Annan-Yartey v. Honolulu Police Dept.

351 F. App'x 243
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit·Decided November 5, 2009·No. No. 08-16221·Published

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Napoleon T. Annan-Yartey appeals from a district court judgment in favor of Officer Pierre, City Defendants and Private Defendants1 on his claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and related state laws following an incident in which he was arrested by the Honolulu police. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We conclude that Annan-Yartey’s numerous contentions lack merit We affirm.

The facts of the case are known to the parties, and we do not repeat them below.

I

Annan-Yartey argues that the district court erred in dismissing or granting summary judgment on most of his claims.2 We review de novo and may affirm on any basis supported by the record. See Adams v. Johnson, 355 F.3d 1179, 1183 (9th Cir.2004) (12(b)(6) dismissal); Enlow v. Salem-Keizer Yellow Cab Co., 389 F.3d 802, 811 (9th Cir.2004) (summary judgment).

§ 1933 Claims against Officer Pierre

The district court correctly granted summary judgment in favor of Officer Pierre on the § 1983 claims. As to Count 1 (§ 1983 — arrest), the record indicates that Officer Pierre had probable cause to arrest Annan-Yartey, and he did not use excessive force in arresting Annan-Yartey. See Gregory v. County of Maui, 523 F.3d 1103, 1106-07 (9th Cir.2008) (citing the balancing test from Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989), and affirming a grant of sum[246] mary judgment). Moreover, Officer Pierre was entitled to qualified immunity. See Spoklie v. Montana, 411 F.3d 1051, 1060 (9th Cir.2005); Jensen v. City of Oxnard, 145 F.3d 1078, 1085 (9th Cir.1998).

As to Count 2 (§ 1983 — detention and confinement), Annan-Yartey failed to cite any conduct that would create a genuine issue of material fact for trial regarding his claim of malicious and false detention and confinement. Thus, summary judgment was properly granted.

As to Count 3 (§ 1983 — strip search), Annan-Yartey did not present any evidence that Officer Pierre was personally involved in the strip search, and Officer Pierre denies any involvement with An-nan-Yartey after he was released to the officers at the CRD. Thus, summary judgment was properly granted.

As to Count 4 (§ 1983 — conspiracy), the record indicates that Annan-Yartey failed to cite any conduct by Officer Pierre that would create a genuine issue of material fact regarding his conspiracy allegations. Thus, summary judgment was properly granted.

As to Count 5 (§ 1983 — refusing or neglecting to prevent), summary judgment was properly granted because Officer Pierre is not liable for this claim as an employee of City Defendants.

§ 1983 Claims against City Defendants

The district court correctly granted summary judgment in favor of City Defendants on the § 1983 claims. As to Counts 1 and 2 (§ 1983 — arrest; detention and confinement), the record indicates that An-nan-Yartey failed to make any allegations of fact to establish that the Honolulu Police Department had a formal policy or custom in place pursuant to which a city employee could have committed a constitutional violation. See Gillette v. Delmore, 979 F.2d 1342, 1346 (9th Cir.1992). Additionally, Annan-Yartey did not suffer a constitutional tort. See, e.g., Oviatt v. Pearce, 954 F.2d 1470, 1474 (9th Cir.1992) (citing City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378, 109 S.Ct. 1197, 103 L.Ed.2d 412 (1989)). Thus, Annan-Yartey failed to establish municipal liability as to Counts 1 and 2. See Gillette, 979 F.2d at 1346-47.

As to Count 3 (§ 1983 — strip search), the record indicates that Annan-Yartey failed to make any allegations of fact to establish that (1) the Hawaii Police Department had a formal policy or custom in place pursuant to which a city employee could have committed a constitutional violation; (2) the individual who allegedly committed the constitutional tort was an official with final policy-making authority; or (3) an official with final policy-making authority ratified a subordinate’s allegedly unconstitutional decision or action. See Monell v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs. of City of N.Y., 436 U.S. 658, 690-91, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). Thus, summary judgment was properly granted.

As to Count 4 (§ 1983 — conspiracy), the record indicates that Annan-Yartey failed to cite any conduct by City Defendants that would create a genuine issue of material fact regarding his conspiracy allegations. Thus, summary judgment was properly granted.

Count 5 (§ 1983 — refusing or neglecting to prevent) was tried by a jury, which returned a verdict in favor of City Defendants. Because Annan-Yartey does not appeal that jury verdict, we do not review it here.

§ 1983 Claims against Private Defendants

The district court correctly dismissed the § 1983 claims against Private Defendants. The record indicates that [247] Private Defendants cannot be liable under § 1983 because they did not “conspire[ ] or enter[] joint action with a state actor.” See Franklin v. Fox, 312 F.3d 423, 441 (9th Cir.2002).

Counts 6 and 9 — Malicious Prosecution; False Arrest and Imprisonment

The district court correctly granted summary judgment on Annan-Yartey’s claims of malicious prosecution, false arrest and false imprisonment because the record indicates that there was probable cause to arrest and imprison Annan-Yartey. See Reed v. City & County of Honolulu, 76 Hawai’i 219, 873 P.2d 98, 109 (1994) (“The determination of probable cause is a defense to the common law claims of false arrest, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution.”).

Count 7 — Malicious Abuse of Process

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Annan-Yartey v. Honolulu Police Dept., 351 F. App'x 243 (9th Cir. 2009).

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Related

Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs.
436 U.S. 658 (Supreme Court, 1978)
City of Canton v. Harris
489 U.S. 378 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Graham v. Connor
490 U.S. 386 (Supreme Court, 1989)
James Gillette v. Duane Delmore, and City of Eugene
979 F.2d 1342 (Ninth Circuit, 1992)
Towse v. State
647 P.2d 696 (Hawaii Supreme Court, 1982)
Reed v. City and County of Honolulu
873 P.2d 98 (Hawaii Supreme Court, 1994)
Gregory v. County of Maui
523 F.3d 1103 (Ninth Circuit, 2008)
Young v. Allstate Insurance Co.
198 P.3d 666 (Hawaii Supreme Court, 2008)
Enoka v. AIG Hawaii Ins. Co., Inc.
128 P.3d 850 (Hawaii Supreme Court, 2006)
Weinberg v. Mauch
890 P.2d 277 (Hawaii Supreme Court, 1995)
Jensen v. City of Oxnard
145 F.3d 1078 (Ninth Circuit, 1998)
Adams v. Johnson
355 F.3d 1179 (Ninth Circuit, 2004)