Martinez v. Miami-Dade County

32 F. Supp. 3d 1232, 2014 WL 3591595, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98709
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedJuly 21, 2014
DocketCase No. 12-23534-CIV
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 32 F. Supp. 3d 1232 (Martinez v. Miami-Dade County) 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
Martinez v. Miami-Dade County, 32 F. Supp. 3d 1232, 2014 WL 3591595, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98709 (S.D. Fla. 2014).

Opinion

OMNIBUS ORDER ON MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

PATRICIA A. SEITZ, District Judge.

THIS MATTER is before the Court on Miami-Dade County’s Motion for Final Summary Judgment [DE-109] and Defendants Blue Martini Kendall, LLC and Blue Martini Kendall, Inc.’s Motion for Summary Judgment [DE-106]. This action arises from an incident outside the Blue Martini’s bar/restaurant/night club in Miami, when off-duty police officers working security for Blue Martini allegedly battered and arrested Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs filed a fifteen count complaint against Miami-Dade County, the individual officers involved in the incident, the Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, Blue Martini Kendall, LLC and Blue Martini Kendall, Inc. Plaintiffs’ claims against Miami-Dade County, the individual officers, and the Director have settled.

Four of Plaintiffs’ claims remain: (1) each Plaintiffs claim against the Blue Martini Defendants for vicarious liability and (2) and each Plaintiffs claim for negligence against the Blue Martini Defendants. The Blue Martini Defendants seek summary judgment on these four claims. Additionally, the Blue Martini Defendants and Miami-Dade County (Miami-Dade or the County) have cross-moved for summary judgment on Miami-Dade’s claims for indemnification and contribution from the Blue Martini Defendants.1 Because no genuine issue of material fact exists as to Plaintiffs’ claims against Blue Martini, Blue Martini is entitled to summary judg[1234]*1234ment on Plaintiffs’ claims against it. Because Miami-Dade has established that Blue Martini owed it a statutory duty of indemnity, Miami-Dade County is entitled to summary judgment on its claim for indemnity.

1. Undisputed Material Facts

The Miami-Dade Police Department’s Off-Duty Program

The Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) operates a program to contract out off-duty police officers to provide police services to private entities seeking police services at public and private events. (DE-109-4, ¶ 4.) When an off-duty police officer works in this program he or she has the same discretion and police authority as when he or she responds to calls for service while on-duty. (Lewis Dep.2 60:7-11.) Any arrest made by an off-duty officer is made on behalf of the MDPD, not the private establishment. (Lewis Dep. 60:12-19.)

A private employer seeking to partake in the program gives directions to MDPD, through the permit application, about where the off-duty officers are supposed to work and MDPD relays that information to the individual officers. (Sanchez Dep.3 28:3-20.) The MDPD does not allow off-duty officers to work inside or at the door of establishments that serve alcohol. (Marquez Dec!.4 at ¶ 6.) Lydia Marquez, the off-duty coordinator at the relevant time, was responsible for assigning the off-duty officers to work each permit. (Marquez Decl. at ¶ 11.)

All payments for off-duty officers are made directly to MDPD. (DE-108-3.) The Off-Duty Services ■ Information and Price Sheet given to private employers who wish to use off-duty officers states:

PLEASE BE ADVISED [MDPD IS] UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO SUPPLY OFFICERS FOR YOUR EVENT. ALL OFF-DUTY JOBS ARE WORKED BY OFFICERS ON A VOLUNTARY BASIS ONLY. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CONTACT THE OFF-DUTY COORDINATOR TO CONFIRM IF AN OFFICER WILL BE RESPONDING.

(DE-108-3 (all capitals in original).)

Blue Martini’s Participation in the Off-Duty Program

In 2010, Herberto Sanchez, the operating partner of Blue Martini Kendall, LLC, which owns and operates the Blue Martini bar/restaurant/night club contacted Officer Lydia Marquez, MDPD’s off-duty coordinator in the Kendall district, to obtain off-duty police services at the Blue Martini Kendall location at 8405 Mills Drive, Miami, Florida. (Marquez Deck, ¶ 5; Sanchez Dep. 17:4-14.) During the permitting process, two officers, Marquez and Duarte visited the Blue Martini location and met with Sanchez. (Marquez Deck at ¶ 7.) During that visit, Marquez and Duarte made clear to Sanchez that any off-duty officers could only work in the mall/breeze way area outside of the Blue Martini. (Marquez Deck at ¶ 8.)

The permit application states that the specific location of police services will be the “breeze way area.” (Marquez Deck, Ex. A.) It further states that the services to be provided are “police services.” (Id.) The permit does not request any particular equipment but does specifically request a [1235]*1235supervisor, or sergeant, and one officer. (Id.) The permit application also states:

It is farther understood by all parties that a police officer performing off-regular-duty service who takes police action falling within the purview, or on the permit holder’s premises, shall remain in an off-regular-duty 'service status for the duration of time it takes to complete the processing of such action.... However, an officer taking police action outside the purview of the permit, or off the permit holder’s premises, will revert to an on-duty status.

(Id.) The permit was filled out on behalf of Blue Martini Kendall, LLC. (Id.) Blue Martini Kendall, LLC’s permit application was approved by MDPD on June 20, 2010. (Id.).

The Incident Involving Plaintiffs

On the night of October 2-3, 2010, Miami-Dade Police officers Orlando Fleites and Jose Huerta were working for Blue Martini as off-duty police officers pursuant to the permit. (Marquez Deck at ¶ 13.) That night, Plaintiffs, Gustavo and Elsa Martinez, who are brother and sister, arrived for drinks at the Blue Martini sometime before midnight. Later that night, Plaintiffs were in the breeze way area having a discussion about who would drive home. During the discussion, Gustavo made physical contact with Elsa. At some point during the discussion between the Martinezes, Officers Huerta and Fleites detained Gustavo by physically taking him to the ground, punching him and then arresting him. (G. Martinez Dep.5 59:1-9; security camera video DE-110.) After Gustavo was restrained, Officer Huerta grabbed Elsa by the throat, pushed her onto a bench, and placed her under arrest. (E. Martinez Dep.6 58:23-59:4; DE-110.) According to Sanchez, Blue Martini’s operating partner, no Blue Martini employees participated directly in the detention or arrest of the Martinezes. (Sanchez Dep. 27:1-13.) The entire incident occurred in the breeze way area outside of the Blue Martini and was captured by a video surveillance camera. (DE-110.)

On the night of the incident, no Blue Martini employees gave any instructions to the officers. (Lewis Dep. 79:2-13.) While the officers were working off-duty, they were not under the control of Blue Martini. (Lewis Dep. 79:14-18.) Plaintiffs both testified that they saw officers inside Blue Martini on the night of the incident. (G. Martinez Dep. 78:6-20; E. Martinez Dep. 69:11-16.) Further, both testified that Blue Martini employees actively engaged in their detention. (G. Martinez Dep. 65:2-67:10; E. Martinez Dep.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
32 F. Supp. 3d 1232, 2014 WL 3591595, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98709, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/martinez-v-miami-dade-county-flsd-2014.