Braun v. City of N.Y.

284 F. Supp. 3d 572
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedFebruary 14, 2018
Docket16–cv–9533 (JGK)
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 284 F. Supp. 3d 572 (Braun v. City of N.Y.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Braun v. City of N.Y., 284 F. Supp. 3d 572 (S.D. Ill. 2018).

Opinion

JOHN G. KOELTL, District Judge:

The plaintiff, Daniel Braun, a former firefighter with the New York City Fire Department ("FDNY"), brings this action against the City of New York (the "City") and Assistant Commissioner Wallace of the Bureau of Investigations and Trials ("BITS"),1 alleging claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of his rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments arising from the termination of his employment and the denial of disability benefits by the FDNY. He also protests the unsealing of his criminal records. In his complaint, originally filed on December 12, 2016 and amended on December 26, 2016 (the "Amended Complaint"), the plaintiff alleges that his employment was terminated, his petition for disability benefits denied, and his criminal records unsealed without due process of law, and that the unsealing of his criminal records was an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment. The defendants now move to dismiss the Amended Complaint in its entirety pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

I.

In deciding a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the allegations in the complaint are accepted as true, and all reasonable inferences must be drawn in the plaintiff's favor. McCarthy v. Dun & Bradstreet Corp., 482 F.3d 184, 191 (2d Cir. 2007). The Court's function on a motion to dismiss is "not to weigh the evidence that might be presented at a trial but merely to determine whether the complaint itself is legally sufficient." Goldman v. Belden, 754 F.2d 1059, 1067 (2d Cir. 1985). The Court should not dismiss the complaint if the plaintiff has stated "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). While the Court should construe the factual allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, "the tenet that a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in the complaint is inapplicable to legal conclusions." Id.

When presented with a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the Court may consider documents that are referenced *575in the complaint, documents that the plaintiff relied on in bringing suit and that are either in the plaintiff's possession or that the plaintiff knew of when bringing suit, or matters of which judicial notice may be taken. See Taylor v. Vt. Dep't of Educ., 313 F.3d 768, 776 (2d Cir. 2002) ; see also Estevez v. City of New York, No. 16-cv-00073, 2017 WL 1167379, at *1-2 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 28, 2017).

II.

The following facts are undisputed or accepted as true for purposes of the defendants' motion to dismiss.

Beginning in November 2006, the plaintiff was employed as a firefighter by the FDNY. Am. Comp. ¶ 10. In September 2008, the plaintiff injured his right rotator cuff in a motorcycle accident and was placed on paid sick leave for approximately one month and then on light duty until December 2008, when he returned to full duty. Id. ¶¶ 12-13. On July 20, 2009, the plaintiff sustained work-related injuries to both shoulders, including tearing the labrum in his right shoulder and reinjuring his right rotator cuff. Id. ¶¶ 14-15; see Lichtmacher Decl. Ex. 5 (Report of the Medical Committee of the FDNY).

On August 12, 2009, the plaintiff was arrested by federal law enforcement authorities for conspiracy to possess and distribute MDMA, a Schedule I controlled substance commonly known as "ecstasy." Braun v. City of New York ("Braun I"), 2014 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 6269, at *1 (N.Y. Co. Sept. 10, 2014). In his opposition to the defendants' motion to dismiss, the plaintiff alleges that BITS officers subsequently visited him while he was incarcerated after his arrest. Braun Decl. at 1. On November 22, 2010, the plaintiff pleaded guilty in federal court to two felony counts of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and ecstasy. Braun I, 2014 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 6269, at *1. The plaintiff did not report his guilty plea to the FDNY. The records relating to the plaintiff's criminal proceedings were initially sealed. Thereafter, by an order dated March 31, 2014, Judge Edward R. Korman of the Eastern District of New York unsealed the records. Id. at *1-2.

On or about March 4, 2011, approximately three months after the plaintiff's guilty plea, the FDNY Medical Committee examined the plaintiff and found him permanently unfit for duty as a firefighter due to his previous injuries. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 22-23; Lichtmacher Decl. Ex. 5. The plaintiff alleges that this was the first of three stages necessary to receive permanent disability benefits, known as Disability Retirement. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 28-29. The plaintiff did not complete the subsequent two stages.

By letter dated December 9, 2013, the FDNY informed the plaintiff that pursuant to New York Public Officers Law § 30(1)(e) he had vacated his position as a firefighter by virtue of his guilty plea. Lichtmacher Decl. Ex. 3. The plaintiff alleges that on or about December 10, 2013, he showed up to work and was informed that his employment had been terminated. Am. Compl. ¶ 25. On or about February 8, 2014, the plaintiff again submitted an application for Disability Retirement, which the FDNY denied. Id. ¶ 38.

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Bluebook (online)
284 F. Supp. 3d 572, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/braun-v-city-of-ny-ilsd-2018.