Lelieve v. Oroso

846 F. Supp. 2d 1294, 2012 WL 691536, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31506
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedFebruary 14, 2012
DocketCase No. 10-23677-CIV
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 846 F. Supp. 2d 1294 (Lelieve v. Oroso) 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. Oroso, 846 F. Supp. 2d 1294, 2012 WL 691536, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31506 (S.D. Fla. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER

CECILIA M. ALTONAGA, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE came before the Court upon Defendant, Detective Odney Belfort’s (“Belfort[’s]”) Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on Counts III and VI of the Amended Complaint (“Motion”) [ECF No. 81], filed on December 6, 2011. The Court has carefully considered the parties’ written submissions and applicable law.

I. BACKGROUND

Defendant Belfort is a police officer employed by the City of Miami Police Department (“Miami Police Department”). (See Belfort Decl. ¶ 1 [ECF No. 12-1]). He has been employed in this capacity for the past sixteen years. (See id.).

In October 2006 Belfort was assigned to the Crime Suppression Unit of the Miami Police Department. (See id. ¶ 2). On October 11, 2006, Belfort was conducting surveillance of a duplex known for narcotics sales. (See id. ¶ 3). At the time of the surveillance, he was inside a van parked in front of the duplex. (See id. ¶ 4). Belfort maintains he did not observe other police officers stop Lelieve’s vehicle, he was not there when the officers arrested Lelieve, and he “never came into physical contact” with Lelieve. (Id. ¶ 16; see id. ¶¶ 14, 15).

Lelieve disputes Belfort’s assertion that he was not involved in Lelieve’s arrest. Lelieve contends that Belfort arrived on the scene and “was kicking and stomping him as well.” (PL’s Compl. in Case No. 09-20574-Civ-Lenard/White (“Former Complaint”), at 61 [ECF No. [1299]*129981-1] ).2 Belfort then “continued to punch, kick, stomp and assault [Lelieve].” (Id.).

Following the assault, Lelieve was “placed into the rear of the awaiting Patrol Car bleeding from his mouth[ ][and] spitting blood.” (Id. 6). The police took Lelieve to Jackson Memorial Hospital (“JMH”) for medical treatment. (See id. 7). The medical staff examined Lelieve and then released him back into police custody. (See id.). Sometime thereafter, Lelieve returned to JMH to undergo surgery for abdominal internal bleeding. (See id.). At most two hours elapsed between the time he was placed in the patrol car following his assault to the time he was rushed to JMH for surgery (his second trip to JMH that day). (See id. 7-8).

In his Amended Complaint, Lelieve asserts several claims against Belfort. At issue in the present Motion are two of them. First, under Count III, Lelieve alleges that Belfort deprived Lelieve of his civil rights by demonstrating deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs in violation of 42 U.S.C. section 1983. (See Am. Compl. 9). Specifically, Lelieve asserts that he had a serious medical condition which required “immediate medical attention” that was “so obvious that even a lay person would easily recognize the necessity for prompt medical attention.” (Id. ¶ 55). Second, under Count VI of the Amended Complaint, Lelieve alleges that Belfort breached his duty of care by “using excessive force against Lelieve and failing to provide immediate medical care.” (Id. ¶ 88). In his Motion, Belfort asserts that he is entitled to qualified immunity from the section 1983 claims identified in Count III, and that Count VI fails to state a cause of action for negligence.

II. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

Summary judgment shall be rendered “if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). In making this assessment, the Court “must view all the evidence and all factual inferences reasonably drawn from the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party,” Stewart v. Happy Herman’s Cheshire Bridge, [1300]*1300Inc., 117 F.3d 1278, 1285 (11th Cir.1997), and “must resolve all reasonable doubts about the facts in favor of the non-movant.” United of Omaha Life Ins. Co. v. Sun Life Ins. Co. of Am., 894 F.2d 1555, 1558 (11th Cir.1990).

Belfort’s Motion addresses the qualified-immunity defense, and as noted, the parties dispute whether Belfort took part in Lelieve’s arrest or assaulted Lelieve by punching, kicking, or stomping him. Nonetheless, “ ‘[t]o deny summary judgment any time a material issue of fact remains ... could undermine the goal of qualified immunity to avoid excessive disruption of government and permit the resolution of many insubstantial claims on summary judgment.’ ” Robinson v. Arrugueta, 415 F.3d 1252, 1257 (11th Cir. 2005) (quoting Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 201, 121 S.Ct. 2151, 150 L.Ed.2d 272 (2001) (quotations and citations omitted)). Thus,

[w]hen conducting a qualified immunity analysis, district courts must take the facts in the light most favorable to the party asserting the injury. Saucier, 533 U.S. at 201, 121 S.Ct. 2151. When a district court considers the record in this light, it eliminates all issues of fact. By approaching the record in this way, the court has the plaintiffs best case before it. With the plaintiffs best case in hand, the court is able to move to the question of whether the defendant committed the constitutional violation alleged in the complaint without having to assess any facts in dispute.

Id.

III. ANALYSIS

A. Qualified Immunity

Belfort argues he is entitled to qualified immunity from the section 1983 claims identified in Count III. (See Mot. 5-10). “Qualified immunity offers complete protection for government officials sued in their individual capacities if their conduct ‘does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.’ ” Kingsland v. City of Miami 382 F.3d 1220, 1231 (11th Cir.2004) (quoting Vinyard v. Wilson, 311 F.3d 1340, 1346 (11th Cir.2002)). In order to be entitled to the qualified-immunity defense, a government official must demonstrate that the acts complained of were committed within the scope of the officer’s discretionary authority. Id. at 1232. Once the officer has done so, “the burden shifts to the plaintiff to show that qualified immunity is not appropriate.” Lee v. Ferraro, 284 F.3d 1188, 1194 (11th Cir.2002); see also McClish v. Nugent, 483 F.3d 1231, 1237 (11th Cir. 2007); Montoute v. Carr, 114 F.3d 181, 184 (11th Cir.1997) (“[O]nce an officer or official has raised the defense of qualified immunity, the burden of persuasion as to that issue is on the plaintiff.”). This is embodied in the Eleventh Circuit’s two-part

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Bluebook (online)
846 F. Supp. 2d 1294, 2012 WL 691536, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31506, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lelieve-v-oroso-flsd-2012.