Cardona v. Connolly

361 F. Supp. 2d 25, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4727, 2005 WL 704371
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedMarch 28, 2005
Docket3:03CV1838 (DJS)
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 361 F. Supp. 2d 25 (Cardona v. Connolly) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cardona v. Connolly, 361 F. Supp. 2d 25, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4727, 2005 WL 704371 (D. Conn. 2005).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER

SQUATRITO, District Judge.

On August 27, 2003, plaintiff Christina Cardona (“Cardona”) brought this action for damages against defendant Timothy Connolly (“Connolly”) pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988, claiming violations of her rights under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, and, pursuant to Section 22-357 of the Connecticut General Statutes, claiming a violation of Connecticut’s dog bite statute. Now pending is defendant’s motion for summary judgment (dkt. # 16) pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the reasons stated herein, defendant’s motion (dkt. # 16) is GRANTED.

I. FACTS

On March 9, 2003, in the early hours of the morning, plaintiff Christina Cardona was riding as a passenger in a Plymouth Neon (“Neon”) in Meriden, CT. Cardona, along with the Neon’s'driver, Carlos Rohe-na (“Rohena”) and another passenger, Albert Cuevas (“Cuevas”), was returning from a party at which she had consumed alcoholic beverages. Neither Rohena nor Cuevas is a party to this case. Defendant Timothy Connolly, who is a police officer with the Meriden Police Department, was on routine patrol duty that day. Connolly was accompanied by his police canine, Kemo (“Kemo”).

At approximately 2:00 a.m. on the day in question, Connolly observed the Neon driving down a street in Meriden. He decided to stop the Neon for an alleged traffic violation.- Connolly pulled his police cruiser behind the Neon and turned on the cruiser’s lights and siren. The Neon pulled into a parking lot and stopped. However, before Connolly could approach the Neon to assess the situation, Rohena and Cuevas exited the vehicle and fled by foot. Connolly ordered Rohena and Cue-vas to stop, but -neither obeyed. Connolly then ordered Kemo to pursue Rohena and Cuevas. Shortly thereafter, though, Connolly ordered Kemo to return. Kemo, not having captured either Rohena or Cuevas, went back into the police cruiser.

As he approached the Neon, Connolly saw that Cardona was still sitting in the car. He observed that there was an alcoholic beverage on Cardona’s lap. Connolly then told Cardona to get out of the Neon, and Cardona obeyed. Connolly then handcuffed Cardona and told her that she was not under arrest at that time, but that he was placing her in handcuffs “for safety purposes only.”

While he was communicating on his portable police radio, Connolly led Cardo-na towards the police cruiser. At some point, Kemo, apparently without instructions from Connolly, had exited the police cruiser through the back passenger door, which was left open. Neither Connolly nor Cardona had seen Kemo exit the police cruiser. While Connolly and Cardona were standing near the cruiser, Kemo came up to Cardona and bit her on the leg. Connolly, seeing the attack, ordered Kemo *28 to go back into the cruiser, and Kemo, immediately releasing his bite, retreated into the cruiser.

Connolly then summoned an ambulance for Cardona, who was still handcuffed. Cardona was taken to Midstate Medical Center (“Midstate”) in Meriden, where her leg was cleaned and bandaged around the area of the bite. After her visit to Mid-state, Cardona visited her primary care physician, Dr. Paranik (“Paranik”), to see if Cardona needed plastic surgery for the spars caused by the bite. Paranik told Cardona to wait a year to see if the scarring would heal.

Cardona claims that, as a result of this incident, she has permanent scarring on her leg. She also says that she experiences soreness and pain in her leg when she performs certain types of movement. This incident caused Cardona to miss two weeks of work at her job and a month of classes at her college. In addition, Cardo-na states that she is now afraid of big dogs.

II. DISCUSSION

Cardona alleges that Connolly’s actions violated her Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Cardona also alleges that Connolly’s conduct violated Section 22-357 of the Connecticut General Statutes. Connolly moved for summary judgment with respect to all counts of the complaint. Connolly claims that Cardona failed to establish violations of her constitutional rights and that he has governmental immunity for the state claim. Connolly alternatively raises the affirmative defense of qualified immunity for the federal claims.

A. STANDARD

A motion for summary judgment may be granted “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).

Summary judgment is appropriate if, after discovery, the nonmoving party “has failed to make a sufficient showing on an essential element of [its] case with respect to which [it] has the burden of proof.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). “The burden is on the moving party ‘to demonstrate the absence of any material factual issue genuinely in dispute.’ ” American Int’l Group, Inc. v. London Am. Int’l Corp., 664 F.2d 348, 351 (2d Cir.1981) (quoting Heyman v. Commerce & Indus. Ins. Co., 524 F.2d 1317, 1319-20 (2d Cir.1975)).

A dispute concerning a material fact is genuine “ ‘if evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.’ ” Aldrich v. Randolph Cent. Sch. Dist., 963 F.2d 520, 523 (2d Cir.1992) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). The court must view all inferences and ambiguities in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party. See Bryant v. Maffucci, 923 F.2d 979, 982 (2d Cir.1991). “Only when reasonable minds could not differ as to the import of the evidence is summary judgment proper.” Id.

B. FOURTH AMENDMENT

1. The Seizure

Cardona claims that her seizure and Connolly’s use of handcuffs were violations of her Fourth Amendment rights. Connolly asserts that neither the seizure nor the use of handcuffs were a Fourth Amendment violation. Connolly alternatively asserts that, even if the court were *29

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361 F. Supp. 2d 25, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4727, 2005 WL 704371, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cardona-v-connolly-ctd-2005.