Harrington v. Nashua

• Court: District Court, D. New Hampshire
• Decided: June 19, 2009
• Docket: CV-07-299-PB
• Status: Published

Opinion

Harrington v. Nashua CV-07-299-PB 06/19/09 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

Monique J. Harrington Civil No. 07-cv-299 Opinion No. 2009 DNH 89 v.

City of Nashua, Nashua Police Department, Mark Schaaf

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Monique J. Harrington has filed an action pursuant to 42

U.S.C. § 1983 against the City of Nashua, the Nashua Police

Department, and Nashua Police Detective Mark Schaaf, both in his

individual and official capacities (the "defendants").

Harrington alleges that defendants violated her Fourth Amendment

right to be free from unreasonable seizures by restricting her

liberty without reasonable suspicion and instituting legal

process against her. (Compl., Doc. No. 1, 55 52-53.) She also

asserts other state law claims. Defendants have filed a motion

for summary judgment, and for the reasons set forth below, I

grant that motion with respect to Harrington's federal claims.

I. FACTS

The roots of this civil action can be traced back to a sexual encounter that took place between Harrington and her

coworker, referred to here as "Brett," on or about June 26, 2003.

After taking a ride with Brett on his motorcycle earlier in the

day, Harrington then went back to his apartment. (Defs.' Mot.

for Summ. J., Doc. No. 11-2, at 3.) What happened next is

unclear, as Harrington herself has offered conflicting versions

of the incident. In her Complaint, she alleges that Brett raped

her, "specifically anal intercourse, by overcoming her through

the actual application of physical force, physical violence

and/or superior physical strength." (Compl., Doc. No. 1, 5 12.)

Having been the victim of a traumatic sexual assault as a young

teenager, Harrington did not report the alleged rape so as to

"avoid a similar experience." (Id. 5 14.) Following the

incident, she guit her job so that she would not have to see

Brett at work each day, and she sought mental health treatment.

(Id. 5 15-16.)

On September 3, 2003, Brett entered the Nashua Police

Station and claimed that he had received a threatening phone call

wherein the caller accused him of raping Harrington. (Defs.'

Mot. for Summ. J., Doc. No. 11-2, at 2.) Earlier that evening,

Harrington told her then-fiance about the June 26 incident, and

he pressured her to report the alleged sexual assault to the

- 2 - police. Harrington arrived at the police station shortly after

Brett, and she informed Officer Brian Trefry that Brett had raped

her and that she had repeatedly told him to stop. (Id. at 3.)

Trefry and another officer questioned Harrington from 9:30pm

until 10:52pm, at which point, the matter was referred to

Detective Schaaf. Schaaf conducted his own interview of

Harrington, which lasted for approximately an hour and a half

before ending at 12:22am. (Compl., Doc. No. 1, 55 19-22.) It is

this interview, which might be more accurately termed an

interrogation, that is the source of the current litigation.

Harrington alleges that throughout the course of her meeting

with Schaaf, she felt exhausted and requested that she be able to

go home for the night and resume the following day. Instead,

Schaaf continued with his questioning, and at one point, falsely

informed Harrington that Brett had surreptitiously recorded his

sexual encounter with her and that the police officers had the

tape in their possession. In reality, no such tape existed.

(Defs.' Mot. for Summ. J., Doc. No. 11-2, at 4.) Schaaf

allegedly told Harrington that the other officers were watching

the tape in another room, and she then began "crying and sobbing"

in humiliation. (Compl., Doc. No. 1, 55 24-26.) Schaaf then

produced the tape that he represented was a recording of the

- 3 - alleged rape and asked Harrington if they should watch it.

Harrington claims that her reguest to adjourn for the evening was

again denied, as was her reguest for the "presence of a female

victim/witness advocate." (Id. 55 28-32.)

At 12:22am, Harrington waived her Miranda rights, and Schaaf

began to videotape his interrogation. Harrington explained that

earlier in the day on June 26, she had gone for a ride with Brett

on his motorcycle. She then admitted to going back to his

apartment where there was "back rubbing" and oral sex.1

(Harrington Decl., Doc. No. 13-2, at 5.) Harrington then

retracted her initial allegations of rape; her exchange with

Schaaf went as follows:

Detective Schaaf: So he [Brett] didn't force any sex of any kind of you [sic] that night is that correct? Harrington: Ya, yes. Detective Schaaf: What I'msaying iscorrect is that what your [sic] saying yes to? Harrington: Yes.

1 Although the Complaint asserts that the alleged rape followed consensual oral sex, Harrington stated in her December 23, 2008 deposition that she and Brett did not engage in oral sex and that she was unsure as to why she told Detective Schaaf otherwise. (Harrington Dep., Doc. No. 13, at 8.) She also claimed in her deposition that on the night in guestion she and Brett never kissed, but that she did consent to certain touching. (Id.)

- 4 - (Id. at 6.)2 Harrington then went on to explain the

victimization she had suffered from a previous sexual assault

when she was younger and how it caused her to be "emotionally

imbalanced" and in need of "help." (Id. at 7-8.) At 12:36am,

the videotaped portion of Harrington's confession concluded.

(Compl., Doc. No. 1, 5 44.) Schaff then "instituted legal

process in the form of a criminal complaint charging [Harrington]

with making a False Report to Law Enforcement." (Id. 5 45.)

Harrington was arrested and released that night on personal

recognizance. (Defs.' Mot. for Summ. J., Doc. No. 11-2, at 5.)

The terms of Harrington's bail reguired her to appear in court,

not commit any crimes, notify the court of any change in address,

refrain from excessive consumption of alcohol, and refrain from

the use of any controlled substances. (Id.) Harrington's

employment with Charles Schwab reguired her to report the

criminal charges, and her failure to do so resulted in her

termination. (Compl., Doc. No. 1, 5 48.) Harrington was

acguitted of the criminal charge after a bench trial in Nashua

District Court on September 23, 2004.

2 Admittedly, the transcript excerpted here (as well as at other points) reveals a rather ambiguous "admission"; however, whether Harrington actually admitted to lying about being raped on the night in guestion is not an issue before this court.

- 5 - On September 22, 2007, Harrington filed the current action.

In Count 1 of her Complaint, Harrington alleges that defendants

violated her Fourth Amendment rights "by restricting the liberty

of the plaintiff without a reasonable suspicion . . . [and] by

instituting legal process in the form a criminal complaint upon

which the plaintiff was arrested without probable cause to

believe that the plaintiff had committed a criminal offense. . .

." (Id. 55 52-53.) Count 1 also alleges that the City of Nashua

tolerated unconstitutional practices by failing to ensure that

officers of the Nashua Police Department respected the

constitutional rights of those living in Nashua, failing to

"promulgate procedures and policies for deprivation of liberty

and institution of legal process leading to arrest that were

consistent with the Fourth Amendment," and permitting

constitutional violations to persist. (Id. 5 54.) As a result

of such conduct, Harrington complains that she has suffered

mental anguish, lost wages and loss of earning capacity, loss of

life enjoyment, and other "compensable damages." (Id. 5 56.)

She seeks punitive damages, "as well as an award of attorneys'

fees and costs pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988." (Id.) In Count 2,

she brings negligence claims against Schaaf and the City of

Nashua for allegedly improper guestioning and restraint. Count 3 asserts that the City of Nashua was negligent in the hiring,

training, and supervision of Nashua police officers, in

particular, Schaaf. Count 4 asserts a state law claim for

malicious prosecution, and in Count 5, Harrington brings a state

tort claim for invasion of privacy. Finally, in Count 6,

Harrington asserts a state law cause of action for negligent or

intentional infliction of emotional distress. Defendants have

filed a motion for summary judgment addressing all six counts.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Summary judgment is appropriate when "the discovery and

disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there

is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant

is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P.

56(c). A party seeking summary judgment must first identify the

absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex Corp. v.

Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986). The burden then shifts to the

nonmoving party to "produce evidence on which a reasonable finder

of fact, under the appropriate proof burden, could base a verdict

for it; if that party cannot produce such evidence, the motion

must be granted." Ayala-Gerena v. Bristol Myers-Sguibb Co., 95

F.3d 86, 94 (1st Cir. 1996); see Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323.__

- 7 - III. ANALYSIS

Harrington asserts both federal and state law causes of

action. In her federal claim, Harrington argues that defendants

violated her Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable

seizures "by restricting the liberty of plaintiff without a

reasonable suspicion" and "by instituting legal process in the

form of a criminal complaint upon which the plaintiff was

arrested without probable cause. (Compl., Doc. No. 1, 55 52-53.)

Defendants attack this claim by characterizing it as a claim of

false imprisonment and then arguing that the claim is barred by

the statute of limitations. In the alternative, they argue that

even if Harrington has alleged a malicious prosecution claim, her

claim is not cognizable as a Fourth Amendment violation. Below,

I unpack Harrington's Fourth Amendment claim and explain that it

encompasses distinct claims for both false imprisonment and

malicious prosecution. I then conclude that her false

imprisonment claim is barred by the statute of limitations and

her malicious prosecution claim fails to plead a Fourth Amendment

violation.

A. Count 1 Asserts Two Distinct Causes of Action

When analyzing claims in a complaint, the focus is on the

underlying facts at the heart of the allegations. The precise term that a plaintiff uses in labeling a cause of action is

irrelevant, and, at times, even misleading. See Calero-Colon v.

Betancourt-Lebron, 68 F.3d 1, 5 (1st Cir. 1995) (analysis of §

1983 claims reguires "federal courts to look to the true nature

of the constitutional claims being asserted, rej acting labels")

(Lynch, J., concurring) (emphasis added) . Nor is a court bound

by a plaintiff's attempt to sweep multiple claims into a single

cause of action. In the case before the court, defendants'

motion for summary judgment turns on whether Harrington has

asserted a single cause of action for malicious prosecution, or

separate constitutional claims for false imprisonment and

malicious prosecution. The U.S. Supreme Court, in Wallace v.

Kato, has decisively addressed this issue. 549 U.S. 384 (2007).

In Wallace, the Court held that when one is detained without

process (in other words, falsely imprisoned), that tortious act

continues until the point at which legal process is instituted

against him. Id. at 389. From that moment forward, "unlawful

detention forms part of the damages for the 'entirely distinct'

tort of malicious prosecution, which remedies detention

accompanied, not by absence of legal process, but by wrongful

institution of legal process." Id. at 390. Applying the Supreme

Court's holding in Wallace to the case at hand, it is clear that Harrington asserts two, distinct causes of action brought

pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The first, a claim for false

imprisonment, concerns her alleged improper treatment at the

police station without legal process before her arrest. The

second, a claim for malicious prosecution, focuses on the

wrongful institution of legal process against her by the filing

of a criminal complaint. See Nieves v. McSweeney, 241 F.3d 46,

49 (1st Cir. 2001) (noting that the trial court "segregated all

the federal-law claims that were based on the events of May 12,

1994 (such as those rooted in excessive force and false arrest)"

and then made judgments about whether those claims were time-

barred) .

B. Statute of Limitations Bars Harrington's Claim for Detention Without Process

Defendants first argue that Harrington's Fourth Amendment

claims are barred by the statute of limitations. In adjudicating

§ 1983 claims, courts must "borrow the forum state's limitation

period governing personal injury causes of action." Id. at 51;

see Wallace, 549 U.S. at 387. Here, the parties agree that

Harrington's § 1983 claims are subject to New Hampshire's three

year statute of limitations for tort claims. See N.H. Rev. Stat.

Ann. § 508:4; Defs.' Mot. for Summ. J., Doc. No. 11-2, at 7;

- 10 - Pl.'s Opp'n to Summ. J., Doc. No. 18, at 5.

The point at which a § 1983 claim accrues, however, is a

question of federal law. Wallace, 549 U.S. at 388. The statute

of limitations on a false imprisonment claim by a person who is

detained without a warrant until criminal charges are filed

begins to accrue "once the victim becomes held pursuant to such

[legal] process -- when, for example, he is bound over by a

magistrate or arraigned on charges." Id. at 389. Harrington

made her videotaped statement in the early morning hours on

September 4, 2003. Schaff then "instituted legal process in the

form of a criminal complaint charging [Harrington] with making a

False Report to Law Enforcement." (Compl., Doc. No. 1, 5 45.)

recognizance. Thus, the statute of limitations on her false

imprisonment claim began to run from that time on September 4,

2003. As this present action was filed more than three years

later, on September 22, 2007, Harrington's false imprisonment

claim is time-barred.

Turning next to Harrington's malicious prosecution claim,

she alleges that defendants wrongfully instituted legal process

against her by charging her with the crime of making a false

statement. The statute of limitations in a malicious prosecution

- 11 - action "begins to run upon the termination of the antecedent

criminal proceedings." Nieves, 241 F.3d at 51; see Heck v.

Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 489 (1994). Applied to the case at bar,

the cause of action for Harrington's malicious prosecution

accrued on September 23, 2004, when she was acguitted of the

charge brought against her. As defendants indirectly concede in

their motion for summary judgment, Harrington's malicious

prosecution claim is not time-barred. (Defs.' Mot. for Summ. J.,

Doc. No. 11-2, at 8 n.4.)

C. Malicious Prosecution Claim Fails to Identify a Seizure.

An individual has no substantive due process right to be

free from wrongful prosecution. Albright v. Oliver, 510 U.S.

266, 274-75 (1994). Therefore, in order to state a § 1983 claim

for wrongful institution of legal process, there must be some

constitutional right - other than the due process clause of the

Fourteenth Amendment - that has been infringed. Id. at 271, 275;

see Roche v. John Hancock Mut. Life Ins. Co., 81 F.3d 249, 256

(1st Cir. 1996). The Fourth Amendment may "furnish the

constitutional peg on which to hang" a § 1983 malicious

prosecution claim, see Albright, 510 U.S. at 271 n.4, but

technically, that proposition remains "an open guestion . . . ,"

- 12 - Nieves, 241 F.3d at 54. Proceeding on the assumption that the

Fourth Amendment provides "fertile soil" for such a claim, a

plaintiff then faces "the task of showing some post-arraignment

deprivation of liberty, caused by the application of legal

process, that approximates a Fourth Amendment seizure." Nieves,

241 F.3d at 54. A seizure, as recognized by the Fourth

Amendment, occurs "only when there is a governmental termination

of freedom of movement through means intentionally applied."

Brower v. County of Inyo, 489 U.S. 593, 597 (1989).

Harrington's § 1983 malicious prosecution claim is based on

the argument that defendants violated her Fourth Amendment rights

when she was arrested and charged with making a false report and

then subseguently released on personal recognizance pending her

criminal trial. (Pl.'s Opp'n to Summ. J., Doc. No. 18, at 10.)

It is incumbent on her, therefore, to identify a "post­

arraignment deprivation of liberty" that amounts to a seizure.

See Nieves, 241 F.3d at 54. Harrington argues that her release

on personal recognizance, and the conditions of that release,

amounted to being held in custody because she was subjected to

restraints not generally shared by the public at large. (Pl.'s

Opp'n to Summ. J., Doc. No. 18, at 10.) Moreover, she cites her

loss of employment, the significant degradation of her employment

- 13 - prospects, the reputational harm she suffered, and the emotional

and financial stresses inflicted on her in preparing for trial,

as other identifiable seizures. (Id.) "The question thus

becomes: do these strictures, in the aggregate, constitute a

Fourth Amendment seizure sufficient to ground a section 1983

malicious prosecution claim?" Nieves, 241 F.3d at 55.

The terms of Harrington's personal recognizance are, for the

most part, "run-of-the-mill conditions . . . [that] do not fit

comfortably within the recognized parameters" of what amounts to

a seizure. See id. at 55. Nonetheless, Harrington argues that

because she was required to attend all court proceedings under

the penalty of incarceration, she was in custody. (Pi.s' Opp'n

to Summ. J., Doc. No. 18, at 10.) Permitting such a broad

definition of seizure or custody would be problematic. As the

First Circuit has noted, "if the concept of a seizure is regarded

as elastic enough to encompass standard conditions of pretrial

release, virtually every criminal defendant will be deemed to be

seized pending the resolution of the charges against him."

Nieves, 241 F.3d at 55. The pretrial release in this case is

similar to that at issue in Nieves v. McSweeney, where the

appellants were released on their own recognizance. Id. They

cited as evidence of their "seizure" that they "suffered the

- 14 - stress and anxiety of knowing not only that serious criminal

charges were pending against them, but also that their

reputations had been sullied; they appeared before criminal court

a number of times in the pretrial period; and they endured the

trial." Id. The First Circuit determined that these conditions

were "benign" and did not amount to a post-arraignment seizure.

Id. at 57. In reaching that conclusion, the court noted that the

appellants were not held in custody "after the initiation of

criminal proceedings, reguired to post a monetary bond upon

arraignment, subjected to restrictions on their travel, or

otherwise exposed to any significant deprivation of liberty."

Id. at 56. In the case at bar, Harrington was reguired to attend

court proceedings and notify the court of any change in address,

but the only "restrictions" on her liberty were that she refrain

from committing crimes, using controlled substances, or engaging

in the excessive use of alcohol. These limitations hardly

transform her pre-trial release into a Fourth Amendment seizure.

Although other courts have found that the terms of pretrial

release amount to a seizure where, among other things, a

defendant's right to travel outside the state is restricted, no

such restriction is implicated in Harrington's case. See, e.g.,

Gallo v. City of Philadelphia, 161 F.3d 217, 222 (3d Cir. 1998);

- 15 - Murphy v. Lynn, 118 F.3d 938, 945-46 (2d Cir. 1997) .

In an effort to bolster her claim that she was subject to a

seizure following the institution of legal process, Harrington

points to other harms that occurred during that time. For

example, she references her loss of employment, the difficulty

she had in finding new work, the irreparable harm done to her

reputation as an honest and law-abiding citizen, and the

emotional and financial strains that come with mounting a defense

to criminal charges. (Pl.'s Opp'n to Summ. J., Doc. No. 18, at

10.) These are, without guestion, serious and legitimate

injuries. Unfortunately for Harrington, however, they do not

transform what happened to her into a seizure cognizable under

the Fourth Amendment. In arguing to the contrary, Harrington

cites Justice Ginsburg's concurring opinion in Albright v.

Oliver, which argues that a defendant released pretrial is

"scarcely at liberty; he remains apprehended, arrested in his

movements, indeed 'seized' for trial, so long as he is bound to

appear in court and answer the state's charges." See 510 U.S. at

279 (Ginsburg, J., concurring). Setting aside any analysis of

the merits of this dicta, the First Circuit has expressly

rejected it, thus ending the matter as it applies to this case.

See Nieves, 241 F.3d at 55 ("Notwithstanding the eminence of its

- 16 - sponsor, the view that an obligation to appear in court to face

criminal charges constitutes a Fourth Amendment seizure is not

the law."). Having failed to identify a "post-arraignment

deprivation of liberty" that amounts to a Fourth Amendment

seizure, Harrington's malicious prosecution claim must fail.

IV. CONCLUSION

Defendants' motion for summary judgment (Doc. No. 11) is

granted with respect to Count 1. There is no independent

jurisdictional basis for the remaining state law claims asserted

in Counts 2-6. I therefore decline to exercise judgment over

those claims, and they are dismissed without prejudice. The

clerk shall enter judgment and close the case in accordance with

this Memorandum and Order.

SO ORDERED.

/s/Paul Barbadoro__________ Paul Barbadoro United States District Judge

June 19, 2009

cc: Gordon R. Blakeney, Jr., Esg. Brian J.S. Cullen, Esg.

- 17 -