Bennett v. Monette

507 F. Supp. 2d 514, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58391, 2007 WL 2306937
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. North Carolina
DecidedAugust 8, 2007
Docket4:06-cv-00149
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 507 F. Supp. 2d 514 (Bennett v. Monette) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bennett v. Monette, 507 F. Supp. 2d 514, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58391, 2007 WL 2306937 (E.D.N.C. 2007).

Opinion

ORDER

JAMES C. DEVER III, District Judge.

On June 29, 2006, Daniel Bennett (“plaintiff’) filed this civil rights action in Craven County Superior Court and sued Sheriff Jerry Monette (“Sheriff Monette”) of Craven County, in both his individual and official capacities, as well as Contractors Bonding and Insurance Company (“Contractors”). According to the complaint, Contractors is a bonding company which insures the Sheriff. Compl. Sect. I, ¶ 3. Defendants removed the action to this court and now move for summary judgment. For the reasons explained below, the court grants defendants’ motion for summary judgment.

I.

Viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, the facts are as follows. On June 20, 2003, plaintiff entered into a lease agreement with the Craven County Junior Chamber of Commerce (“Jaycees”) to rent the Craven County Fairgrounds (“Fairgrounds”). The lease stated that plaintiff was authorized to use the Fairgrounds on July 5, 2003, from 12:01 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. in order to host a “car show/dance.” Bennett Dep. 69. As part of the evening’s festivities, plaintiff arranged for a rap artist from New York, Fatman Scoop, and his entourage to travel to Craven County to perform at the Fairgrounds. Compl. Sect. III. Plaintiff arranged for security personnel (including two Craven County Sheriff’s deputies and three City of New Bern police officers) and food concessionaires. Id.; Bennett Dep. 74-77. Plaintiff advertised the event on radio and charged an admission fee of $20 ($15 for those who entered between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.). Bennett Dep. 78-79.

*516 The car show began at 6:00 p.m. and lasted approximately one hour. Thereafter, plaintiff sponsored a “rap contest” in which anyone could perform and the crowd picked the winner. Bennett Dep. 85. During the rap contest Sergeant Tillman (one of the deputy sheriffs hired by plaintiff to provide security) heard reports over his sheriffs radio that members of the community adjacent to the Fairgrounds were complaining about the noise level and profanity coming from the Fairgrounds. Tillman Aff. ¶ 5. Deputy Sheriff DeJesus (the other deputy hired to provide security) received complaints about the noise level and profanity from people who had driven to the Fairgrounds from neighborhoods nearby. DeJesus Aff. ¶¶5-6. At approximately 11:10 p.m., 1 Sheriff Monette arrived at the Fairgrounds because “I decided that the noise level and profanity complaints had reached a point where I needed to investigate.” Monette Aff. ¶ 6. Once there, Sheriff Monette “determined that a violation of the Craven County noise ordinance was in process and instructed officers present to begin shutting down the concert and directing patrons to leave the premises.” Id. ¶ 8.

According to plaintiff, the featured performer, Fatman Scoop, was scheduled to start performing at midnight for about one hour, at which point the dance would begin. Plaintiff estimated that the dance would end at approximately 3:00 a.m. Bennett Dep. 85-86. Plaintiff contends that even though his lease with the Jaycees stated that his authorized use of the Fairgrounds ended at 11:59 p.m., he understood from Brynn Thomas, the Jaycees vice president and drafter of the lease agreement, that “if [the car show/dance] ran over some, ... it wouldn’t make that much of a difference.” Id. at 70.

Plaintiff filed a “complaint for injunctive relief, and for unlawful tortious interference in contract and for damages.” In it, plaintiff alleges that Sheriff Monette “without authority, without permission of the plaintiff, without a court order and under color of authority, entered upon the premises of the Craven County Fairgrounds ... [and] began ordering all patrons to leave the premises ... without refunding any money to any paid patron.” Compl. Sect. Ill, ¶ 7 (emphasis in original). Plaintiff cites 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and contends that the Sheriffs actions “violated the Due Process of law” under the United States and North Carolina Constitutions. Id. ¶ 8. Plaintiff seeks a jury trial, compensatory damages “in excess of’ $10,000, punitive damages “in excess of’ $10,000, attorney’s fees, and “liquidated damages and such sum as plaintiff would have made on the Fatman Scoop Show.” Id., Prayer for Relief.

II.

Summary judgment is appropriate when no genuine issue of material fact exists and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. The party seeking summary judgment initially must demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Once the moving party has met its burden, the non-moving party may not rest on the allegations or denials in its pleading, Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, *517 but “must come forward with ‘specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.’ ” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)). A trial court reviewing a motion for summary judgment should determine whether a genuine issue of material fact exists for trial. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505. In making this determination, the court must view the evidence and the inferences drawn from the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962) (per curiam).

III.

Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must establish (1) that the defendant deprived him of a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States and (2) that such deprivation was committed by a person acting under color of state law. See, e.g., Gomez v. Toledo, 446 U.S. 635, 640, 100 S.Ct. 1920, 64 L.Ed.2d 572 (1980). The parties do not dispute that Sheriff Monette was acting under color of state law. Thus, the court must determine whether Sheriff Monette’s actions violated plaintiffs constitutional rights.

The complaint is not a model of clarity. The crux of plaintiffs complaint is: “As patrons and guests began to fill up the Craven County Fairgrounds, the defendant, Jerry Monette,

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Bluebook (online)
507 F. Supp. 2d 514, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58391, 2007 WL 2306937, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bennett-v-monette-nced-2007.