Benoit v. City of Lake City

343 F. Supp. 3d 1219
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedOctober 16, 2018
DocketCase No. 3:17-cv-854-J-34JBT
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 343 F. Supp. 3d 1219 (Benoit v. City of Lake City) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Benoit v. City of Lake City, 343 F. Supp. 3d 1219 (M.D. Fla. 2018).

Opinion

MARCIA MORALES HOWARD, United States District Judge

THIS CAUSE is before the Court on Defendant Gerald L. Ford's Dispositive Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 33; Ford's Motion) and Defendant City of Lake City's Motion for Summary Judgment (A Dispositive Motion) and Memorandum of Law (Doc. 34; City's Motion) (collectively, "the Motions"), filed on May 21, 2018. On June 11, 2018, the Court entered an Order (Doc. 36) noting that it would treat the Motions as unopposed if Plaintiff Jason Benoit did not file a response by June 25, 2018. See Order. Pursuant to the Court's directive, Benoit filed Plaintiff's Response in Opposition to Defendants' Motions for Summary Judgment (Doc. 37; Response) on the deadline. With leave of Court, see Order (Doc. 39), Defendant City of Lake City (the "City") filed Defendant's Reply to Plaintiff's Response in Opposition to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 40; Reply) on July 25, 2018. Accordingly, this matter is ripe for review.

I. Consideration of Defendants' Affidavits and Declaration

Defendants have provided various items of evidentiary material in support of the Motions, including the Affidavit of Gerald Ford (Officer Ford) (Doc. 32-1; Ford Aff.), the Affidavit of Ryan Nydam (Doc. 34-7; Nydam Aff.) and the Declaration of Kevin C. Kostelnik, counsel for Defendant Officer Ford, (Doc. 32-5; Kostelnik Declaration). Before considering the merits of the Motions, the Court will address one argument raised by Benoit with regard to the evidence presented by Defendants in support of their Motions.

In the Response, Benoit urges the Court to disregard the affidavits of Officer Ford and Nydam, as well as the Kostelnik Declaration. Response at 8. As to all three, Benoit argues that the affidavits and declaration should not be considered by the Court because they were produced after the close of discovery. Id. However, Benoit *1224points to no authority which requires that affidavits or declarations submitted in support of a motion for summary judgment need to have been produced during the course of discovery. While Rule 56(c)(1)(A), of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Rule(s) ), requires a motion for summary judgment to be supported by "materials in the record, including .... affidavits or declarations ...," nothing in the Rule suggests that the affidavits or declarations themselves have to have been produced in discovery in order to be considered in support of or in opposition to a motion for summary judgment. See Rule 56(c)(4) (requiring only that affidavits be made on personal knowledge, set forth facts that would be admissible at trial, and show that the affiant is competent to testify to these matters). Thus, to the extent Benoit seeks exclusion of the affidavits and declaration on this basis, his argument is unavailing.

With regard to Ford's Affidavit, Benoit also suggests that it should be disregarded because Officer Ford submitted only excerpts of his deposition "leaving out the portions of his deposition that contradict the affidavit." Response at 8. Again, Benoit cites no authority in support of this position. Notably, as a general proposition, "[i]n light of the jury's role in resolving questions of credibility, a district court should not reject the content of an affidavit even if it is at odds with statements made in an earlier deposition." Kennett-Murray Corp. v. Bone, 622 F.2d 887, 894 (5th Cir. 1980). Nevertheless, in appropriate circumstances, a court may disregard a "sham" affidavit that is inherently inconsistent with a party's prior deposition testimony. See Van T. Junkins & Assocs., Inc. v. U.S. Indus., Inc., 736 F.2d 656, 657-59 (11th Cir. 1984). However, the sham affidavit exception should be applied "sparingly because of the harsh effect [it] may have on a party's case." See Rollins v. TechSouth, Inc., 833 F.2d 1525, 1530 (11th Cir. 1987). Indeed, an affidavit may be disregarded as a sham only " 'when a party has given clear answers to unambiguous questions which negate the existence of any genuine issue of material fact ... [and that party attempts] thereafter [to] create such an issue with an affidavit that merely contradicts, without explanation, previously given clear testimony.' " Tippens v. Celotex Corp., 805 F.2d 949, 953-54 (11th Cir. 1986) (quoting Van T. Junkins, 736 F.2d at 657 ) (alterations in Tippens ).1 In sum, the Eleventh Circuit requires "a court to find some inherent inconsistency between an affidavit and a deposition before disregarding the affidavit." Rollins, 833 F.2d at 1530 (citing Tippens, 805 F.2d at 954 ). Here, *1225Benoit has made no effort to satisfy this heavy burden. Moreover, Benoit has had ample opportunity to address any discrepancies between the deposition and the affidavit, and more importantly, has had the opportunity to submit his own evidence that may conflict with either the Ford Affidavit or his deposition. Under these circumstances, any concern Benoit may have regarding alleged conflicting information is best addressed by viewing the record evidence before the Court in the light most favorable to him. Thus, the Court will not disregard Ford's Affidavit.

Last, Benoit urges that the Kostelnik Declaration should be disregarded for the additional reason that Officer Ford did not disclose Kostelnik as a witness (or person with knowledge) prior to the close of discovery and because Kostelnik "cannot be both the attorney of record and a witness." Response at 8. This argument, like the others addressed here, is unsupported by citation to any legal authority. A review of the Kostelnik Declaration discloses that it addresses only one issue relevant to the Motions. See generally Kostelnik Declaration. In Paragraph Three, Kostelnik authenticates three e-mails received in discovery from the City. Id. at ¶ .2

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Bluebook (online)
343 F. Supp. 3d 1219, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/benoit-v-city-of-lake-city-flmd-2018.