Bailey v. City of New York

79 F. Supp. 3d 424, 2015 WL 220940
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedJanuary 15, 2015
DocketNo. 14-CV-2091
StatusPublished
Cited by67 cases

This text of 79 F. Supp. 3d 424 (Bailey v. City of New York) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bailey v. City of New York, 79 F. Supp. 3d 424, 2015 WL 220940 (E.D.N.Y. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

JACK B. WEINSTEIN, Senior District Judge:

Table of Contents

I. Introduction ."..433

II. Facts.434

A. Crime.434

B. Investigation.435

C. Bailey’s Arrest and Interrogation.436

D. Grand Jury Indictment.436

E. Preparation for Trial.436

F. Trial...'.437

G. Jury Verdict.438

H. Conviction Overturned.'..438

I. Witness Recantation.438

J. District Attorney’s Alleged Policy Withholding Disclosure of Brady Materials. 438

III. Summary Judgment Standard.439
IV. Section 1983 .440
A. Statute.440
B. Three-Year Statute of Limitations.440
1. E quitable Tolling..440
2. Equitable Estoppel.441

!

A. Municipal Liability Standard. H ^

1. Failure to Train, Discipline or Supervise. oq ^ T#

2. Widespread Unlawful Practices by Subordinates. CO ^

B. False Arrest under Fourth Amendment. CO

1. Statute of Limitations. CO ^

2. Standard. CO ^ ^

C. Denial of Due Process and Right to a Fair Trial under the Fifth, Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. 4^ 4^ 4^

1. Statute of Limitations. 4^ 4^ 4^

2. Standard. 4^ 4^ Or

[433]*433D. Malicious Prosecution under Fourth Amendment and State Law.447

1. Statute of Limitations.•.447
2. Standard.•.448
E. State Law Respondeat Superior.451
1. Statute of Limitations .451
2. Standard...451
F. Qualified Immunity.451
G. Notice of Claim Requirement under General Municipal Law.453

YI. Application of Facts to Law.

A. Municipal Liability.
B. False Arrest.
C. Right to a Fair Trial.
1. Accrual Date.
2. Merits.
D. Malicious Prosecution under Federal and State Law
1. Accrual Date_:.•.
VII. Conclusion. ...458
I. Introduction

This case involves charges of serious misconduct by the District Attorney of Kings County and three detectives. It will be tried by a jury.

On January 14, 2013, after four years of incarceration, Clarence Bailey’s conviction for the attempted murder of Terrance Villanueva on May 6, 2007, which resulted in a twenty-year sentence, was reversed by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, as against the weight of the evidence.

Freed, Bailey now claims that the detectives and the assistant district attorney (“ADA”) assigned to his case committed serious infractions during the course of the criminal investigation and trial by threatening and coaching witnesses, and withholding critical exculpatory information.

Murky details surround the homicide of Luis Ruiz and the attempted homicide of Villanueva: More than a score of alcohol- and marijuana-intoxicated people — some armed with dangerous weapons' — brawled in the darkness of early morning, so reliable witnesses were likely to be unavailable; and the police investigation may have been inadequate, and possibly rigged. Cf. 4 J. Wigmore, Evidence § 2251, at 827 (1923) (dangers of miscarriage of justice when police coerce witnesses and fail to properly investigate).

Bailey argues that he was falsely arrested, denied the right to a fair trial, and maliciously prosecuted by NYPD detectives Joseph Tallarme, Michael O’Keefe, and Michael Collins. He contends that other unconstitutional acts by ADA Howard Jackson were attributable to the policies of a former Kings County District Attorney, creating a Monell cause of action against the City of New York.

The City’s motion for summary judgment with respect to Monell liability is denied.

Defendants’ motion for summary judgment regarding the false arrest claim is granted. The statute of limitations has run.

Plaintiffs fair trial and malicious prosecution claims withstand summary judgment. The statute of limitations has not yet accrued on these claims.

[434]*434II. Facts

A. Crime

Evidence to date, analyzed most favorably for plaintiff, shows the following: On the evening of May 5, 2007, Bailey, who has a scar running from his forehead to his chin on the right side of his face and, at the time, sported a goatee, went to the Groove Lounge, a bar/club, in Brooklyn, to watch a boxing match. (Corsi Deck Ex. A ¶ 18, ECF No. 59-1 (“Compl.”); see also Bailey 50-h Hr’g Tr. 12:11-13, 12:23-25, 13:9-12, 25:7-26:15, ECF No. 62-1.) Some thirty patrons were in the club, including Kalieb Miller (a/k/a “Milk and Pie”). (Compl. ¶ 18; Villanueva Grand Jury Test. 7:11-13, ECF No. 63-27.)

Upset by the way people were looking at his jewelry, Miller called his friend Terrance Villanueva (a/k/a “Brick”) to come to the club and start a fight. (Id. at ¶¶ 19-21; see also Villanueva Grand Jury Test. 7:8-25; Villanueva Dep. 50:16-18, ECF No 63-20.) Responding to the call, Villanueva and others arrived. (Bryant V.S. 2-4, ECF No. 63-11; Villanueva Grand Jury Test. 8:17-24.) Ruiz, the murder victim, was already there. (Bryant V.S. 3.) Confusion ensued. (Villanueva Grand Jury Test. 9:3-10:3.)

Villanueva, who had been drinking and was high — in his words, “fucked up” — arrived at the Groove Lounge accompanied by seven men. (Villanueva Grand Jury Test. 7:6-7, 8:9-15; see also Villanueva Dep. 21:20-22:5; Villanueva Aff. ¶ 7, ECF No. 63-24; Corsi Decl. Ex. D 3, 5, ECF No. 59-1 (“Villanueva V.S. Tr.”).) After midnight, on May 6, a fight broke out involving about twenty people. (Bailey 50-h Hr’g Tr. 25:9-15, 30:16-18.) Someone cut Bailey’s face. (Bailey 50-h Hr’g Tr. 12:16-13:8; Mitchell Dep. 199:8-13, ECF No. 63-45.) To deal with the bleeding, Bailey went to the men’s restroom with Karieem Mitchell (a/k/a “Squeaky”). (Bailey 50-h Hr’g Tr. 32:18-21, 36:20-21; Mitchell Dep. 66:10-16, 201:4-6.) Bailey was still in the restroom when the fight moved outside. (Compl. ¶ 24; see also Bailey 50-h Hr’g Tr. 36:6-7, 36:20-24, 37:25-38:3; Mitchell Dep. 208:14-16.) Villanueva, Ruiz, and others, were pushed out of the club by “bouncers.” (Compl. ¶ 24; see Villanueva V.S. Tr. 12-13.)

Outside, a man pointed a silver automatic handgun at Villanueva and pulled the trigger. (Villanueva V.S. Tr. 15, 18, 20; Villanueva Grand Jury Test. 11:6-7.) The gun did not fire. (Villanueva V.S. Tr.

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79 F. Supp. 3d 424, 2015 WL 220940, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bailey-v-city-of-new-york-nyed-2015.