resolve the point in the favor of the non-moving party.” Id., quoting Sanchez v. Alvarado, 101 F.3d 223, 227 (1st Cir. 1996) (internal quotation marks omitted). “A fact is material if it has the potential of determining the outcome of the litigation.” Maymí v. P.R. Ports Auth., 515 F.3d 20, 25 (1st Cir. 2008). To defeat a motion for summary judgment, evidence offered by the non-movant “must be significantly probative of specific facts.” Perez v. Volvo Car Corp., 247 F.3d 303, 317 (1st Cir. 2001), citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).
Let me turn first to Count II, which alleges violations of the Federal Civil Rights Act. State and local police officers who commit constitutional torts while acting “under color of state law” may be sued for money damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The only plausible allegation of a constitutional violation set out in the Amended Complaint, as supplemented by Cardoso’s Statement of Facts, is his arrest by Grayson allegedly without probable cause in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
The remaining claim' (Count XV) alleges that Grayson “defam[ed], slandered] and libel[ed]” Cardoso. To prove defamation Cardoso must establish that “the defendant was at fault for the publication of a false statement regarding the plaintiff, capable of damaging the plaintiffs reputation in the community, which either caused economic loss or is actionable without proof of economic loss.” White v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mass., Inc., 442 Mass. 64, 66, 809 N.E.2d 1034 (2004). Here, there is no allegation of an actual “statement” involving Cardoso’s reputation that was published in any context other than the words used by Grayson to inform Cardoso that he was being placed under arrest.
ORDER
For the foregoing reasons, all claims brought against the'City of Brockton, the former Mayor, and the Chief of Police of the City of Brockton are BIFURCATED and STAYED. All claims against Christopher LaFrance are DISMISSED with prejudice. The court further dismisses the following Counts brought against Robert Grayson with prejudice: Counts II (as to claims brought under the First, Second, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution), VI, VII, VII, IX, XIII, XIV, XV, and XVI. The section 1983 false arrest claim (Count II based on the Fourth Amendment) and the malicious prosecution claim (Count XII) will be set for trial before a jury.
SO ORDERED.
. While Cardoso in the original Complaint named as putative defendants Vincent Bowman, William Willis, Thomas Hyland, Brian Donahue, and Michael Powers, they were never served.
. Cardoso's Section 1983 claims against former Mayor Balzotti, Chief Gomes, Lieutenant La France, and the City of Brockton are derivative of the claim against officer Grayson, that is, they "have tolerated this conduct through' their failure to supervise, train, investigate, and discipline police officers adequately!” Compl. ¶ 1. As is the court’s practice, it will bifurcate these claims from underlying claim and, if necessary, take them up in the
.The Amended Complaint also names Lieutenant Christopher LaFrance. As best as can be determined from the pleadings, LaFrance was the supervising officer at the station where Cardoso was booked. A supervisory official cannot be held vicariously liable under section 1983 on a theory of respondeat superior. See Monell v. New York City Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 694 n. 58, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978); City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378, 385, 109 S.Ct. 1197, 103 L.Ed.2d 412 (1989). "Because vicarious liability is inapplicable to Bivens and § 1983 suits, a plaintiff must plead that each Government-official defendant, through the official’s own individual actions, has violated the Constitution.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 676, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). A supervisor, in other words, can be held liable “only on the basis of her own acts or omissions,” Figueroa, v. Aponte-Roque, 864 F.2d 947, 953 (1st Cir. 1989), properly pled together with the requisite state of mind. This means that when a plaintiff alleges "invidious discrimination,” he "must plead and prove that the defendant acted with discriminatory purpose.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, supra, at 676, 129 S.Ct. 1937. See also Clancy v. McCabe, 441 Mass. 311, 805 N.E.2d 484 (2004) (comprehensive review of the doctrine). Because nothing of the sort is plead with respect to LaFrance, he will be dismissed from the lawsuit.
. There are also "counts” denominated as XXXIII through XXXIX, but these appear to be pleading statements carried over from the original Complaint and not attempts to plead additional causes of action.
. The court relies on Cardoso and defendants' Statements of Undisputed (or disputed) facts (which is limited to the circumstances surrounding the March 1, 2010 stop), the factual allegations of the Amended Complaint, attachments to the original Complaint, and both Grayson’s and Cardoso’s affidavits.
. These are both civil infractions under Massachusetts motor vehicle law. Civil traffic infractions are motor vehicle violations carrying fines not exceeding one hundred dollars for the first offense and no penalty of imprisonment. See generally Mass. Gen. Laws. ch. 90C § 3, and the'Uniform Rule on Civil Motor Vehicle Infractions.
.Grayson’s initial argument that Cardoso's Complaint is time-barred — the incident having occurred "on March 1, 2014[sic], and that Cardoso filed this matter on March 4, 2013," Defs. Mem. at 4, is a nonstarter. The court’s docket reflects that Cardoso field the original Complaint on March 1, 2013, just within the applicable three-year statute of limitations. See Compl.-Dkt. # 1.
. Cardoso’s Statements of Material Facts (both in support of his motion for summary judgment and in opposition to defendants’ dispositive motion) addresses only the circumstances of the disputed traffic stop and Cardoso’s speculation as to Grayson’s motive for-making the arrest.
. There are no plausible allegations of any excessive use of force by Grayson or attempts on his part to suppress Cardoso's exercise of
. Resolution of this issue may also determine Count XII, the claim for malicious prosecution against Grayson. The tort of malicious prosecution requires proof that (1) a legal proceeding was brought by the defendant, (2) commenced maliciously, (3) without probable cause, and (4) terminated in the plaintiff's favor. Sklar v. Beth Israel Deaconess Med. Ctr., 59 Mass.App.Ct 550, 557, 797 N.E.2d 381 (2003); see also O’Connell v. Bank of Boston, 37 Mass.App.Ct. 416, 420, 640 N.E.2d 513 (1994) (“It is not enough that the accused be found not guilty; to recover damages he must also prove that his accuser acted from malice, i.e., from improper motives; and his accuser must have lacked probable cause for his charges.”). The parties do not brief or adequately explain the disposition in Cardo-so’s case and whether what appears from a docket sheet to be the imposition by the court of pretrial probation from March 18, 2010, until December 17, 2010, would preclude Cardoso from demonstrating the fourth element of his claim — a termination of the underlying proceeding in his favor. See Kossler v. Crisanti, 564 F.3d 181, 194 (3d Cir. 2009) (en banc). The abuse of process claim (Count XIII), on the other hand, will be dismissed at this stage of the proceedings. The tort of abuse of process describes a "form of coercion to obtain a collateral advantage, not properly involved in the proceeding itself, such as the surrender of property or the payment of money.” Keystone Freight Corp. v. Bartlett Consol., Inc., 77 Mass.App.Ct. 304, 313, 930 N.E.2d 744 (2010). It requires proof that “(1-) process was used; (2) for an ulterior or illegitimate purpose; (3) resulting in damage.” Adams v. Whitman, 62 Mass.App.Ct. 850, 853, 822 N.E.2d 727 (2005), quoting from Gutierrez v. Massachusetts Bay Transp. Auth., 437 Mass. 396, 407, 772 N.E.2d 552 (2002). There is no allegation here that the "process” that issued against Cardoso did anything other than what it was properly intended to do, which was to bring the prosecution of the criminal charge against him into a court of law.
. To the extent the fact of the arrest itself might be construed as a "statement,” it falls within the official act privilege. See Barrows v. Wareham Fire Dist., 82 Mass.App.Ct. 623, 630-631, 976 N.E.2d 830 (2012).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Aristides CARDOSO v. CITY OF BROCKTON, Linda M. Balzotti, Chief of Police Emanuel Gomes, Officer Robert Grayson, and Police Lieutenant Christopher La France
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published