Rodriguez v. City of Miami

907 F. Supp. 2d 1327, 2012 WL 6041589, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 179170
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedDecember 4, 2012
DocketCase No. 11-24213-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 907 F. Supp. 2d 1327 (Rodriguez v. City of Miami) 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
Rodriguez v. City of Miami, 907 F. Supp. 2d 1327, 2012 WL 6041589, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 179170 (S.D. Fla. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (D.E. 31) AS TO PLAINTIFF’S FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS CLAIMS, DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT WITHOUT PREJUDICE AS TO PLAINTIFF’S SUPPLEMENTAL STATE-LAW CLAIMS, REMANDING PLAINTIFF’S STATE-LAW CLAIMS TO STATE COURT, AND CLOSING CASE

JOAN A. LENARD, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE is before the Court on Defendant City of Miami’s Motion for Summary Judgment (D.E. 31), filed September 14, 2012. Plaintiff Janet Rodriguez filed her Response (D.E. 36) on September 28, 2012, and the City filed its Reply (D.E. 37) on October 1, 2012. Having considered the referenced filings, related pleadings, and record, the Court finds as follows.

[1329]*1329I. Facts

Plaintiff is the owner and landlord of an apartment building located at 745 NW 60th Street in Miami, Florida. (See Amended Complaint, D.E. 28 ¶ 1.) At some point Plaintiff rented one of her apartments to tenant Tracy Thomas. (Defendant’s Statement of Undisputed Material Facts, D.E. 31 ¶ 6.) On December 29, 2009, Thomas called the police reporting that her apartment had been burglarized. (See id. ¶¶ 8-10.) City of Miami Police Officer Dashon Yearby responded. {Id. ¶ 7.) Upon arriving at the apartment complex, Officer Yearby spoke with Thomas. (Id. ¶ 8.) Thomas told Officer Yearby that Plaintiff had broken into her apartment, removed furniture and other items, and thrown them across the street. (Id. ¶¶ 9, 10.) Officer Yearby contacted MiamiDade County to determine whether a writ of possession had been issued for Thomas’s apartment. (Id. ¶ 13.) The County had no information regarding a writ of possession. (Id.) Based on Thomas’s statements and the absence of any information concerning a writ of possession, Officer Year-by arrested Plaintiff for burglary and took her into custody. (Id. ¶ 14.)

Plaintiff subsequently filed this action against the City of Miami alleging that her arrest and detention were unlawful. Plaintiff initiated her action in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for MiamiDade County, Florida (see State Court Complaint, D.E. 1-3 at 1), and the City removed the action to this Court (see Notice of Removal, D.E. 1 at 1). The basis of Plaintiffs claims is unclear, but Plaintiff appears to raise the following four counts against the City: (I) false arrest under Florida state law; (II) false imprisonment under Florida state law; (III) municipal liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for failure to train and/or properly supervise officers; and (IV) municipal liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 based on deliberate indifference to constitutional rights. (See Amended Complaint, D.E. 28 at 4-8; see also Motion for Summary Judgment, D.E. 31 at 5-12.) Plaintiff claims that Thomas was a former tenant who had been evicted, that Plaintiff had lawfully entered the subject apartment to remove items inside, and that her ensuing arrest and detention for burglary were unjustifiable. (See Amended Complaint, D.E. 28 at 3-4.)

II. Motion for Summary Judgment

The City now moves for summary judgment. (See Motion for Summary Judgment, D.E. 31 at 1.) The City argues that that there is no record evidence supporting Plaintiffs claims of municipal liability under Section 1983. (Id. at 5.) The City argues specifically that the record fails to establish any custom or policy that was the moving force behind Plaintiffs alleged constitutional violations. (Id. at 6.) The City. also argues that sovereign immunity bars Plaintiffs state-law claims of false arrest and false imprisonment. (Id. at 8.)

Plaintiff argues in response that there are genuine issues of fact which preclude summary judgment. (See Response, D.E. 36 at 5.) Plaintiff further argues, in relevant part, that Officer Yearby “consulted with her supervisor before effectuating the arrest of the Plaintiff, proving that the City engaged in wrongful conduct well within the scope of their employment.” (Id. at 6.) In connection with her Response, Plaintiff has neither submitted nor cited any record evidence other than her own affidavit recounting the subject incident. (See Plaintiffs Aff., D.E. 36-1 at 1.)

III. Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment is appropriate only if it is shown “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). The Su[1330]*1330preme Court has explained the summary judgment standard as follows:

[T]he plain language of Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. In such a situation, there can be no genuine issue as to any material fact, since a complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the non-moving party’s case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial.

Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The trial court’s function at this juncture is not “to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A dispute about a material fact is genuine if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Id. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505; see also Barfield v. Brierton, 883 F.2d 923, 933 (11th Cir.1989). The Court is to construe the evidence and factual inferences arising therefrom in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970).

On summary judgment, a party asserting that a fact cannot be or is genuinely disputed must support the assertion by: (A) citing to particular parts of materials in the record, including depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations, stipulations (including those made for purposes of the motion only), admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials; or (B) showing that the materials cited do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute, or that an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1).

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907 F. Supp. 2d 1327, 2012 WL 6041589, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 179170, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rodriguez-v-city-of-miami-flsd-2012.