Lynch v. Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation Inc.

278 F.R.D. 55, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83328, 2011 WL 3273872
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedJuly 29, 2011
DocketNo. 10-CV-2917 (ADS)(ETB)
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 278 F.R.D. 55 (Lynch v. Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lynch v. Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation Inc., 278 F.R.D. 55, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83328, 2011 WL 3273872 (E.D.N.Y. 2011).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER

SPATT, District Judge.

This is the second case to come before this Court involving the plaintiff Patricia Lynch’s (“Lynch” or “the Plaintiff’) written and spoken criticism of the animal euthanasia policy and operational policies at The Southampton Animal Shelter (“the Shelter”). The events underlying the first case, Lynch v. Town of Southampton (“Lynch I”), No. 05-CV-4499 took place when the Shelter was operated by the Town of Southampton (the “Town”), and arose from the Town’s decision to terminate Lynch as a volunteer at the Shelter on February 27, 2004. In addition to the Town, Lynch named her supervisor Donald Bam-brick (“Bambrick”) as a defendant in the case. After a jury trial, the Town, but not Bambrick, was held liable pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for retaliating against Lynch for exercising her First Amendment right to free speech.

Subsequent to the resolution of Lynch I, the Town entered into an agreement with the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation, Inc. (“the Foundation”) to privatize aspects of the Shelter’s operations. On January 12, 2010, after the Foundation assumed control of the Shelter, Lynch’s application to volunteer at the Shelter was denied. As a result, Lynch commenced the instant action against the Foundation, its senior officer and director Susan Allen (“Allen”), the Director of Personnel Susan Kelly ((“Kelly”) and together with the Foundation and Allen “the Foundation Defendants”), as well as the Town and Bambrick (“the Town Defendants”). The Plaintiff alleges that the Foundation Defendants and the Town Defendants (collectively “the Defendants”) denied her application to volunteer at the Shelter in retaliation for her exercising of her First Amendment rights to free speech and to petition the government for redress of her grievances in violation of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983,1985, and 1986.

Presently before the Court are the motions by the Foundation Defendants and the Town Defendants to dismiss the Plaintiffs complaint, or in the alternative to strike certain portions thereof, pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(f) (“Rule 12(f)”). Although filed separately, the motions are substantively identical and therefore the Court will treat them as one motion brought by all of the Defendants. For the reasons set forth below, the Court denies the motion to dismiss the complaint and grants in part and denies in part the motion to strike.

I. BACKGROUND

Although the complaint in this action contains a considerable amount of detail, the basic facts are fairly straightforward. Patricia Lynch is an investigative journalist who, beginning in October 2000, started investigating conditions at The Southampton Animal Shelter. At that time, the Shelter was operated by the Town of Southampton, and was supervised by senior Animal Control Of[60]*60ficer Donald Bambriek. From October 2000 until in or about February 2004, Lynch was a volunteer at the Shelter. However, Lynch’s involvement with the Shelter extended beyond that of a volunteer. As an investigative journalist, Lynch asserts that she attempted to further the interests of the Shelter and she produced a documentary film about conditions at the Shelter in January 2001. In addition, in June of 2003, Lynch began a radio show called “Pet of the Week” to help to get animals adopted by members of the community. In addition, Lynch began writing a newspaper column called “Shelter Stories” for The Southampton Press regarding animals for adoption. As detailed more fully in the complaint, through her radio show, her “Shelter Stories” and other newspaper columns, letters to the editor, and other forms of public outreach, Lynch openly criticized, among other things: (1) the Shelter’s animal euthanasia policies; (2) the Shelter’s facility operations; (3) the manner of construction of a new shelter; (4) the use of taxpayer’s money in the operations of the Shelter; and (5) the Shelter’s adoption policies.

On February 24, 2004, Lynch filed a lawsuit in the state court against the Town seeking an order enjoining the Shelter from euthanizing animals. See Lynch v. Town of Southampton, Index No. 5966-2004 (N.Y.Sup.Ct., Suffolk County) (the “State Action”). According to Lynch, the Town was given notice of the impending motion for an injunction on February 23, 2004; the request for an injunction was filed on February 24, 2004; and was subsequently covered in the local press on February 25, 2004. On August 19, 2004, Justice Melvyn Tanenbaum rendered a decision in the State Action, denying the request for an injunction and holding that there was “insufficient relevant and admissible evidence submitted to provide proof that the respondents have engaged in unreasonable and arbitrary decisions to euthanize dogs under the policy.” (Brown Deck, Ex. B at 6.)

On February 27, 2004, three days after the Town received notice of the State Action, Lynch was terminated from her position as a volunteer at the Shelter and banned from further association with the Shelter. As a result, on September 22, 2005, Lynch commenced a federal action against the Town and Bambriek alleging that her position was terminated in retaliation for her speech criticizing the Shelter and its policies. See Lynch v. Town of Southampton {“Lynch /”), No. 05-CV-4499 (Spatt, J.). This Court held a jury trial in Lynch I between February 6 and February 12, 2007, and on February 14, 2007 the jury found that the Town, but not Bambrick, was liable for retaliating against Lynch. On December 2, 2008 the Second Circuit affirmed the jury verdict and the judgment. Lynch v. Town of Southampton, — Fed.Appx. -, 2008 WL 5083010 (2d Cir. Dec. 02, 2008).

Subsequent to the Second Circuit’s decision affirming the jury’s verdict in Lynch I, the Shelter permitted Lynch to resume her duties as a volunteer dog walker.

In the spring of 2009, Lynch was allegedly approached by Susan Allen and Sonia Schot-land to assist them with attempting to privatize the Shelter. To some extent, both Allen and Sehotland had been previously involved with the Shelter. In fact, Lynch alleges that her public criticism of their involvement when the Shelter was operated by the Town resulted in both Allen and Sehotland influencing the Town’s decision to terminate her as a volunteer in 2004.

Lynch contends that Allen is a private donor and the co-founder of a charity called “Best Friends”. The complaint in this action includes certain allegations about alleged improprieties by the Best Friends charity, but there is no indication that Lynch actively reported or spoke out against Best Friends. Rather, the main source of Lynch’s interactions with Allen prior to 2009 involve Lynch’s allegations that Allen was actively involved in financing the Shelter’s new facility in August 2002 and was Bambriek’s silent partner in the operation of the Shelter until the summer of 2004. Lynch claims that in this capacity, Allen exerted undue influence and condoned certain misconduct at the Shelter which Lynch reported on in the press.

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278 F.R.D. 55, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 83328, 2011 WL 3273872, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lynch-v-southampton-animal-shelter-foundation-inc-nyed-2011.