Hudson v. City of Chicago

242 F.R.D. 496, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37515, 2007 WL 1519813
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedMay 22, 2007
DocketNo. 05 C 5449
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 242 F.R.D. 496 (Hudson v. City of Chicago) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hudson v. City of Chicago, 242 F.R.D. 496, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37515, 2007 WL 1519813 (N.D. Ill. 2007).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

CASTILLO, District Judge.

Plaintiffs James Hudson (“Hudson”), George Gardner (“Gardner”), Tyrone Smith (“Smith”), and John Hall (“Hall”) (collectively “Plaintiffs”) bring this lawsuit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, both individually and on behalf of two proposed classes. They allege that the City of Chicago (“City”) and officers in the Chicago Police Department (“CPD”) unlawfully arrested and/or ticketed them pursuant to Section 10-40-550 of the Chicago Municipal Code (“the Bridge Ordinance”)1 for peacefully panhandling on the public sidewalks on or near a bridge in violation of the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. (R. 168, Pis.’ Mem. at 1.) Plaintiffs further allege that certain individual defendants are liable as supervisors, and that the City is liable for failing to train the individual defendants. Currently before the Court is Plaintiffs’ mo[499]*499tion to certify two classes pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 23(b)(3), both defined as:

All persons who were ticketed and/or arrested pursuant to the Bridge Ordinance for panhandling on public fora in Chicago.

(Id. at 2.) Plaintiffs seek to certify one class against the City, encompassing individuals who were arrested and/or ticketed2 under the Bridge Ordinance between September 21, 2003 and July 28, 2006 (“Class One”). (Id. at 2.) Additionally, Plaintiffs seek to certify a second class against Captain James Knightly (“Knightly”), Officer Robert Jasinski (“Jasin-ski”), Officer John Dovgin (“Dovgin”), and Officer Charles Weyer (“Weyer”) (collectively “Defendant Officers”) to provide relief for individuals arrested and/or ticketed by Defendant Officers pursuant to the Bridge Ordinance from October 20, 2004 through July 28, 2006 (“Class Two”). (Id.) Plaintiffs claim that Defendant Officers have “unlawfully applied the Bridge Ordinance to falsely arrest and/or ticket Plaintiffs for the mere peaceful act of panhandling” and have “selectively enforced the Bridge Ordinance only against panhandlers.” (Id. at 1.) Plaintiffs further claim that the City failed to train its officers on how to properly enforce the Bridge Ordinance, and was deliberately indifferent to the violation of Plaintiffs’ constitutional rights. (R. 98, Third Am. Compl. HH 6-8.) For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification (R. 161-1) is denied in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. The Arrests of the Named Plaintiffs

Plaintiffs claim that the City and Defendant Officers targeted only panhandlers in enforcing the Bridge Ordinance. (R. 168, Pis.’ Mem. at 4.) Plaintiffs further allege that Defendants did not have probable cause to arrest members of the proposed class because “their arrest reports consist of vague, non-particularized, and non-individualized language” and that “in making these arrests, individual Defendant officers completely ignored the Bridge Ordinance’s ‘assembly or crowd’ requirement, making these arrests facially unreasonable for failure to meet the basic elements of the offense.” (Id.)

Plaintiffs Hudson, Gardner, and Smith were arrested on June 1, July 5, and July 21, 2005, respectively, for allegedly violating the Bridge Ordinance. (Id. at 3.) These Plaintiffs claim that their arrest reports omit mention of any facts or evidence that would support the arresting officers’ probable cause determination. (Id.) Furthermore, these Plaintiffs allege that at the time of the arrests they were not interfering or obstructing the passage of pedestrians or vehicles on the bridge, nor were there any crowds gathered, which Plaintiffs claim is required by the Bridge Ordinance. (Id.)

Plaintiff Hall was arrested at least three times for violating the Bridge Ordinance: on February 9, 2004, April 30, 2004, and September 22, 2004. (Id.) He was also ticketed under the Bridge Ordinance on July 11, 2005. (Id. at 4.) Like the other named plaintiffs, Hall alleges that neither his arrest reports nor his ticket contains any individualized facts or evidence that would support the arresting officers’ probable cause determinations, and these documents also fail to reference the Bridge Ordinance’s “assembly or crowd” requirement. (Id.) Furthermore, Hall claims that, at the time of his arrest, he was neither interfering with nor obstructing the passage of pedestrians or vehicles on the bridge, and no crowds were around him. (Id.)

II. The Thompson Litigation

Plaintiffs allege that Defendants’ alleged misuse and misapplication of the Bridge Ordinance violates the settlement agreement reached in another case decided in this district, Thompson v. City of Chicago, No. 01 C 6916 (N.D.Ill.2003) (Manning, J.). In Thompson, Plaintiffs brought a class action against the City of Chicago, alleging that the City’s enforcement of Section 8 — 4—010(f) of the Chicago Municipal Code (“the Panhandling Ordinance”) violated their rights under [500]*500the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. (R. 168, Pis.’ Mem., Ex. 3, Settlement Agreement (“Agreement”) at 1.) Plaintiffs facially attacked the Panhandling Ordinance as unconstitutional, and claimed that they had been unlawfully arrested and/or ticketed by Chicago police officers for peacefully panhandling. (Id. at 2.) On March 27, 2002, the City rescinded the Panhandling Ordinance. (Id. at 1.) The parties settled on October 15, 2003, and on October 16, 2003, the Court certified two classes for purposes of settlement. (R. 168, Pis.’ Mem., Ex. 2, Approval Order and Judgment (“Approval Order”) at 2.) Pursuant to the Agreement and the Court’s Approval Order, the City agreed to issue a directive to all police officers cautioning them not to use the Bridge Ordinance to interfere with the legal rights of the panhandlers. (Id.) (“[Tjhe City has agreed to issue a directive to its police officers that the Chicago police should not arrest and/or ticket individuals for panhandling pursuant to Sections 8-^t0-010(a)) (disorderly conduct), 10-40-550 (obstruction of traffic on a bridge), 10-40-560 (congregation on bridges or viaducts) and 10-8-080 (charitable solicitation without a license.”) Plaintiffs claim that, despite this Agreement, the City initiated a practice of unlawfully using the Bridge Ordinance to arrest and ticket panhandlers on public sidewalks and near bridges. (Id., Pis.’ Mem. at 2.)

LEGAL STANDARD

A plaintiff seeking class certification has the burden of proving that the proposed class meets the requirements of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Jackson v. Nat’l Action Fin. Servs., Inc., 227 F.R.D. 284, 286 (N.D.Ill.2005).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Mahon v. Ticor Title Insurance Company
683 F.3d 59 (Second Circuit, 2012)
MacNamara v. City of New York
275 F.R.D. 125 (S.D. New York, 2011)
Baxter v. Kawasaki Motors Corp.
259 F.R.D. 336 (N.D. Illinois, 2009)
Streeter v. Sheriff of Cook County
256 F.R.D. 609 (N.D. Illinois, 2009)
Vulcan Golf, LLC v. Google Inc.
552 F. Supp. 2d 752 (N.D. Illinois, 2008)
Gates v. Towery
507 F. Supp. 2d 904 (N.D. Illinois, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
242 F.R.D. 496, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37515, 2007 WL 1519813, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hudson-v-city-of-chicago-ilnd-2007.