Pearce v. Labella

971 F. Supp. 2d 255, 2013 WL 5291394, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134689
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. New York
DecidedSeptember 20, 2013
DocketNo. 6:10-CV-1569
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 971 F. Supp. 2d 255 (Pearce v. Labella) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pearce v. Labella, 971 F. Supp. 2d 255, 2013 WL 5291394, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134689 (N.D.N.Y. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM-DECISION and ORDER

DAVID N. HURD,. District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This case arises from the September 28, 2009, murder of Kristin Mary Palumbo Longo (“Kristin”) by her estranged hus[259]*259band, Joseph A. Longo, Jr. (“Longo”), an officer with the Utica Police Department (“UPD”). Plaintiffs Gina and Steven Pearce — as guardians of Kristin’s distribu-tees 1 — and Joseph Longo, as a distributee of Kristin (collectively “plaintiffs”), bring this action alleging violations of Kristin’s federal constitutional rights. The defendants include Daniel LaBella, former Chief of the UPD and Commissioner of Public Safety (“Chief LaBella”), and the City of Utica/UPD (“the City”) (collectively “defendants”).2

In their original complaint, plaintiffs asserted six federal causes of action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 as well as a pendent state law negligence claim.3 In a March 1, 2011, Memorandum — Decision and Order, defendants’ motion to dismiss was granted in part and denied in part, and plaintiffs were granted leave to file an amended complaint. Pearce, 766 F.Supp.2d at 380. The only remaining causes of action are the federal substantive due process claim and the pendent state negligence claim. Both claims are asserted against both defendants.

The parties have completed extensive discovery, and defendants now seek summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. They also seek to strike the report and testimony of plaintiffs’ expert, Dr. Jon M. Shane (“Dr. Shane”). These motions have been fully briefed. Oral argument was heard on August 27, 2013, in Utica, New York. Decision was reserved.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise noted, the following facts are undisputed. During the relevant time period Chief LaBella served as Chief of the UPD, and Mark Williams served as a deputy chief (“Deputy Chief Williams”).4 Longo was employed as an investigator for the UPD. As explained by Deputy Chief Williams during his deposition, Longo’s chain of command in 2009 began with Sergeant Peter Scalise (“Sgt. Scalise”), who reported to Lieutenant Michael Zdanowicz (“Lt. Zdanowicz”), who reported to Captain James Watson (“Capt. Watson”), who reported to Deputy Chief Williams, who reported to Chief LaBella. Chief LaBella [260]*260and Longo were friends and had worked closely together on the UPD in the past.

Kristin and Longo were married in the early 1990s and had four children together. Their marriage was fraught with discord, and Longo subjected Kristin and the children to verbal and, at times, physical abuse. The marital problems intensified in May and June 2009 when Longo began an extramarital affair with Katheryn Za-lewski, a UPD officer (“Kate”). Longo moved out of the marital home — which was located just outside the city of Utica in the adjoining Town of Deerfield, New York— and moved into his father’s house, also in Deerfield. In July 2009 Kristin retained a local attorney, George Massoud (“Mas-soud”), for the purpose of initiating divorce proceedings against Longo.

According to Massoud and Kristin’s sister, plaintiff Gina Pearce, Kristin contacted one of Longo’s supervisors at the UPD on or about July 19, 2009, to report an incident of domestic violence wherein Lon-go became enraged and pushed Kristin and/or their eight-year-old son to the ground. Kristin reportedly told Massoud and her sister that the supervisor discouraged her from seeking an order of protection because such could impact his employment and, in turn, the family’s finances. Kristin’s father, Joseph Palumbo, recounted the same event and identified Deputy Chief Michael Bailey (“Deputy Chief Bailey”) as the supervisor who discouraged her from seeking an order of protection.

On July 22 the UPD received an anonymous written complaint against Longo. The complaint, dated June 1, 2009, and signed by a “Concerned employee,” alleged that Longo handled his loaded service weapon in an unsafe manner on three separate occasions while working as a part-time security guard at Proctor High School in the City.5 At the direction of Deputy Chief Williams, Lieutenant David Mickle (“Lt. Mickle”) of the UPD’s Professional Standards Unit6 initiated a month-long internal investigation into the school incidents on July 23. Numerous witnesses were interviewed, including Longo and Kate. Longo initially denied the allegations.

On July 28 Shannon Tibbitts, an employee at the high school, advised Lt. Mickle that during the past school year Longo had approached her from behind and placed his gun against her ribs. While Tibbitts initially claimed Longo was only joking, during a subsequent interview she told Lt. Mickle that when he jabbed her with his gun, “It fucking hurt my side, I cried.” Festine Aff., Ex. 10, 9, ECF No. 57-11 (“Internal Report”).7 On July 30 Shibe Coulett, another school employee, told Lt. Mickle that in January or February of 2009 Longo jokingly removed his gun from his holster and pointed it at Coulett’s chest after Coulett asked if Lon-go had a new gun.

On August 3 Longo approached Capt. Watson and Lt. Zdanowicz in the police station. Longo claimed that he had spoken with Chief LaBella about the ongoing internal school investigation. According to Capt. Watson, Longo stated that “Danny” — referring to Chief LaBella — -assured him that “he would be all set as far as this investigation was concerned.” Id. at 22. [261]*261Likewise, Lt. Zdanowicz reported: “Inv. Longo stated that he spoke with Danny (Chief LaBella) and he was told that this was taken care of, and was a done deal.” Id. at 28. Chief LaBella denies making such statements to Longo. Lt. Mickle briefed Deputy Chief Williams and Chief LaBella on the status of the school investigation on August 11. Chief LaBella issued a memorandum on August 13 suspending Longo from working as a security guard at the high school pending the result of the school investigation.

On August 14 Kristin twice called Lon-go’s immediate supervisor, Sgt. Scalise, to report concerns regarding Longo’s behavior in the wake of his suspension. She advised that he had been crying and pacing in the front yard of the marital home the previous evening. She also reported that in the past two weeks Longo had sent her text messages threatening to harm her and himself. She voiced her fear for herself and the children, and claimed Longo was suicidal and had recently threatened to “go postal” on the family while brandishing his gun. Sgt. Scalise advised Kristin that he took her concerns seriously and promised to address them. He then communicated this information to Capt. Watson, who, in turn, contacted Deputy Chief Bailey and Chief LaBella.8

Deputy Chief Bailey and Chief LaBella each reportedly contacted Longo by phone on August 14 to discuss Kristin’s concerns. According to Deputy Chief Bailey and Chief LaBella, Longo advised that he was on a boat in the Saint Lawrence River with Kate, denied any suicidal ideation at the time, and claimed that he had begun meeting with a counselor.

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Bluebook (online)
971 F. Supp. 2d 255, 2013 WL 5291394, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134689, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pearce-v-labella-nynd-2013.