Folk v. City of New York

243 F. Supp. 3d 363, 2017 WL 1102898, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46636
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedMarch 21, 2017
Docket15-CV-5810 (WFK) (CLP)
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 243 F. Supp. 3d 363 (Folk v. City of New York) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Folk v. City of New York, 243 F. Supp. 3d 363, 2017 WL 1102898, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46636 (E.D.N.Y. 2017).

Opinion

DECISION & ORDER

WILLIAM F. KUNTZ, II, United States District Judge:

Police Officer Robert Manzi, Detective Arthur Umlauf, Police Officer Derrick Boyd, Police Officer Steveii Florio, Sergeant William Schmidt, and John Doe 5 (together, the “Individual Defendants"), together with the City of New York (the “City”) (collectively, “Defendants”) move to dismiss plaintiff Shaniqua Folk’s (“Plaintiff’) complaint for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). This action arises out of Plaintiffs arrest, allegedly by the Individual- Defendants, after a conflict between Plaintiff .and her ex-boyfriend. Plaintiff seeks recovery under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of her Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights, specifically iterated as claims for false arrest, malicious prosecution, denial of her right to a fair trial, and failure to intervene, as well as a state common law claim for malicious abuse of process. Plaintiff alleges the City is liable for these alleged constitutional violations under Monell v. Department of Social Services of the City of New York, 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). For the reasons set forth below, Defendants’ motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

BACKGROUND1

On September 17, 2014, Plaintiff was walking to work when her ex-bóyfriend, Tyrish Stevenson, approached her on the street, pulled a gun on her, and forced her into his" car. Am, Compl. ¶¶ 20-21, EOF No. 14. After driving around the block, Stevenson parked his car, pointed the gun at Plaintiff, and- threatened to kill her. Id. ¶22. Plaintiff, terrified, fled the car, yelling, “He,is trying to kill me” and “Please help,” Id. ¶ 23. Stevenson forced her back into the car and “a struggle ensued.” Id. ¶25. The Individual .Defendants were parked directly behind Stevenson’s car, witnessed these events, and allegedly knew or should have known of Plaintiffs distress and the ongoing struggle between her and Stevenson, but did not intervene. Id. ¶¶ 24-25.' '

During this struggle, Plaintiff took the gun from Stevenson and tossed it through the car’s window. Id. ¶¶ 26-29. Thereafter, the Individual Defendants approached Stevenson’s vehicle, and Stevenson ran away while Plaintiff yelled, “He had a gun” and “[H]e said he would kill me.” Id, ¶¶ 29-32. The Individual Defendants called for backup and asked Plaintiff to wait in the cat-while they searched for the gun. Id. ¶ 34-36. The Individual Defendants found the gun and, thereafter, charged Plaintiff with criminal possession of a weapon. Id., ¶ 35. Stevenson was allegedly never charged for [369]*369his assault of Plaintiff. Id. ¶36, Plaintiff was subsequently taken to Kangs County Central Booking, where the Individual Defendants, “falsely informed” the District Attorney’s Office they had “observed [her] committing various crimes.” Id. ¶ 39-40.. The charges against Plaintiff were “dismissed and sealed” on January 16, 2015. Id. ¶ 41.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Plaintiff filed this action on October 8, 2015. ECF No. 1. She thereafter served summonses on the City and Officer Manzi. ECF Nos. 4, 5. Plaintiff filed her Amended Complaint on February 19, 2016, and subsequently issued amended summonses as to all Defendants. ECF Nos. 14, 15. The Amended Complaint states seven claims for injuries caused by these events (hereinafter referred to as “her arrest”): (1) violations of her Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, id. ¶ 42-44; (2) false arrest absent probable cause in violation of her Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights, id. ¶¶ 45-47; (3) malicious prosecution in violation of her Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights, id. ¶¶ 48-54; (4) denial of her right to a fair trial in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, id. ¶¶ 55-61; (5) malicious abuse of process, id. ¶¶ 62-69; (6) failure to intervene in violation of the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments, id. ¶¶ 70-73; and (7) municipal liability under Monell due to “policies, practices, and customs” that “directly caused the constitutional violations suffered” by Plaintiff, id. ¶¶ 74-87. Plaintiff seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses. Id. at 15-16.

On April 8, 2016, defendants the City and Manzi filed their fully briefed motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).2 ECF Nos. 16-20. The amended summonses were returned executed as to the Officer Boyd, Detective Umlauf, Sergeant Schmidt, and Officer Florio on January 9, 2017. ECF Nos. 28-31.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

“To survive a motion to dismiss [under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)], a complaint must contain 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, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). Accordingly, in deciding this Motion, the Court must “assess the legal feasibility of the complaint, not ... assay the weight of the evidence which might be offered in support thereof.” DiFolco v. MSNBC Cable L.L.C.; 622 F.3d 104, 113 (2d Cir. 2010) (internal citation and quotation marks omitted). In so doing, the Court must “accept[ ] all factual allegations in the complaint as true, and draw[ ] all reasonable inferences in the plaintiffs favor,” Chambers, 282 F.3d at 152, but is “not bound to accept as true a legal conclusion couched ás a factual allegation,” Pension Ben. Guar. Corp. ex rel. St. Vincent Catholic Med. Centers Ret. Plan v. Morgan Stanley Inv. Mgmt. Inc. 712 F.3d 705, 717 [370]*370(2d Cir. 2013) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).

ANALYSIS

I. Sufficiency of the Allegations Against the Individual Defendants

As a preliminary matter, Defendants contend that most of Plaintiffs claims must be dismissed because Plaintiff has not alleged the Individual Defendants were personally involved in her arrest, which is an essential element of a § 1983 claim against an individual state actor. Wright v. Smith, 21 F.3d 496, 501 (2d Cir. 1994).

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243 F. Supp. 3d 363, 2017 WL 1102898, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46636, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/folk-v-city-of-new-york-nyed-2017.