Laboy v. Ont. Cnty.
Laboy v. Ont. Cnty.
Opinion of the Court
INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND
Plaintiff Juan A. Laboy ("Plaintiff") commenced this action on February 24, *5842014, against Ontario County, the Ontario County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Philip C. Provero, deputies Rebecca Edington, Nathan Bowerman, and Patrick Fitzgerald, and Jason Housel, Esq., pursuant to
Specifically, the Second Circuit agreed that this Court had properly dismissed Plaintiff's malicious prosecution and false arrest claims, but the court vacated the dismissal of Plaintiff's Monell claim against the County,
Although the initial complaint was insufficient to state a [ Monell ] claim, the proposed amended complaint added allegations that may plausibly suggest that the County had a policy or custom, which County officials knew about and approved, of depriving arrestees of their constitutional rights. See Payton v. New York ,445 U.S. 573 ,100 S.Ct. 1371 ,63 L.Ed.2d 639 (1980). Although the district court briefly considered the plausibility of a stand-alone Payton claim as pleaded in Laboy's initial complaint, ... the district court had no opportunity to consider a Payton -based Monell claim. Accordingly, we remand to the district court to determine, in the first instance, whether such a claim is plausible, would have been timely made, and if so, to permit [Plaintiff] to amend his complaint.
(Dkt. 49 at 4).
This Court held a telephone status conference on October 27, 2016, and set a briefing scheduling to address the issue remanded by the appellate court. (Dkt. 51). Plaintiff filed papers in support of his request to amend the complaint on November 28, 2016, and November 30, 2016. (Dkt. 53; Dkt. 54). The County submitted its response in opposition on December 23, 2016 (Dkt. 55), and Plaintiff replied on January 9, 2017 (Dkt. 56).
In sum, on remand, the Court must consider the narrow question of whether Plaintiff's proposed amended complaint contains a plausible Monell claim against the County based on Payton . The Court concludes that it does. Therefore, Plaintiff's request to amend the complaint (Dkt. 28) is granted, and the County's motion to dismiss (Dkt. 14) is denied insofar as the Court permits Plaintiff's amended complaint to go forward against the County with respect to his Monell claim.
DISCUSSION
The Court assumes familiarity with its May 4, 2015, Decision and Order (Dkt. 45) and will restate only the facts and background relevant to the narrow issue presently before this Court.
I. Legal Standards
A. Motion to Dismiss
" 'In considering a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), a district court must limit itself to facts stated in the complaint or in documents attached to the complaint as exhibits or incorporated in the complaint by *585reference.' " Newman & Schwartz v. Asplundh Tree Expert Co. ,
"While a complaint attacked by a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss does not need detailed factual allegations, a plaintiff's obligation to provide the grounds of his entitle[ment] to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Twombly ,
B. Motion to Amend
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(2) allows a party to amend his pleading with the Court's permission if the party cannot do so as a matter of course. A court is required to "freely give leave [to amend] when justice so requires." Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). However, "leave to amend may be denied if the amendment would be futile." In re Am. Exp. Co. S'holder Litig. ,
C. Payton and Monell
The Fourth Amendment recognizes the "right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." U.S. Const. amend. IV. The Supreme Court has held that "an arrest warrant founded on probable cause implicitly carries with it the limited authority to enter a dwelling in which the suspect lives when there is reason to believe the suspect is within." Payton ,
Section 1983 provides a federal cause of action against persons who, under color of state authority, caused the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
"[T]o establish municipal liability under § 1983, a plaintiff must prove that 'action pursuant to official municipal policy' caused the alleged constitutional injury."
"In limited circumstances, a local government's decision not to train certain employees about their legal duty to avoid violating citizens' rights may rise to the level of an official government policy for purposes of § 1983." Connick ,
II. Analysis
A. Proposed Amended Complaint
In his proposed amended complaint, Plaintiff raises what he contends is a Payton -based Monell claim. Plaintiff alleges that "Defendant County and Sheriff Provero have created and tolerated and developed long-standing, department-wide customs, law enforcement related policies, procedures, customs, practices and/or failed to properly train and/or supervise its officers in a manner amounting to deliberate indifference to the constitutional rights of plaintiff and the public." (Dkt. 32-3 at ¶ 155).
*587Plaintiff's proposed amended complaint contains additional allegations that did not appear in his original complaint. He alleges:
The county prosecutor confirmed in his oral argument to the court that arrests like [Plaintiff's] are typical in Ontario County by saying:
"There's no requirement and [defense counsel] hasn't identified any requirement, he cannot identify any requirement, that there be a warrant or information filed in court. In fact, that would be contrary to what we know happens on these harassment arrests every day in that they're arrested, they're either given appearance tickets or taken and arraigned and an order of protection before there's a filing. There's no requirement that any of that occur[.]"
(Id. at ¶ 88 (first alteration in original) ). The proposed amended complaint further alleges:
The county prosecutor further confirmed at sentencing that numerous top officials within the sheriff's department had attended the trial in a show of support for the propriety of Deputy Edington's actions:
"[T]he support for Deputy Edington was apparent at every turn with her extended law enforcement family with her throughout this trial. At times Sheriff Povero, Undersheriff Tillman, Lieutenant Falkey, Lieutenant Storer, Sergeant Colburn, Sergeant Cirencione, [Deputies] Dill, Bowerman, Fogarty, Nelson, Fitzgerald, Taylor and so many others were here to support her because they knew she was doing the right thing, and they knew she was doing it the right way[.]"
(Id. at ¶ 89).
B. Timeliness of Plaintiff's Monell Claim
The Court turns, first, to the timeliness of any Monell claim that Plaintiff might be able to assert based on the record in this case. Plaintiff argues that he has timely alleged a Monell claim because he brought the complaint within three years of when it became clear that his unlawful arrest was the consequence of a municipal policy or custom. (Dkt. 53 at 16-17). According to Plaintiff, he became aware of the unconstitutional policy, at the earliest, on February 25, 2011-the date on which he was sentenced in state court and the prosecutor stated that the Sheriff's office supported Deputy Edington's actions. (Id. at 17). Plaintiff contends that February 25, 2011, was the first time that he could have been made aware that there was an endorsed policy of engaging in unlawful arrests that violated the Fourth Amendment. (Id. ). The County disagrees, arguing that Plaintiff became aware that he was suffering from an alleged wrong at the time of his arrest and that his Monell claim is therefore time-barred. (Dkt. 55 at 8-9).
As a general matter, the statute of limitations for § 1983 actions arising in New York is three years. Eagleston v. Guido ,
In Pinaud v. County of Suffolk ,
Since an actionable claim under § 1983 against a county or municipality depends on a harm stemming from the municipality's "policy or custom," a cause of action against the municipality does not necessarily accrue upon the occurrence of a harmful act, but only later when it is clear, or should be clear, that the harmful act is the consequence of a county "policy or custom."
*588
In Flores v. Nieva , No. 14 CIV. 7960 (KPF),
The case law in this Circuit overwhelmingly follows Pinaud. See, e.g. , Egan v. Kennedy , No. 04-CV-6626 CJS,
Even so, the County cites a number of cases for the proposition that where a plaintiff is present for and aware of an alleged wrongful act of a police officer, claims stemming from the act accrue immediately. (Dkt. 55 at 9-10). The Court concludes that those cases are distinguishable.
Two of the cases that the County cites are factually different from this case because they address claims against individual defendants, and not a municipal defendant. In Hueber v. McCune ,
Similarly, in Veal v. Geraci ,
The County also cites Galberth v. Washington , No. 14 CIV. 691 (KPF),
The Court concludes that, as articulated in Pinaud , the statute of limitations on a Monell claim begins to run when the plaintiff "knew about, or at least had reason to come to know about, the policy or custom." See Pinaud ,
When a defendant raises the statute of limitations as an affirmative defense in a motion to dismiss, the defendant bears the burden of demonstrating, based on the allegations in the complaint, that the claim is untimely. Egan ,
*590C. Although Inartfully Drafted, Plaintiff's Proposed Amended Complaint Sufficiently Alleges a Payton -Based Monell Claim
Plaintiff argues that his proposed amended complaint asserts a Payton -based Monell claim because he alleges that he was subjected to a warrantless in-home arrest in violation of the Fourth Amendment as a result of "an unwritten policy or practice of Fourth Amendment violations in Ontario County." (Dkt. 53 at 9-12). While inartfully pled, and while it is questionable whether Plaintiff will ultimately be able to sustain the claim, at this stage of the proceedings Plaintiff may proceed with a Monell claim based on Payton .
In the proposed amended complaint, Plaintiff alleges that "[t]he deputies knew that even if there was probable cause to believe [Plaintiff] had committed a crime (and not a non-criminal violation) they did not have a warrant to arrest [Plaintiff] in his home, as was otherwise required by the [United States Constitution]." (Dkt. 32-3 at ¶ 84).
Plaintiff further alleges that arrests like the one to which he was subjected are commonplace: "It is part of the policy and practice of the Sheriff's Office and the named defendants to effectuate arrests for violations that were not committed in their presence and without probable cause," and "Deputy Edington ... stated under oath that she believed it was in her discretion to either arrest without a warrant or to issue an appearance ticket." (Id. at ¶¶ 85-87). Moreover, Plaintiff alleges:
[The County and Sheriff Povero] developed practices and maintained policies, procedures, customs, and/or practices exhibiting deliberate indifference to the constitutional rights of citizens, which were moving forces behind and proximately caused the violations of plaintiff's constitutional and federal rights as set forth here and in the other claims, resulted from a conscious or deliberate choice to follow a course of action from among various available alternatives.
(Dkt. 32-3 at ¶ 154). He continues:
Defendant County and Sheriff Provero have created and tolerated and developed long-standing, department-wide customs, law enforcement related policies, procedures, customs, practices and/or failed to properly train and/or supervise its officers in a manner amounting to deliberate indifference to the constitutional rights of plaintiff and the public.
(Id. at 1155).
Plaintiff also relies on the prosecutor's statements during the state court proceedings to support a Monell claim. (Dkt. 53 at 12-14). The prosecutor referenced the warrant requirement, stating, " 'There's no requirement and [defense counsel] hasn't identified any requirement, he cannot identify any requirement, that there be a warrant or information filed in court.' " (Dkt. 32-3 at ¶ 88 (quoting the prosecutor) ). He also voiced " 'support for Deputy Edington ... at every turn.' " (Id. at ¶ 89 (quoting the prosecutor) ). Plaintiff argues that the prosecutor was "[p]resumably ... well-aware of how arrests are usually made," and "it appears that the prosecutor had personal knowledge that all of the top-brass within the Sheriff's Department endorsed Deputy Edington's actions...." (Dkt. 53 at 13-14).
The County responds that Plaintiff's allegations regarding the "policy and practice of the Sheriff's Office" (Dkt. 32-3 at ¶¶ 85-87), as well his reliance on the prosecutor's statements (id. at ¶¶ 88-89),
The Court agrees that the prosecutor's remarks appeared to be focused primarily on
CONCLUSION
Plaintiff's request to amend the complaint (Dkt. 28) is granted and the County's motion to dismiss (Dkt. 14) is denied with respect to the Monell claim. Plaintiff is directed to file the proposed amended complaint (Dkt. 32-3) within 21 days of the entry of this Decision and Order. The Clerk of Court is directed to terminate all defendants from this action with the exception of the County of Ontario.
SO ORDERED.
Consistent with the Second Circuit's opinion (Dkt. 49) and Plaintiff's proposed amended complaint (Dkt. 32-3), the County is the only remaining defendant.
On November 30, 2016, Plaintiff submitted a revised version of his proposed amended complaint with "strikethroughs" of the claims and allegations that were dismissed by this Court and affirmed by the Second Circuit. (Dkt. 54-1). The Court will cite to the original proposed amended complaint (Dkt. 32-3) throughout this decision. The cited portions are identical in the two versions of the proposed amended complaint.
The Court acknowledges the County's argument that even if the prosecutor's statements during the state court proceedings were in reference to a Fourth Amendment violation, those statements would not be sufficient to state a Payton -based Monell claim against the County, which is a separate entity from the district attorney's office. (Dkt. 55 at 17). Nonetheless, at this stage of the proceedings, the comments may at least be considered in evaluating whether a Payton -bassd Monell claim has been plausibly alleged.
The County argues that Plaintiff asserts for the first time, on remand, that his Monell claim is based on Payton , and previously any such claim was based on a violation of
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Juan A. LABOY v. ONTARIO COUNTY, New York
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published