Lachance v. Town of Charlton, Corp.

368 F. Supp. 3d 231
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedMarch 21, 2019
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 17-10480-TSH
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 368 F. Supp. 3d 231 (Lachance v. Town of Charlton, Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lachance v. Town of Charlton, Corp., 368 F. Supp. 3d 231 (D.D.C. 2019).

Opinion

HILLMAN, DISTRICT JUDGE

Michael E. Lachance ("Plaintiff") brought this claim alleging unreasonable use of force pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Count I), assault and battery (Count II), a Monell claim against the Town of Charlton (Count III), negligence (Count IV), and *236violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12131, (Count V). Defendants filed this motion for summary judgement on all claims. For the reasons stated below, Defendants' motion is granted in part and denied in part.

Background

This Court's review of the record is in the light most favorable to the party opposing summary judgment. Santiago-Ramos v. Centennial P.R. Wireless Corp. , 217 F.3d 46, 50 (1st Cir. 2000).

On January 4, 2014, Kimberly Lachance awoke in the middle of the night and called 911 because the Plaintiff, her husband, was gasping for air. Plaintiff was shaking and had rolled out of bed onto the floor. He was unresponsive and a substance was coming from his mouth. When officers arrived they attempted to stop Plaintiff from moving and administer oxygen, but Plaintiff resisted. Plaintiff then attempted to leave his apartment; he was flailing his arms and was highly agitated. The officers threw Plaintiff onto a La-Z-Boy sofa, which toppled over backwards, and Plaintiff landed on his back and shoulder. One officer fell on top of Plaintiff and a "swarm" of others quickly jumped on top of him. An officer placed his knee in the center of Plaintiff's back and then placed two sets of handcuffs on Plaintiff. Officers also used a leg-lock technique to prevent Plaintiff's kicking. Plaintiff repeatedly hit his head against the hardwood floor, so officers initially attempted to stop Plaintiff with their hands and then placed a pillow under his head. Eventually, Plaintiff was put on a stretcher. While in the ambulance, Plaintiff was kicking, thrashing, and hitting everyone around him. He struggled against the handcuffs so much that they cut his wrists open.

Plaintiff eventually arrived at UMass Memorial Medical Center where he was diagnosed with cluster seizures. Mrs. Lachance observed bruising and abrasions on Plaintiff at the hospital resulting from the altercation with officers. Similarly, Plaintiff's son observed that his father had cuff marks, deep cuts on his wrists, and bruising all over his back, ribs, and shoulders. Plaintiff suffered a thoracic T4-T5 compression fracture from being pushed over the couch which caused back pain for over a year after the incident.

Standard of Review

Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that the court shall grant summary judgment if the moving party shows, based on the materials in the record, "that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56. A factual dispute precludes summary judgment if it is both "genuine" and "material." See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). An issue is "genuine" when the evidence is such that a reasonable factfinder could resolve the point in favor of the nonmoving party. Morris v. Gov't Dev. Bank of Puerto Rico , 27 F.3d 746, 748 (1st Cir. 1994). A fact is "material" when it might affect the outcome of the suit under the applicable law. Id.

The moving party is responsible for "identifying those portions [of the record] which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). It can meet its burden either by "offering evidence to disprove an element of the plaintiff's case or by demonstrating an 'absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case.' " Rakes v. United States , 352 F.Supp.2d 47, 52 (D. Mass. 2005), aff'd , 442 F.3d 7 (1st Cir. 2006) (quoting Celotex , 477 U.S. at 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548 ). Once the moving party shows the absence of any *237disputed material fact, the burden shifts to the non-moving party to place at least one material fact into dispute. Mendes v. Medtronic, Inc. , 18 F.3d 13, 15 (1st Cir. 1994) (citing Celotex , 477 U.S. at 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548 ). When ruling on a motion for summary judgment, "the court must view the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, drawing all reasonable inferences in that party's favor." Scanlon v. Dep't of Army , 277 F.3d 598, 600 (1st Cir. 2002) (citation omitted).

Discussion

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Bluebook (online)
368 F. Supp. 3d 231, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lachance-v-town-of-charlton-corp-dcd-2019.