Laboy v. Ont. Cnty.

318 F. Supp. 3d 582
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. New York
DecidedJuly 23, 2018
Docket6:14-CV-6086 EAW
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 318 F. Supp. 3d 582 (Laboy v. Ont. Cnty.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Laboy v. Ont. Cnty., 318 F. Supp. 3d 582 (W.D.N.Y. 2018).

Opinion

ELIZABETH A. WOLFORD, United States District Judge

INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Juan A. Laboy ("Plaintiff") commenced this action on February 24, *5842014, against Ontario County, the Ontario County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Philip C. Provero, deputies Rebecca Edington, Nathan Bowerman, and Patrick Fitzgerald, and Jason Housel, Esq., pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging malicious prosecution, false arrest, and a claim based upon Monell v. Dep't of Social Servs. , 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978), arising from a warrantless arrest inside the Plaintiff's home on August 1, 2010. (Dkt. 1). By a Decision and Order entered May 4, 2015, this Court dismissed all claims against all defendants. (Dkt. 45). Plaintiff appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and that court affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded the case to this Court for further proceedings. (Dkt. 49).

Specifically, the Second Circuit agreed that this Court had properly dismissed Plaintiff's malicious prosecution and false arrest claims, but the court vacated the dismissal of Plaintiff's Monell claim against the County,1 stating as follows:

Although the initial complaint was insufficient to state a [ Monell ] claim, the proposed amended complaint added allegations that may plausibly suggest that the County had a policy or custom, which County officials knew about and approved, of depriving arrestees of their constitutional rights. See Payton v. New York , 445 U.S. 573, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 63 L.Ed.2d 639 (1980). Although the district court briefly considered the plausibility of a stand-alone Payton claim as pleaded in Laboy's initial complaint, ... the district court had no opportunity to consider a Payton -based Monell claim. Accordingly, we remand to the district court to determine, in the first instance, whether such a claim is plausible, would have been timely made, and if so, to permit [Plaintiff] to amend his complaint.

(Dkt. 49 at 4).

This Court held a telephone status conference on October 27, 2016, and set a briefing scheduling to address the issue remanded by the appellate court. (Dkt. 51). Plaintiff filed papers in support of his request to amend the complaint on November 28, 2016, and November 30, 2016. (Dkt. 53; Dkt. 54). The County submitted its response in opposition on December 23, 2016 (Dkt. 55), and Plaintiff replied on January 9, 2017 (Dkt. 56).

In sum, on remand, the Court must consider the narrow question of whether Plaintiff's proposed amended complaint contains a plausible Monell claim against the County based on Payton . The Court concludes that it does. Therefore, Plaintiff's request to amend the complaint (Dkt. 28) is granted, and the County's motion to dismiss (Dkt. 14) is denied insofar as the Court permits Plaintiff's amended complaint to go forward against the County with respect to his Monell claim.

DISCUSSION

The Court assumes familiarity with its May 4, 2015, Decision and Order (Dkt. 45) and will restate only the facts and background relevant to the narrow issue presently before this Court.

I. Legal Standards

A. Motion to Dismiss

" 'In considering a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), a district court must limit itself to facts stated in the complaint or in documents attached to the complaint as exhibits or incorporated in the complaint by *585reference.' " Newman & Schwartz v. Asplundh Tree Expert Co. , 102 F.3d 660, 662 (2d Cir. 1996) (quoting Kramer v. Time Warner, Inc. , 937 F.2d 767, 773 (2d Cir. 1991) ). A court should consider the motion "accepting all factual allegations in the complaint and drawing all reasonable inferences in the plaintiff's favor." Ruotolo v. City of N.Y. , 514 F.3d 184, 188 (2d Cir. 2008) (internal quotation marks omitted). To withstand dismissal, a plaintiff must set forth "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). " 'A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.' " Turkmen v. Ashcroft , 589 F.3d 542, 546 (2d Cir. 2009) (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) ).

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Bluebook (online)
318 F. Supp. 3d 582, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/laboy-v-ont-cnty-nywd-2018.