Hunter v. City of New York

35 F. Supp. 3d 310, 2014 WL 3894339, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110756
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedAugust 11, 2014
DocketNo. 12-CV-6139 (MKB)
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 35 F. Supp. 3d 310 (Hunter 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
Hunter v. City of New York, 35 F. Supp. 3d 310, 2014 WL 3894339, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110756 (E.D.N.Y. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

MARGO K. BRODIE, District Judge:

Plaintiff James Hunter, proceeding pro se, commenced this action on or about December 12, 2012 against Defendants City of New York, Officer Giuca, Shield # 9511 and Detective King, Shield # 4607, alleging deprivation of due process, breach of oath of office, deprivation of equal protection of the law and abuse of authority by individual Defendants Giuca and King and a claim of municipal liability against the City of New York, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (Compl. 1-2.) Defendants moved for a more definite statement of the Complaint pursuant to Rule 12(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, (Docket Entry No. 11), and Plaintiff filed a more definite statement on April 26, 2013, with additional factual allegations, (Docket Entry No. 21). Defendants now move for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Rule 12(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Oral argument was held on August 1, 2014. For the reasons set forth below, Defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings is granted in part and denied in part.

I. Background

According to Plaintiffs Complaint, as amended by the more definite statement, on April 25, 2011, an Rodwell Jones, a non-party, struck Plaintiff with a metal [314]*314pole,1 causing him to suffer a fractured rib.2 (Pl. Response to Order for More Definite Statement, Docket Entry No. 21 (“Statement”) ¶ 1.) Plaintiff had a telephone conversation with “Captain Taylor,” who informed him that Taylor observed a surveillance vide,o of the incident and saw Plaintiff defending himself following the assault. (Id. ¶ 2.) Plaintiff surrendered to Taylor and Giuca on the same day, informing them that he had been assaulted by Jones and had sustained injuries to his left elbow and left ribs. (Id. ¶ 3.) Plaintiff provided Taylor and Giuca with the metal pole Jones used to assault Plaintiff. (Id.) Plaintiff requested medical attention and was told that he would obtain emergency medical services (“EMS”) after being processed at the 70th precinct. (Id.) During the arrest process,3 King stated that she knew the family of Rodwell Jones, Plaintiffs alleged assailant.4 (Id.) At the precinct, Plaintiff “informed [King and Giuca] of [his] sustained injuries and pain,” and “requested to go to the hospital,” and to make an assault complaint against Jones, but “was not allowed.” (Id. ¶ 4.) Giuca informed Plaintiff that if he were to go to the hospital, he would “make sure it took much longer for [Plaintiff] to get to court.” (Id.) Giuca took several photographs of Plaintiffs injuries, and “did not memorialize as required by NYPD procedures the particulates [sic ] of the investigation.” (Id. ¶¶ 5-6.) Plaintiff appends several documents to the Statement including: a complaint room screening sheet dated April 25, 2011 (“Complaint Room Screening Sheet,” annexed to Statement at ECF 3), medical records from New York City Correctional Health Services dated April 30, 2011, and May 1, 2011, (“NYC Correctional Health Services report dated April 30, 2011,” annexed to Statement at ECF 4; “NYC Correctional Health Services report dated May 1, 2011,” annexed to Statement at ECF 5), several pages of transcript labeled “Suppression,” (“Suppression Hearing Tr.,” annexed to Statement at ECF 6-9), and an undated newspaper article about lawsuits brought against the NYPD by diabetic pre-trial detainees denied, their insulin during the arrest process, (“New York Daily News Article,” annexed to Statement at ECF 10).

II. Discussion

a. Standard of Review

“The standard for addressing a Rule 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings is the same as that for a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim.” Cleveland v. Caplaw Enters., 448 F.3d 518, 520 (2d Cir.2006); see also Hayden v. Paterson, 594 F.3d 150, 160 (2d Cir.2010). In reviewing a Rule 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings, the Court must “accept[ ] the complaint’s factual allegations as true and draw[] all [315]*315reasonable inferences in the plaintiff’s favor.” Graziano v. Pataki, 689 F.3d 110, 114 (2d Cir.2012). A complaint “must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Hayden, 594 F.3d at 160 (alteration, citation and internal quotation marks omitted). A claim is plausible “when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct -alleged.” Matson v. Bd. of Educ. of City Sch. Dist. of New York, 631 F.3d 57, 63 (2d Cir.2011) (discussing Rule 12(b)(6) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937)); see also Pension Ben. Guar. Corp. ex rel. St. Vincent Catholic Med. Ctrs. Ret. Plan v. Morgan Stanley Inv. Mgmt. Inc., 712 F.3d 705, 717-18 (2d Cir.2013). However, the court need not accord “a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation” the same presumption of truthfulness. N.J. Carpenters Health Fund v. Royal Bank of Scotland Grp., PLC, 709 F.3d 109, 120 (2d Cir.2013). In reviewing a pro se complaint, the court must be mindful that the plaintiff’s pleadings should be held “to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Hughes v. Rowe, 449 U.S. 5, 9, 101 S.Ct. 173, 66 L.Ed.2d 163 (1980) (internal quotation marks omitted); Harris v. Mills, 572 F.3d 66, 72 (2d Cir. 2009) (noting that even after Twombly, the court “remain[s] obligated to construe a pro se complaint liberally”). If a liberal reading of the complaint “gives any indication that a valid claim might be stated,” the court must grant leave to amend the complaint. Shabazz v. Bezio, 511 Fed. Appx. 28, 31 (2d Cir.2013) (quoting Branum v. Clark, 927 F.2d 698, 705 (2d Cir. 1991)). However, “where the well-pleaded facts do not permit the court to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct, the complaint has alleged — but it has not ‘show[n]’ — ‘that the pleader is entitled to relief.’ ”5 Pension Ben. Guar. Corp., 712 F.3d at 718 (alteration in original) (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 679, 129 5.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009)).

b. Deprivation of Due Process

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Bluebook (online)
35 F. Supp. 3d 310, 2014 WL 3894339, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110756, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hunter-v-city-of-new-york-nyed-2014.