Hackenmueller v. Fadden

196 F. Supp. 3d 992, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96250, 2016 WL 3976604
CourtDistrict Court, D. Minnesota
DecidedJuly 22, 2016
DocketCiv. No. 15-619 (RHK/FLN)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 196 F. Supp. 3d 992 (Hackenmueller v. Fadden) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hackenmueller v. Fadden, 196 F. Supp. 3d 992, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96250, 2016 WL 3976604 (mnd 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

RICHARD H. KYLE, United States District Judge

INTRODUCTION

Be at War with your Vices, at Peace with your Neighbours, and let every New-Year find you a better Man. — Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanac (1755 ed.)

This case arises out of a dispute gone awry between neighbors in Plymouth, Minnesota (the “City”). One of the neighbors, Charles Johnson, eventually sought the assistance of his friend, Defendant Erik Fadden, a Plymouth police sergeant. The other neighbor, Plaintiff John Joseph Hackenmueller, alleges that Fadden violated his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights in his subsequent handling of the matter, in particular by falsifying a police report submitted to the City Attorney, which eventually resulted in Hackenmuel-ler being charged with several crimes. Presently before the Court is Fadden’s Motion for Summary Judgment. For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant the Motion.

BACKGROUND

I. A history of enmity

The pertinent facts are undisputed. Hackenmueller, a professional musician, and his wife have lived at the same home in Plymouth since 1998. In 2001, the property adjacent to and immediately behind Hackenmueller’s home was purchased by Charles and Carley Johnson.1 Although [995]*995Hackenmueller enjoyed good relationships with his other neighbors, he did not get along with Johnson. According to Hacken-mueller, tension first arose when Johnson sought permission from the City to construct a pole barn on his property, in order to store equipment used in his lawn care and snowplowing business. Hackenmueller and other neighbors opposed this request, which was eventually rejected. Hacken-mueller also complained to the City about employee vehicles and other equipment coming and going from Johnson’s property; the City eventually prohibited Johnson from running his business from his home. Johnson then stopped talking to Hacken-mueller.

In 2003, Johnson moved out of the home and rented it out. Things were quiet until 2010, when Johnson decided to move back to the property with his young son. He had the existing small house torn down and built a much larger one on the property, close to the property line. Hackenmueller admittedly was frustrated; he testified in his deposition, “suddenly a large wall went up literally right in our back yard and just overlooking us.” Several of Hackenmuel-ler’s friends commented that the new home looked like a barn, and working off that theme, Hackenmueller threw a Mother’s Day party in 2011 in which he set out plastic barnyard animals and played animal noises in his backyard. Johnson was displeased, although he said nothing to Hackenmueller at the time.

As a musician, Hackenmueller often would sing or play guitar in his backyard. He also enjoyed listening to music while working in his garden or engaging in other activities inside and outside his home. The Johnsons began complaining to Hacken-mueller about the noise, which they felt was unnecessarily loud and was preventing their son from sleeping. In one instance, Hackenmueller responded that Johnson’s son “needs to learn to sleep through some shit.”2 According to Hackenmueller, he attempted to placate Johnson by replacing his “professional” speaker with small computer speakers when he was listening to music in his backyard. Johnson, however, continued to believe Hackenmueller was excessively noisy.

In June 2011, Johnson had an off-duty conversation with Fadden. The two are good friends and have known each other since high school; each served as a groomsman at the other’s wedding. Johnson mentioned his concerns with the noise emanating from Hackenmueller’s property, including the barnyard-animals incident. Johnson felt Hackenmueller was engaged in a campaign of harassment because of the large home he had built close to Hack-enmueller’s property. The record does not disclose whether Fadden thought the noise violated the City’s noise ordinance, which generally prohibits unreasonably loud noises.3 Nevertheless, Fadden told Johnson he should document incidents of excessive noise and record them, as police officers often arrive to noise complaints long after excessive noise has stopped. Johnson took that advice and began preparing a log of noise incidents and videotaping them. And in 2012, he began bringing his noise complaints to the police.

[996]*996II. Excessive-noise complaints begin

The first documented incident occurred on April 11, 2012. Then, Plymouth police officer Matthew Gliniany was dispatched to Johnson’s home in the early evening after Johnson called in a noise complaint. Upon arrival, Gliniany heard no sound that he believed violated the City’s noise ordinance. He spoke with Johnson, who explained that Hackenmueller had been playing guitar and other loud music in his backyard since Johnson moved back to the property in 2011. He also recounted the barnyard-animal incident and claimed Hackenmueller frequently directed a large speaker toward Johnson’s home. Gliniany advised Johnson to immediately report future noise complaints, and he then left to speak with Hackenmueller. Gliniany advised Hackenmueller that he had received a noise complaint from Johnson, and Hack-enmueller acknowledged earlier playing music but denied it had been too loud. As Gliniany heard nothing he thought unreasonable, he advised Hackenmueller of the noise ordinance, asked him to use “common sense” with regard to noise in the future, and then left and prepared a written report of the encounter.

Police were called back to Johnson’s home a few hours later; officer Kyle Kven-ild responded. Johnson complained that after the earlier call, Hackenmueller had played “very loud” music for a short time and then turned it off. Johnson also reported that Hackenmueller later pointed a large speaker at his home and played music extremely loud for several minutes, which is what caused Johnson to call the police again. He x-eiterated the concerns he had expressed to Gliniany about noise being directed at his home, especially when his wife and child were home alone, and he expressed that he believed it was because Hackenmueller was upset Johnson had built a large house next to his property.

Kvenild then went to speak to Hacken-mueller. He heard no excessive noise at Hackenmueller’s home, although Hacken-mueller acknowledged having played a CD through an open window while he was grilling earlier that evening. Kvenild reviewed the noise ordinance and explained that noise complaints were viewed differently between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. than noise complaints received during the day (when more noise is permitted). Hearing nothing that violated the law, Kvenild then left and prepared a written report, noting among other things that Hackenmueller had told Kvenild he was upset Johnson had constructed such a large home next door.

Officers were called back to the area approximately two weeks later, in the early afternoon on April 23, 2012. Officer Amy Therkelsen responded to the call. Johnson’s wife complained to Therkelsen about noise emanating from Hackenmueller’s house, but Therkelsen only heard music playing on computer speakers through Hackenmueller’s open windows, which did not strike her as unreasonably loud. Ther-kelsen walked over to Hackenmueller’s home and advised him there had been a noise complaint.

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Related

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260 F. Supp. 3d 1122 (D. Minnesota, 2017)

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Bluebook (online)
196 F. Supp. 3d 992, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96250, 2016 WL 3976604, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hackenmueller-v-fadden-mnd-2016.