Andrew Fialdini v. Eric Cote

594 F. App'x 113
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
DecidedDecember 5, 2014
Docket13-2257
StatusUnpublished

This text of 594 F. App'x 113 (Andrew Fialdini v. Eric Cote) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Andrew Fialdini v. Eric Cote, 594 F. App'x 113 (4th Cir. 2014).

Opinion

Affirmed by unpublished opinion. Senior Judge DAVIS wrote the opinion, in which Chief Judge TRAXLER and Judge DIAZ joined.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

DAVIS, Senior Circuit Judge:

This damages action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against several local law enforcement officers arises from Appellants’ failed effort to prevent the arrest of their teenaged son. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants on *115 all counts. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

I.

A.

The material facts relevant to this appeal are mostly undisputed. On October 19, 2009, Deputy Sheriff Eric Cote of the Loudoun County Sheriffs Office arrived at the residence of Andrew and Maryann Fialdini (“Appellants”), to execute an arrest warrant for Nicholas Fialdini, Appellants’ then eighteen-year-old son. Deputy Cote learned of Nicholas’s address through a DMV records search. Upon arriving at the Fialdini residence, Deputy Cote spoke directly to Mr. Fialdini and informed him that he had a warrant for Nicholas’s arrest. 1 Mr. Fialdini told Deputy Cote that Nicholas was a student at the University .of Alabama, and that Nicholas would not return to the residence until Thanksgiving. Deputy Cote requested that Mr. Fialdini bring Nicholas to the Sheriffs Office when Nicholas returned so that the warrant could be executed, and Mr. Fialdini agreed to do so. In November, Nicholas visited his parents’ residence for three days during Thanksgiving break, but on advice of counsel, he did not contact the Loudoun County Sheriffs Office.

On December 23, 2009, around 9:00 p.m., Deputy Cote made a second attempt to execute the arrest warrant for Nicholas at the Fialdini residence. Mr. Fialdini answered the door and stepped outside, closing the screen door behind him. Deputy Cote announced to Mr. Fialdini that he had a warrant for Nicholas’s arrest. Mr. Fialdini asked Deputy Cote to produce a search warrant, and when Deputy Cote did not produce the warrant, Mr. Fialdini stated that he wanted to speak with his attorney. When Deputy Cote asked whether Nicholas was home, Mr. Fialdini purported to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege to remain silent. Mr. Fialdini attempted to reenter his residence and close the door behind him, but Deputy Cote’s hand and foot were on the door, preventing Mr. Fialdini from closing it fully. Mr. Fialdini contends that he tripped over a rug in the foyer, and thereby made contact with Deputy Cote’s shoulder. Deputy Cote placed Mr. Fialdini under arrest for assault, and escorted him to the Sheriffs cruiser where Mr. Fialdini remained until he was transported to jail later that evening. At some point during this encounter, Deputy Cote called for backup assistance.

Shortly after Mr. Fialdini’s arrest, Lieutenant Gaither and Deputy Sanford arrived at the Fialdini residence. Mrs. Fial-dini, who was grocery shopping at the time of the above events, arrived at the residence and met the officers inside. Deputy Cote informed Mrs. Fialdini that Mr. Fial-dini had been placed under arrest, and that he had an arrest warrant for Nicholas. Mrs. Fialdini did not believe that Nicholas was home at the time and declined to consent to a search of the premises. Lieutenant Gaither called the on-call state attorney to determine whether, in the absence of consent, the officers had authority to search the residence for Nicholas. The attorney advised the officers that they could search, but only spaces large enough for a person to hide.

Lieutenant Gaither stayed in the hallway while Deputies Cote and Sanford began searching the residence for Nicholas. Deputies Cote and Sanford proceeded *116 downstairs to the basement and Mrs. Fial-dini followed. The deputies instructed Mrs. Fialdini to keep her distance. Upon hearing the officers issue verbal commands to someone in the basement, Mrs. Fialdini began to approach Deputy Sanford. Deputy Sanford ordered Mrs. Fialdini to go to the floor. She complied and Deputy Sanford placed her in handcuffs. The deputies ultimately found Nicholas hiding behind dry wall in a basement closet.

Appellants were taken to the Loudoun County Adult Detention Facility where they were placed in separate holding cells. While in lockup, Mrs. Fialdini informed Deputy Cote that she needed to use the restroom. An unidentified female officer escorted Mrs. Fialdini to the restroom area. Mrs. Fialdini alleges that, on the order of one or more of the defendants, the female officer ordered her to remove her clothing and then performed a strip search with a manual cavity check.

Mr. Fialdini was later charged with felony assault and battery of a law enforcement officer and obstruction of justice. The commonwealth did not prosecute the obstruction of justice charge. A preliminary hearing was held on the assault charge, and a Virginia grand jury later issued an indictment. On October 6, 2010, the prosecutor dismissed the assault charge with prejudice in exchange for Mr. Fialdini’s performance of community service. Mrs. Fialdini was charged "with violating a Loudoun County ordinance prohibiting hindering, a misdemeanor. The prosecutor dismissed that charge with prejudice on February 25, 2010.

B.

Mr. and Mrs. Fialdini filed separate lawsuits in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. The district court consolidated the cases. Appellants alleged that the defendants violated their constitutional rights when they entered and searched Appellants’ home, arrested Appellants without probable, cause, and maliciously prosecuted claims against them. Mrs. Fialdini also alleged that she was subjected to an unconstitutional strip search while detained at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Facility. Appellants also asserted Virginia tort law claims, violations of the Virginia Constitution, and violations of Virginia common law. 2

In an oral ruling from the bench, the district court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment. The district court made four principal determinations: (1) the officers’ entry into Appellants’ home was lawful; (2) Appellants’ arrests were supported by probable cause; (3) the malicious prosecution claims failed as a matter of law; and (4) Mrs. Fialdini failed to adduce sufficient evidence to survive summary judgment on the illegal strip search claim. The district court found no material facts relevant to these issues in dispute, and concluded that all of the officers were entitled to qualified immunity, leaving no basis for imposing liability on defendant Sheriff Simpson. Appellants now appeal.

II.

We have jurisdiction over this appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review an award of summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity de novo. Durham v. Horner, 690 F.3d 183, 188 (4th Cir.2012). Summary judgment is proper if taking the evidence and drawing all reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, *117

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Bluebook (online)
594 F. App'x 113, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/andrew-fialdini-v-eric-cote-ca4-2014.