Chapman v. Finnegan

950 F. Supp. 2d 285, 2013 WL 2491055, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80380
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedJune 7, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 12-10525-JCB
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 950 F. Supp. 2d 285 (Chapman v. Finnegan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chapman v. Finnegan, 950 F. Supp. 2d 285, 2013 WL 2491055, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80380 (D. Mass. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

[Docket No. 41]

BOAL, United States Magistrate Judge.

Plaintiff Andrew Chapman (“Chapman” or “Plaintiff’) brings this action against three Marblehead police officers, Brandon Finnegan, Dean Peralta, and Shaun Brady, the Chief of Police of the Town of Marble-head, Robert Picariello, and the Town of Marblehead. The action arises out of his arrest for domestic assault and battery on April 1, 2009. He brings claims for violations of his constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and assault and battery.

On July 17, 2012, the parties consented to the exercise of jurisdiction by a United States Magistrate Judge for all purposes. Docket No. 15; see also Docket No. 36. The Defendants have moved for summary judgment on all of Plaintiffs claims. Docket No. 41. For the following reasons, this Court grants the motion.

I. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Chapman filed his Complaint on March 22, 2012. Docket No. 1. He filed an Amended Complaint on July 24, 2012. Docket No. 16. Defendants filed their answer on July 26, 2012. Docket No. 17.

Discovery closed in January 2013. On February 25, 2013, Defendants filed their motion for summary judgment. Docket No. 41. Chapman filed his opposition on April 12, 2013. Plaintiff did not file a response to the Defendants’ statement of undisputed facts as required by Local Rule 56.1 and the Court’s scheduling order. Accordingly, on April 16, 2013, the Court ordered Plaintiff to file his response no later than April 17, 2013. Docket No. 49. On April 18, 2013, Plaintiff filed a response to Defendants’ statement of undisputed facts. Docket No. 50. However, Plaintiffs response failed to cite to any admissible evidence of record as required by Local Rule 56.1 and Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1). Accordingly, the Court ordered Plaintiff to file a revised response, along with copies of all referenced documentation, by April 26, 2013. Docket No. 51. Plaintiff requested an extension of that deadline, which the Court granted. Docket Nos. 52, 53. On May 23, 2013, Plaintiff filed a copy of certain exhibits in support of his opposition to Defendants’ motion for summary judgment but he did not file a revised response to Defendants’ statement of undisputed facts with cites to admissible evidence of record. Docket No. 55. At oral argument, Plaintiff requested one more opportunity to file a response to Defendants’ statement of undisputed facts that complied with Local Rule 56.1 and the Court ordered that he may do so by June 7, 2013. On June 7, 2013, Chapman filed a “List of Deposition Exhibits,” which referenced certain portions of his testimony that he contends create an issue of material fact. Docket No. 57. He still did not, however, file a response to Defendants’ statement of undisputed fact which cites to admissible evidence of record. In any event, even if the referenced testimony was properly aligned to particular statements of undisputed facts, it would make no difference to the Court’s analysis on the merits. Docket No. 48.

The Court heard oral argument on June 5, 2013.

[291]*291II. FACTS1

On April 1, 2009, Marblehead police officers Brendan Finnegan and Dean Peralta arrested Chapman for domestic assault and battery. SOF ¶ 3.2 At the time, Chapman was 62 years old, while the alleged female victim, Ashley Phelan, was 22 years old. SOF ¶¶ 1-2. Phelan had called Marblehead police and reported that Chapman, her boyfriend of two years, had shoved her and grabbed her by the throat. SOF ¶ 4. She also reported that she had to knee Chapman to get him away before calling the police. Id. As a result of the call, Finnegan and Peralta were dispatched to Chapman’s residence for a domestic disturbance and were informed that Phelan would meet them in front of Chapman’s residence. SOF ¶¶ 5-6. They were also told that the Plaintiff had an active license to carry firearms. SOF ¶ 5.

Upon arrival at Chapman’s residence, Finnegan and Peralta found Phelan crying and emotional in the front driver’s seat of her car. SOF ¶ 7. She told Finnegan and Peralta that Chapman grabbed her by the throat and told her to get out of his house. SOF ¶ 8. She also told Finnegan and Peralta that Chapman grabbed her so tight around the neck that she could not breathe, and that she had to kick Chapman in the groin to release his grip. SOF ¶¶ 9-10. She showed the officers bruising and red marks on her neck, which the officers thought were consistent with being strangled. SOF ¶¶ 12-13. Phelan informed the officers that Chapman was in his second floor apartment and that he had firearms in his house. SOF ¶ 14.

Finnegan and Peralta then went to Chapman’s apartment and spoke with him. SOF ¶ 15. Chapman told the officers that Phelan was looking for a “fix” and that he did not touch her in any way. Id. He also told the officers that he had a casual relationship with Phelan and that he had to stop Phelan from entering his house. Id. Chapman was arrested for domestic assault and battery. SOF ¶ 17.

Although Chapman denies assaulting Phelan and her version of the events, he does not dispute the Defendants’ version of what they were told by Phelan or that they observed marks in her neck.3 He disputes, however, that the marks were red. Chapman alleges that [292]*292the marks were yellow and were from an earlier incident where Phelan’s father pulled her off her mother after she attacked her mother. SOF ¶ 12.

At the police station, EMT officer overheard a conversation and offered to go to Chapman’s residence to retrieve some diabetes medication that Chapman needed. SOF ¶ 18. The EMTs later returned with the medication and Chapman injected himself with the medication. SOF ¶ 22. Chapman was then booked and transferred to the Essex County House of Correction. SOF ¶¶ 23-24. Chapman estimates that he was at the Marblehead Police Station for approximately 30 to 45 minutes. SOF ¶ 26.

III. ANALYSIS

A. Standard of Review

Summary judgment is appropriate “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). “A dispute is ‘genuine’ if the evidence about the fact is such that a reasonable jury could resolve the point in the favor of the non-moving party.” Sanchez v. Alvarado, 101 F.3d 223, 227 (1st Cir.1996) (quotations and citations omitted). A material fact is one which has “the potential to affect the outcome of the suit under the applicable law.” Id. (quotations and citations omitted).

The moving party bears the initial burden of establishing that there is no genuine issue of material fact. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). If that burden is met, the opposing party can avoid summary judgment only by providing properly supported evidence of disputed material facts that would require trial. See id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548.

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Bluebook (online)
950 F. Supp. 2d 285, 2013 WL 2491055, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80380, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chapman-v-finnegan-mad-2013.