Watson v. Abington Township
Watson v. Abington Township
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
We are confronted with cross-appeals filed, respectively, by Plaintiffs Gerald W. Kelly and his business Just Jerry’s, Inc. (“Just Jerry’s”) (collectively “Plaintiffs”) as well as Defendants Abington Township, the Abington Township Police Department, Police Chief William J. Kelly, and three individual police officers (collectively “Defendants”). The parties seek relief from a decision of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania disposing of their respective motions for summary judgment. For the following reasons, we will affirm.
I.
In 1993, Gerald Kelly
This case has already been before this Court in a prior appeal. The District Court initially granted Defendants’ motion to dismiss the Fourth Amendment claim pursuant to the closely regulated industry exception to the warrant requirement. After denying Plaintiffs’ reconsideration motion, the District Court granted Defendants’ motion for summary judgment as to the Fourteenth Amendment claim, finding that there was insufficient evidence of a municipal policy or custom of racial discrimination. On appeal, we affirmed the District Court’s summary judgment ruling with respect to the Fourteenth Amendment claim but reversed its dismissal of the Fourth Amendment claim. See Watson v. Abington Twp., 478 F.3d 144, 147, 150-57 (3d Cir. 2007).
For the purposes of this current appeal, we limit our factual discussion to the remaining Fourth Amendment claim. Simply put, Plaintiffs have alleged that the Abington Township police conducted several warrantless sweeps of the Scoreboard for underage drinking in an attempt to drive Kelly out of business because of his relationship with Watson and his plans to sell the Scoreboard to Watson. Abington Township funded its program to sweep several bars and restaurants in the community with money obtained through a Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (“PCCD”) grant. The sweeps were themselves planned by, and conducted at the direction of, Abington Township Police Department Lieutenant Peter Has-son.
The police never obtained a warrant for the sweeps. The Scoreboard, along with several other establishments, was targeted on May 20, 1999, December 18, 1999, August 3, 2000, and November 25, 2000. A number of uniformed officers entered the establishment, with one officer securing the door while the others checked the patrons’ identification. According to his deposition testimony, Chief Kelly was present at the Scoreboard during (or immediately after) one of the sweeps, responding to a call for assistance to handle and transport a large number of arrested underage drinkers. He remained outside the Scoreboard and never entered the establishment itself. In July 2001, the Scoreboard closed.
On July 31, 2008, the District Court granted in part and denied in part the parties’ respective summary judgment motions as follows: (1) granted Plaintiffs’ motion and denied Defendants’ motion with respect to the Fourth Amendment claim against Abington Township because the sweeps, conducted without any warrant, constituted seizures of property not falling within an established exception to the warrant requirement; (2) denied Plaintiffs’ motion as to all other Defendants; (3) granted Defendants’ motion as it pertains to Plaintiffs’ claims pursuant to Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978) and dismissed such claims with prejudice; (4) granted Defendants’ motion as to the individual Defendants on qualified immunity grounds; and (5) denied Defendants’
Plaintiffs filed a timely notice of appeal. Likewise, Defendants filed a protective cross-appeal. In addition to defending the District Court’s ultimate ruling in their favor, Defendants alternatively argue the District Court was incorrect to find the existence of a Fourth Amendment violation in the first place.
II.
The District Court possessed subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331, and appellate jurisdiction exists under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We exercise plenary review over the District Court’s summary judgment ruling and apply the same legal .standard that the District Court should apply. See, e.g., Curley v. Klem, 298 F.3d 271, 276 (3d Cir. 2002). We therefore may affirm an order granting summary judgment if it appears that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id.
Our analysis begins with the issue of Chief Kelly’s involvement in the unconstitutional conduct.
It appears undisputed that, although Chief Kelly may have signed the PCCD grant application (and was evidently one of many members on the related community
We must reach the same basic conclusion with respect to Plaintiffs’ Monell claims against Abington Township (and the Abington Township Police Department). As stated in our earlier ruling, the Supreme Court held that municipal liability under § 1983 “only attaches when the ‘execution of a government’s policy or custom, whether made by its lawmakers or by those whose edicts or acts may fairly be said to represent official policy, inflicts the injury.’ ” Watson, 478 F.3d at 155 (quoting Monell, 436 U.S. at 694, 98 S.Ct. 2018; Bielevicz v. Dubinon, 915 F.2d 845, 850 (3d Cir. 1990)). On appeal, Plaintiffs rely on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati, 475 U.S. 469, 106 S.Ct. 1292, 89 L.Ed.2d 452 (1986), to assert that a single decision or action by a policymaker could satisfy the “policy or custom” requirement for municipal liability. It is true that “municipal liability may be imposed for a single decision by municipal policymakers under appropriate circumstances.” Id. at 480, 106 S.Ct. 1292. It also appears uncontested that Chief Kelly was a municipal policymaker. Nevertheless, Defendants are still entitled to summary judgment on Monell grounds because of the absence of a genuine issue of material fact with respect to whether Chief Kelly ever committed the requisite action necessary to hold the municipality liable for the unconstitutional conduct of its lower-ranking employees.
As already noted, Plaintiffs emphasize that Chief Kelly was the commander of the Abington Township Police Department and that he signed the PCCD application for the grant to fund the sweep program. They likewise continue to claim that he knew and acquiesced in the unconstitutional conduct of his subordinates. See, e.g., Watson, 478 F.3d at 156 (“In other words, custom may be established by proving knowledge of, and acquiescence to, a practice.” (citation omitted)). Nevertheless, we have already found the absence of a factual dispute with respect to whether Chief Kelly had any real involvement in either the planning or execution of the sweep program. We likewise have rejected Plaintiffs’ assertions with respect to Chief Kelly’s alleged knowledge and acquiescence. In particular, there is no indication that Chief Kelly had any real connection with the purportedly unconstitutional search and seizure practices identified by the District Court.
III.
For the foregoing reasons, we will affirm the judgment of the District Court.
. Plaintiff Kelly is not related to Defendant Chief Kelly.
. Originally a Plaintiff in this case, Watson died in 2004.
. Lieutenant Hasson had allegedly threatened Kelly about his relationship with Watson.
. Because we dispose of this appeal on other grounds, we assume arguendo that the District Court was correct to find the existence of a Fourth Amendment violation in the present circumstances and accordingly do not reach the issues raised in Defendants' cross-appeal.
The District Court further concluded that the three other individual Defendants were entitled to qualified immunity. Plaintiffs, however, do not appear to challenge this determination on appeal, limiting their entire discussion to Chief Kelly. We therefore find that any challenge to the District Court’s ruling with respect to the other individual Defendants in this case has been waived. See, e.g., United States v. Pelullo, 399 F.3d 197, 222 (3d Cir. 2005).
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