U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 2010

Buonanotte v. New York State Office of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Services

Buonanotte v. New York State Office of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Services
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit · Decided September 22, 2010 · Miner, Leval, Wesley
393 F. App'x 782

Buonanotte v. New York State Office of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse Services

Opinion

SUMMARY ORDER

Plaintiffs-Appellants (“Appellants”) appeal from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Wexler, J.), entered October 13, 2009, 2009 WL 3297784, which granted Defendants-Appellees (“Defendants”) judgment as a matter of law. Appellants commenced this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, seeking compensatory and punitive damages and ancillary relief. They alleged that Defendants injured their interests in a manner violative of their constitutional rights. Specifically, Appellants contend that Defendants were responsible for the loss of their ability to operate as a business. We assume the parties’ familiarity with the underlying facts, the procedural history, and the issues presented for review.

Appellants contend that the District Court erred in granting summary judgment as a matter of law because their evidence had established that Defendants had caused injury to their interests. However, that argument is unpersuasive. Appellants failed to establish that defendants’ actions were the proximate cause of any injuries suffered by them. The harm to Appellants’ business operations was a result of actions taken by an agency of state government independent of that managed by Defendants. In the absence of proximate cause (herein established as a matter of law), no prima facie case under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 can be made. Accordingly, *784 the District Court properly concluded that none of Appellants’ claims were appropriate for submission to a jury.

We have considered Appellants’ remaining arguments and find them to be without merit.

For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the District Court is hereby AFFIRMED.

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