Lelieve v. Orosa

896 F. Supp. 2d 1190, 2012 WL 4466537, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 138958
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedSeptember 27, 2012
DocketCase No. 10-23677-CIV
StatusPublished

This text of 896 F. Supp. 2d 1190 (Lelieve v. Orosa) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lelieve v. Orosa, 896 F. Supp. 2d 1190, 2012 WL 4466537, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 138958 (S.D. Fla. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER

CECILIA M. ALTONAGA, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE came before the Court upon Defendant, Manuel Orosa’s Amended Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law and Alternative Motion for a New Trial (“the City’s Motion”) [ECF No. 155], filed April 12, 2012; and Defendant, Detective Odney Belfort’s Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law and Alternative Motion for a New Trial (“Belfort’s Motion”) [ECF No. 159], filed on May 7, 2012. The Court has carefully considered the parties’ written submissions, the record, and applicable law.

I. BACKGROUND

This case involves Section 1983 claims raised by Plaintiff, Gerald Lelieve (“Lelieve” or “Plaintiff’) against Manuel Orosa, in his official capacity as Chief of Police of the City of Miami Police Department (“the City”), and City of Miami Police Detective Odney Belfort (“Belfort”). On March 16, 2012, at the culmination of a three-day jury trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Lelieve, and against Belfort and the City. (See Special Interrogatories to the Jury (“Jury Verdict”) [ECF No. 141]). Specifically, the jury found Belfort “committed acts constituting the use of excessive or unreasonable force against the Plaintiff while the Plaintiff was being arrested or at any time thereafter while Plaintiff was in police custody, and that those acts were the proximate or legal cause of the injuries sustained by the Plaintiff’ (id. 1-2); and that Belfort was liable for $25,000 in compensatory damages as well as $50,000 in punitive damages (see id. 3). The jury also found “the Defendant City of Miami had a policy, practice or custom, as described in the Jury Instructions,[1] which was the proximate or legal cause of the injuries sustained by the Plaintiff’ (id. 2); and that [1195]*1195the City was liable for $100,000 in compensatory damages (see id. 3). The Court entered final judgment on March 20, 2012. (See Final Judgment [ECF No. 149]).

Evidence introduced at trial by Plaintiff regarding the City’s “policy, practice or custom, ... which was the proximate or legal cause” of Plaintiffs injuries includes several Internal Affairs (“IA”) documents: reports for IA case numbers 99-263, 01-207, and 01-379 (“IA Report[s]”), all of which concern citizen complaints against Belfort; and Belfort’s IA profile (also referred to as his IA history).

Both before and during trial, the parties contested the admissibility of Belfort’s IA Reports. Defendants first raised the issue in an Omnibus Motion in Limine [ECF No. 97], filed February 6, 2012, when they sought to exclude all exhibits relating to IA investigations involving Belfort. (See id. 4). The Court determined, “[a]bsent any evidence showing past complaints of police misconduct have any merit, Plaintiff is not allowed to introduce in evidence any Internal Affairs reports or reports of citizen complaints involving Defendant Belfort.” (Order dated Mar. 6, 2012, at 1 [ECF No. 125]) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). On March 12, 2012, Plaintiff then filed an Omnibus Motion in Limine [ECF No. 128] asking, in part, for the Court to deem four IA Reports as potentially admissible at trial. The motion was denied as untimely, with the parties instructed that “matters raised in the Motion may be addressed outside the presence of the jury.” (Order dated Mar. 13, 2012 [ECF No. 131]).

On the first day of trial before the jury venire was brought in the courtroom, the Court heard argument concerning the admissibility of the four IA Reports identified in Plaintiffs Omnibus Motion in Li-mine — case numbers 99-263, 01-207, 01-379, and 98-272. Case number 99-263 concerned allegations that Belfort, on June 15, 1999, accosted two pedestrians for not getting out of the way of his vehicle quickly enough, punched one in the face and [1196]*1196then pepper-sprayed both individuals. As part of its investigation, IA discovered that Belfort’s pepper spray canister weighed approximately ten grams less than non-discharged canisters, and that he had failed to report the discharge. IA found the claim of excessive force substantiated, and also found that Belfort had failed to report the use of his pepper spray, which is improper procedure. Case number 01-207 concerned allegations that Belfort lied under oath on June 13, 2001 when he stated that, in relation to the June 15, 1999 incident, it was common practice for members of the S.W.A.T. Team to discharge their pepper spray and not report the discharge to a supervisor or complete proper paperwork. IA found that an allegation that Belfort was untruthful was substantiated. Case number 01-379 dealt with a complaint from an individual who alleged that while in the course of being arrested, Belfort grabbed him, threw him on the ground, and slammed the left side of the individual’s face to the ground and dragged it on the cement, causing abrasions to his face. Belfort failed to file an injury report when the individual was arrested. IA found that allegations of excessive force were unsubstantiated, but that an allegation of improper procedure was substantiated.

During the colloquy, the Court denied the admission of IA Report 98-272, which detailed a separate allegation, because Plaintiff failed to show the complaint had merit.2 By contrast, the complaints underlying IA Reports 99-263, 01-207, and 01-379 were “sustained on multiple levels” (Trial Tr. Vol. I, at 9:13; see id. 10:22-23; id. 11:13-21), before the Civil Service Board3 ultimately rendered final decisions in favor of Belfort (see id. 9:6-7; 10:20-21). According to Plaintiff, therefore, these Reports demonstrated merit. The undersigned agreed, explaining: “I don’t think the standard is that they have to be definitively proved, but that there has to be some evidence that those claims of police misconduct have merit, and having gone through all of those levels and having been found to have had merit at different levels, I think that’s sufficient for the plaintiff to be entitled to present these two [IA Reports 99-263 and 01-207].” (Id. 11:5-11; see id. 12:5-6 (allowing introduction of IA Report 01-379)).

As to both IA Reports 01-207 and 01-379, Defendants also argued that because the associated Internal Affairs investigations did not concern abusive treatment, the Reports would not tend to prove or disprove Plaintiffs claims against the City, and were therefore irrelevant. (See id. 10:25-11:2; 11:25-12:4). The Court noted the objection, but permitted the Reports’ admission. (See id. 11:5-11, 12:5-6). Immediately following this ruling, Defendants orally renewed an earlier motion to bifurcate the trial. (See id. 12:9-11; Mot. to Bifurcate Trial [ECF No. 94] (filed Feb. 2, 2012); Order dated Feb. 28, 2012 (denying Mot. to Bifurcate Trial) [ECF No. 112]). That request was denied. (See Trial Tr. Vol. I, at 12:12).

[1197]*1197During the first day of trial, Defendants objected to the admission of IA Report 99-263, stating in support: “[Pjrior objection and the doctrine of completeness. It doesn’t include the final judgment from the Civil Service Board.” (Trial Tr. Vol. I, at 113:12-14; see also id. 112:21-22). Defendants objected to the admission of IA Report 01-207, stating, “[w]e renew our prior objection and object on grounds of relevance” (id. 124:24-25); and they also objected to IA Report 01-379 on the same grounds. (See id. 136:14-15).

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

Related

Piotrowski v. City of Houston
237 F.3d 567 (Fifth Circuit, 2001)
Morro v. City of Birmingham
117 F.3d 508 (Eleventh Circuit, 1997)
Gold v. City of Miami
151 F.3d 1346 (Eleventh Circuit, 1998)
Abel v. Dubberly
210 F.3d 1334 (Eleventh Circuit, 2000)
Peat, Inc. v. Vanguard Research, Inc.
378 F.3d 1154 (Eleventh Circuit, 2004)
Henry Lee Leroy Pickett v. Iowa Beef Processors
420 F.3d 1272 (Eleventh Circuit, 2005)
Joseph R. Campbell v. Rainbow City, Alabama
434 F.3d 1306 (Eleventh Circuit, 2006)
Montgomery Ward & Co. v. Duncan
311 U.S. 243 (Supreme Court, 1940)
Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs.
436 U.S. 658 (Supreme Court, 1978)
Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati
475 U.S. 469 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Greer v. Miller
483 U.S. 756 (Supreme Court, 1987)
City of St. Louis v. Praprotnik
485 U.S. 112 (Supreme Court, 1988)
City of Canton v. Harris
489 U.S. 378 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Craig v. Floyd County, Ga.
643 F.3d 1306 (Eleventh Circuit, 2011)
Richard Williams v. The City of Valdosta
689 F.2d 964 (Eleventh Circuit, 1982)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
896 F. Supp. 2d 1190, 2012 WL 4466537, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 138958, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lelieve-v-orosa-flsd-2012.