Celestin v. Angeletta

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMarch 19, 2021
Docket7:19-cv-01887
StatusUnknown

This text of Celestin v. Angeletta (Celestin v. Angeletta) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Celestin v. Angeletta, (S.D.N.Y. 2021).

Opinion

DOCUMENT ELECTRONICALLY FILED UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DOC #: SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK DATE FILED: __ 3/19/2021 RICKY CELESTIN, Plaintiff, v. 19 CV 1887 (NSR) OPINION & ORDER CAPTAIN ANGELETTA, et al.,

Defendants. NELSON S. ROMAN, United States District Judge: Pro se Plaintiff Ricky Celestin (‘Plaintiff’) commenced this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (“Section 1983”) against Defendants Captain Angeletta,'! Sergeants Hollis and Davis, Officers Moore, Cardillo, Rodrigues, Maganello, Albohn, and Adames (collectively, “Defendants”) for alleged violations of his right to be free from excessive force under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Defendants moved to dismiss arguing that Plaintiff has not pled a cognizable Section 1983 violation under the Fourteenth Amendment. (“Defs.’ Mem.” (ECF No. 23).) For the following reasons, Defendants’ Motion is GRANTED. BACKGROUND The facts herein are drawn from Plaintiff's Complaint (ECF No. 2) and the Court accepts those facts as true for purposes of this motion. I. Plaintiff’s Allegations Plaintiff alleges that on February 2, 2019, while he was a pretrial detainee, Defendants violated his constitutional rights by assaulting him. (Compl. at 2.) Plaintiff alleges that a sergeant pepper sprayed him for “no apparent reason,” and that Plaintiff pushed towards the pepper spray

' There is a discrepancy in the spelling of Captain Angeletta’s name. Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss refers to him as Captain Angelotta. The Court will use “Angeletta” for clarity.

in an attempt to shield his body and face from the “chemical agent.” (Compl. at 4.) Plaintiff alleges that the Emergency Response Team (“ERT”) then arrived and took control of the situation. They punched, kicked and elbowed every part of Plaintiff’s body until he fell to the floor, still trying to get “the mace” out of his eyes. (Compl. at 4). Plaintiff was on the floor, in full body restraints, and

ERT continued their assault. ERT screamed at Plaintiff to stop resisting. Plaintiff alleges that ERT deliberately slapped cuffs on Plaintiff’s wrists and ankles and tightened the restraints, which cut off Plaintiff’s circulation, pinched his skin, and caused abrasions. When ERT escorted Plaintiff to the Solitary Housing Unit, they continued whispering obscenities to him and threatening future assaults. (Compl. at 4.) Plaintiff further alleges that the pepper spray and beatings caused abrasions to his wrist and ankles; chronic back pain; eye blurriness; excruciating neck pain; overall shooting body pains; mental deterioration, and mental anguish. (Compl. at 5.) II. Procedural History Plaintiff filed his Complaint on February 26, 2019 seeking (1) an injunction to stop the

unnamed Sergeant and other corrections officers from using pepper spray without cause; and (2) transfer him out of the Westchester County Jail correctional system. (ECF No. 2.). The Court granted Plaintiff’s request to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 5), and directed the Clerk of Court and the U.S. Marshals to effect service on Plaintiff’s behalf (ECF No. 6). By order dated May 29, 2020, the Court granted Defendants leave to file their Motion to Dismiss. (ECF No. 18.) Defendants filed an affidavit indicating that they served the Court’s order on Plaintiff by mail at his last known address, which Plaintiff had not provided to the Court, because Plaintiff was released from jail on April 11, 2019. (ECF No. 18.) Defendants subsequently served their Motion to Dismiss on Plaintiff by mail on July 14, 2020 at Plaintiff’s last known address. (ECF No. 20.) By letter dated August 27, 2020, Defendants indicated that Plaintiff had not opposed their Motion and asked the Court to treat the Motion as fully submitted. (ECF No. 25.) The Court granted this request by order dated December 23, 2020. (ECF No. 26.) The Clerk of Court mailed a copy of the Court’s Order to Plaintiff at the address on ECF—Westchester County Jail—however, that

mailing was returned as unable to forward. To date, Plaintiff has not informed the Court of his new address so ECF still lists his address as Westchester County Jail. LEGAL STANDARDS Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a court must determine whether the complaint “contain[s] sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). The court must take all material factual allegations as true and draw reasonable inferences in the non-moving party’s favor, but the court is “not bound to accept as true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation,” or to credit “mere conclusory statements” or “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action.” Id. (quoting Twombly,

550 U.S. at 555). A claim is facially plausible when the factual content pleaded allows a court “to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. at 678. Plaintiff in this case is a pro se litigant and therefore the Court is obligated to construe his pleadings liberally. Thomas v. Colletti, No. 13-CV-04827, 2014 WL 1329947, at *1-2 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 28, 2014). A court must read pro se complaints ‘“to raise the strongest arguments that they suggest.’” Brownell v. Krom, 446 F.3d 305, 310 (2d Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks omitted); see also Harris v. Mills, 572 F.3d 66, 72 (2d Cir. 2009) (“[E]ven after Twombly, though, we remain obligated to construe a pro se complaint liberally.”). However, even pro se plaintiffs’ pleadings asserting civil rights claims must “contain factual allegations sufficient to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Jackson v. N.Y.S. Dep’t of Labor, 709 F.Supp.2d 218, 224 (S.D.N.Y. 2010) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555) (internal quotation marks omitted). “Dismissal is justified, therefore, where ‘the complaint lacks an allegation regarding an element necessary to obtain relief,’ and therefore, the ‘duty to liberally construe a plaintiff’s complaint [is not] the

equivalent of a duty to re-write it.’” Colletti, 2014 WL 1329947, at *1-2 (quoting Geldzahler v. N.Y. Med. Coll., 663 F.Supp.2d 379, 387 (S.D.N.Y.2009) (internal citations and alterations omitted)). In a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), a court is generally confined to the facts alleged in the complaint. Marhone v. Cassel, 2018 WL 4189518 at *5 (S.D.N.Y. August 31, 2018). The purpose of a motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) “is merely to assess the legal feasibility of the complaint, not to assay the weight of evidence which might be offered in support thereof.” Ryder Energy Distrib. Corp. v. Merrill Lynch Commodities Inc., 748 F.2d 774, 779 (2d Cir.1984) (quoting Geisler v. Petrocelli, 616 F.2d 636, 639 (2d Cir.1980)).2 A court should allow the pro se plaintiff to amend his or her complaint at least once “when

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Bluebook (online)
Celestin v. Angeletta, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/celestin-v-angeletta-nysd-2021.