Miller v. Terrillion

391 F. Supp. 3d 217
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedDecember 24, 2018
Docket16-CV-52(ENV)(RLM)
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 391 F. Supp. 3d 217 (Miller v. Terrillion) 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
Miller v. Terrillion, 391 F. Supp. 3d 217 (E.D.N.Y. 2018).

Opinion

ERIC N. VITALIANO, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Willie Miller filed this action against defendants Officer Timothy Terrillion of the New York City Police Department ("NYPD") and the City of New York (the "City"), alleging violations of his constitutional rights as permitted by 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Compl., Dkt. 1. Defendants move for partial summary judgment. Mot. for Summ. J., Dkts. 41-44. For the reasons set forth below, defendants' motion is granted to the extent that plaintiff's equal protection and municipal liability claims are dismissed but otherwise denied as to his due process claim.

Background

The parties agree on the following facts, which mark the general contours of the underlying incident. On July 23, 2015, Miller was banned from all New York City Housing Authority ("NYCHA") property, effective August 17, 2015, including the Hammel Houses project in Far Rockaway, Queens. Defs.' R. 56.1 Stmt. ¶¶ 1-2, Dkt. 43; Akina Decl. Ex. B, Dkt. 44-2. On August *22022, 2015, five days after the ban had become effective, at around 8:30 p.m., Miller, his friend Edward Fields, and two other men entered Fields's car parked on Rockaway Beach Boulevard, a public street running along the southern boundary of Hammel Houses. Defs.' R. 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 6; Miller Dep. at 69-71, Sullivan Decl. Ex. 1, Dkt. 47-1, Akina Decl. Ex. C, Dkt. 44-3. Shortly after Fields started driving, the car was pulled over by Officer Terrillion, who arrested Miller and took him to the 100th precinct. Defs.' R. 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 8; Pl.'s R. 56.1 Stmt. at 1, Dkt. 46; Sullivan Decl. Exs. 2-4, Dkts. 47-2-47-4. The resulting criminal complaint charged Miller with criminal trespassing in the third degree under New York Penal Law § 140.10 (E), for unlawful entry into a public housing project. Sullivan Decl. Ex. 2. In September 2015, Miller received an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal on the trespassing charge. Compl. ¶ 18. Notwithstanding, the devil is in the details, since the motion turns on whether Miller, just prior to his arrest, actually entered upon the property of NYCHA's Hammel Houses.

Standard of Review

A district court must grant summary judgment if "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) ; see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S. Ct. 2548, 91 L. Ed. 2d 265 (1986). A court's responsibility in assessing the merits of a summary judgment motion is not to try issues of fact, but merely to "determine whether there are issues of fact to be tried." Sutera v. Schering Corp. , 73 F.3d 13, 15-16 (2d Cir. 1995) (quoting Katz v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. , 737 F.2d 238, 244 (2d Cir. 1984) ). The moving party bears the burden of demonstrating that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact, see Jeffreys v. City of New York , 426 F.3d 549, 554 (2d Cir. 2005), and the motion court will resolve all ambiguities and draw all permissible factual inferences in favor of the party opposing the motion, see Sec. Ins. Co. of Hartford v. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. , 391 F.3d 77, 83 (2d Cir. 2004) ; Gummo v. Vill. of Depew , 75 F.3d 98, 107 (2d Cir. 1996) ("If, as to the issue on which summary judgment is sought, there is any evidence in the record from which a reasonable inference could be drawn in favor of the opposing party, summary judgment is improper.").

If the moving party meets its initial burden of demonstrating the absence of a disputed issue of material fact, the burden shifts to the nonmoving party. Celotex Corp. , 477 U.S. at 330, 106 S.Ct. 2548. The nonmoving party may not rely solely on "conclusory allegations or unsubstantiated speculation" to defeat a motion for summary judgment. Scotto v. Almenas , 143 F.3d 105, 114 (2d Cir. 1998). Instead, the nonmoving party must "make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of [each] element essential to that party's case .... since a complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the nonmoving party's case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial." Celotex Corp. , 477 U.S. at 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548. If the evidence favoring the nonmoving party is "merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 249-50, 106 S. Ct. 2505, 91 L. Ed. 2d 202 (1986) (internal citations omitted).

Discussion

Defendants move for summary judgment on Counts Two and Three, leaving intact plaintiff's claims for false arrest and imprisonment under Count One.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
391 F. Supp. 3d 217, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-terrillion-nyed-2018.