Ravenna v. Vill. of Skokie

388 F. Supp. 3d 999
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Illinois
DecidedJune 7, 2019
DocketNo. 17 C 5685
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 388 F. Supp. 3d 999 (Ravenna v. Vill. of Skokie) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ravenna v. Vill. of Skokie, 388 F. Supp. 3d 999 (illinoised 2019).

Opinion

Honorable Thomas M. Durkin, United States District Judge

Joan Ravenna alleges that the Village of Skokie violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act in their decision to, and in the manner in which, it arrested her. The parties have cross moved for summary judgment. R. 101; R. 102; R. 105. Those motions are denied.1

Legal Standard

Summary judgment is appropriate "if the movant shows that 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, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The Court considers the entire evidentiary record and must view all of the evidence and draw all reasonable inferences from that evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. Horton v. Pobjecky , 883 F.3d 941, 948 (7th Cir. 2018). To defeat summary judgment, a nonmovant must produce more than a "mere scintilla of evidence" and come forward with "specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Johnson v. Advocate Health and Hosps. Corp. , 892 F.3d 887, 894, 896 (7th Cir. 2018). Ultimately, summary judgment is warranted only if a reasonable jury could not return a verdict for the nonmovant. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

Background

As early as August 2014, Ravenna began to call the Skokie police department to complain that her next-door neighbor had broken into her house. R. 118 ¶ 1. The record reflects that Skokie police either responded to calls from Ravenna or had conversations with her at her home on at least 41 separate days (on some days more than once) through August 1, 2015. See R. 118. The frequency of these interactions increased, with 23 occurring between June 1 and August 1, 2015. See id.

The police never found any evidence to support Ravenna's allegations against her neighbor. Rather, the police reports note that Ravenna's claims were "delusional," see , e.g. , id. ¶ 8, frequently involving Ravenna claiming either that her dog "told" her that the neighbor was entering the house, or that the dog had opened the door for the neighbor. For instance, in a report of a visit with Ravenna on May 28, 2015, the responding officer reported:

Ravenna then continued to explain how her dog (Leyla) has conversations with *1002[the neighbor] and that Leyla gives items such as clothing, jewelry, and food to him. Ravenna stated Leyla knows how to unlock the dead bolt lock on the door and turn the door knob to let [the neighbor] in when Ravenna is not in the residence.

R. 118 at 5.

At her deposition Ravenna denied making many of the statements recorded by Skokie police. But she stood by her report of May 25, 2015, see R. 118 at 10, that her neighbor had anally raped her dog:

Q. Did you ever see [the neighbor] rape your dog?
A. I saw him run out of the house the day of the rape. It was Mother's Day that year, May-the third Sunday in May, I think.
Q. Of 2015?
A. Yes.
Q. You saw him run out of the house?
A. He ran out the back while I pulled in the driveway.
Q. So you never saw him rape your dog?
A. No. I came in and she wouldn't walk.
Q. Who is she?
A. My dog.
Q. What is your dog's name?
A. Leila.
Q. Do you still own Leila?
A. Yes.
Q. And she wouldn't walk.
A. She didn't want-she wouldn't get up to eat which was highly unusual and I asked her-we have some communication. She's responsive to me. If I ask her a question and it's a yes answer, she'll wag her tail. And I asked he if she was hurted [sic], and she said yes. She indicated yes, and I said okay I'm going to pretend to be a doctor and I'm going to poke around and see what's bothering you. I don't-there must be a reason you're not moving. And I got to her tail and I lifted it up and-she's very furry. She's a border collie mix, and her entire back end was covered with blood.
Q. Did you-did you ask your dog whether she had been raped?
A. I said who hurt you, do you know. I said do you know who hurt you. She nodded and wagged her tail, and she pointed to [the neighbor's] house with her paw.
Q. And did you ask your dog if [the neighbor] had raped her?
A. If he hurt her. She doesn't know what rape means.
Q. Okay. And her response she wagged her tail? [sic]
A. Yes. And she nodded which she does sometimes.

R. 105-1 at 13-14 (52:15-54:7). The corresponding police report described the incident as follows:

[Ravenna] believes that her neighbor ... is stealthily breaking into her home at all [hours] and raping her dog, Layla. Ravenna told SPD dispatch that the dog was kidnapped, but Layla was present and appeared normal. Ravenna stated that the dog is constantly and repeatedly anally raped and sodomized by the neighbor, and that there is blood everywhere. When I asked to see the blood, Ravenna claimed that the neighbor cleaned it up just prior to SPD arrival and that [the neighbor] is very sneaky. She also told me that part of Layla's tail was removed for "easier access." The tail appeared normal.

R. 118 at 10.

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388 F. Supp. 3d 999, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ravenna-v-vill-of-skokie-illinoised-2019.