Jaeger v. Cellco Partnership

936 F. Supp. 2d 87, 58 Communications Reg. (P&F) 6, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49507, 2013 WL 1395694
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedApril 5, 2013
DocketNo. 3:11cv1948 (SRU)
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 936 F. Supp. 2d 87 (Jaeger v. Cellco Partnership) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jaeger v. Cellco Partnership, 936 F. Supp. 2d 87, 58 Communications Reg. (P&F) 6, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49507, 2013 WL 1395694 (D. Conn. 2013).

Opinion

RULING AND ORDER

STEFAN R. UNDERHILL, District Judge.

Dina Jaeger brought this action to enjoin the March 12, 2009 decision and order of the Connecticut Siting Council (“Council”) granting Célico Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless (“Célico”) a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need (“Certificate”) for the construction, maintenance, and operation of a wireless telecommunication facility (“Tower”) at 188 Route 7, Falls Village, Connecticut. Jaeger’s eight-count complaint also seeks compensatory and .punitive damages for alleged deprivations , of constitutional rights and violations of state law in the granting of Cellco’s Certificate.

In the present action, Jaeger has named Daniel F. Caruso; Colin C. Tait; Gerald J. Heffernan; Brian Golembiewski; Philip T. Ashton; Daniel P. Lynch Jr.; Barbera Currier Bell; and Edward S. Wilensky— members of the Council — as defendants. These defendants are being sued in their individual and official capacities on all counts. Jaeger has also named Célico as a defendant in counts two through eight.

Prior to this action, Jaeger challenged the Council’s decision in state and federal courts, alleging various constitutional and statutory violations. The Connecticut Superior Court, the Connecticut Appellate Court, the Federal District Court, and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals each dismissed those claims.

In her first claim — solely against the Council members — Jaeger alleges that in the process of granting the Certificate to Célico, the Council deprived her of rights protected by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Specifically, she alleges that the Council failed to adequately consider the alleged burden that the Tower would have [91]*91upon the exercise of her religious beliefs. Jaeger also alleges a simultaneous deprivation of her fundamental rights under the Connecticut Constitution. In her second claim for relief, Jaeger alleges that her freedom to exercise religious beliefs — protected under the United States and Connecticut Constitutions — was encroached upon when the Council granted Célico its Certificate. Jaeger’s third claim for relief alleges that the Tower’s construction, and the consequential depreciation of her property’s value, constitutes an unlawful taking of her property without just compensation, in violation of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. In her fourth claim, Jaeger further alleges violations of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments because Célico and the Council failed to consider the historic nature of her property. Jaeger’s fifth claim alleges substantive and procedural due process violations due to the Council’s purported conflict of financial interest under Conn. Gen.Stat. § 16-50v. Jaeger’s sixth claim alleges that the defendants violated Conn. Gen.Stat. § 16-50Í — a statute that requires local government consultation as a mandatory step in the tower application process. She argues that there was no municipal consultation, and consequently she was deprived of due process and equal protection. In her seventh claim, Jaeger argues that she was deprived of equal protection and due process when the Superior Court judge failed to disqualify himself. She further alleges that the burdensome “aggrievement” requirement contained in Conn. Gen.Stat. § 4-183(a) posed an unlawful deprivation of due process. Lastly, in her eighth claim for relief, Jaeger alleges that the defendants negligently inflicted emotional distress upon her.

In their respective motions to dismiss, defendants have raised multiple objections to the plaintiffs claims.

For the following reasons, defendants’ motions'to dismiss are granted.

I. Standard of Review

As part of their respective motions, defendants move to dismiss the complaint both for lack of standing and for failure to state a claim. The party who seeks to exercise the jurisdiction' of the court bears the burden of' establishing the court’s jurisdiction. Thompson v. County of Franklin, 15 F.3d 245, 249 (2d Cir.1994). To survive a motion brought under Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a plaintiff must clearly allege facts demonstrating that the plaintiff is a proper party to seek judicial resolution of the dispute. Id.

A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) is designed “merely to assess the legal feasibility of a complaint, not to assay the weight of evidence which might be offered in support thereof.” Ryder Energy Distribution Corp. v. Merrill Lynch Commodities, Inc., 748 F.2d 774, 779 (2d Cir.1984) (quoting Geisler v. Petrocelli, 616 F.2d 636, 639 (2d Cir.1980)).

When deciding a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the court must accept the material facts alleged in the complaint as true, draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiffs, and decide whether the plaintiff has stated a plausible claim for relief. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678-79, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009); Bell Atl Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-56, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007); Leeds v. Meltz, 85 F.3d 51, 53 (2d Cir.1996).

Under Twombly,' “[flactual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above.the speculative level,” and assert a cause of action with enough heft to show entitlement to relief and “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on [92]*92its face.” 550 U.S. at 555, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955; see also Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (“While legal conclusions can provide the framework of a complaint, they must be supported by factual allegations.”). The plausibility standard set forth in Twombly and Iqbal obligates the plaintiff to “provide the grounds of his entitlement to relief’ through more than “labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (quotation marks omitted). Plausibility at the pleading stage is nonetheless distinct from probability, and “a well-pleaded complaint may proceed even if it strikes a savvy judge that actual proof of [the claims] is improbable, and ... recovery is very remote and unlikely.” Id. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (quotation marks omitted).

II. Factual Background

The following facts are taken from Jaeger’s complaint and for the purposes of this ruling are assumed to be true.

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936 F. Supp. 2d 87, 58 Communications Reg. (P&F) 6, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49507, 2013 WL 1395694, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jaeger-v-cellco-partnership-ctd-2013.