Rusinowski v. Village of Hillside

19 F. Supp. 3d 798, 2014 WL 477439, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15194
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedFebruary 6, 2014
DocketCase No. 11 C 4772
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 19 F. Supp. 3d 798 (Rusinowski v. Village of Hillside) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rusinowski v. Village of Hillside, 19 F. Supp. 3d 798, 2014 WL 477439, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15194 (N.D. Ill. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Harry D. Leinenweber, Judge, United States District Court

Before the Court are four Motions for Summary Judgment and two Motions to Strike, all filed by Defendants.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Steven Rusinowski (“Steven”) is (or at least was) an active user of “Battle-Cam.com,” a website where users broadcast themselves on camera and role-play with other users in aggressive, intimidating, and combative scenarios. On this website, users expect to see pranks, threats, and unusual behavior. Steven’s online role-playing overflowed into real life, leading ultimately to this nine-count lawsuit against five defendants.

The principal events took place on and shortly after March 4, 2011, but relevant background goes back somewhat further. Steven is twenty-nine years old, enrolled in classes at Elmhurst College, and lives with his father, Plaintiff Joseph Rusinowski, in Hillside, Illinois. On November 11, 2010, Hillside Police arrived unannounced at the Rusinowski home based on a “concerned citizen” report from a caller who claimed that Steven was suicidal. The Police entered the home and found Steven sleeping in his bedroom with no apparent suicidal thoughts. Joseph Rusinowski later learned from Hillside Police Chief Joseph Lukaszek (“Chief Lukaszek”) that Defendant Robert DiDomenico (“DiDomenico”) was the anonymous caller, though DiDo-menico disputes that he placed the call.

A few months later (the exact date is unclear), Elmhurst College security received a call stating that Steven was bringing weapons to and selling drugs on campus. The College’s security employees observed Steven on BattleCam.com and notified Elmhurst Police of their concerns about Steven.

This brings us to March 4, 2011. Starting around midnight, Steven was on Batt-leCam.com with DiDomenico, a user with whom Steven was acquainted. The two were online for more than eight hours [805]*805straight. Steven was displaying a handgun, making lewd comments about other users, and drinking beer — all of which seem par for the BattleCam.com course. DiDomenico decided to call the Hillside Police — depending on whom you ask, DiDomenico was playing either a prank on Steven or concerned for Steven’s safety and well-being. DiDomenico spoke with Chief Lukaszek and told him that Steven could be seen on BattleCam.com drinking, waving loaded weapons, and threatening himself and others. Chief Lukaszek later testified that DiDomenico told him that Steven was suicidal.

In response to the call, Chief Lukaszek drove to the Rusinowski house in his police vehicle. Once there, he stayed in his car and observed a live feed of Steven on BattleCam.com for 20-25 minutes. He saw Steven waving guns around, drinking, “acting obnoxious,” and threatening someone named Alex who lives in North or South Carolina. Chief Lukaszek did not hear Steven threaten suicide, but based on the circumstances, Chief Lukaszek was concerned for the safety of Steven and others.

Chief Lukaszek called the Rusinowski house several times, but nobody answered. He then approached the house and knocked on the front door. Steven answered the door, but did not open it the entire way, apparently because the door sticks easily. Chief Lukaszek could see only one of Steven’s hands, so he asked Steven to show both hands. Steven says that he complied with this order, but Chief Lukaszek contends that Steven refused eight commands to show both hands and responded with “why” and “but why” after each one. Lukaszek Dep. 87:13-88:14. Chief Lukaszek may have ordered Steven to get on the ground, but the record is unclear. The parties agree that, eventually, Chief Lukaszek grabbed Steven’s arm and pulled him outside. Steven fell forward and scraped his hand on the concrete, and then he was secured and taken to the Hillside Police Department. Hillside Police Officers then searched the Ru-sinowski house and recovered two handguns, one of which was loaded. After spending some time at the police department (the witnesses’ estimates range from thirty minutes to two hours), Steven consented to being transported to Elmhurst Memorial Hospital.

Events at the Hospital are disputed. Defendants contend that Steven was examined by Defendant Dr. David Andreski (“Dr.Andreski”), but Steven insists that Dr. Andreski never examined him. Steven does not contest, however, that he was examined by Melissa Kroll, a clinician consultant, who concluded that Steven posed a danger to himself and others. Chief Lu-kaszek was called to the hospital, and once there he spoke with medical staff and filled out a petition to have Steven committed for mental health evaluation. Dr. Andre-ski signed a certificate that indicated that he had examined Steven and determined that Steven was a danger to himself or others. Steven was transferred to Madden Health, where he remained until March 10, 2011.

Steven testified that these events exacerbated his anxiety. In the wake of his involuntary commitment, he suffered from pain, anguish, difficulty sleeping, humiliation, and loss of appetite. He failed a midterm examination in one of his courses, and had to drop the class. Steven and his father brought this nine-count Amended Complaint, alleging a variety of federal and state claims, against Chief Lukaszek, the Village of Hillside, Robert DiDomeni-co, Dr. Andreski, and Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare. All Defendants have now moved for summary judgment, and have [806]*806moved to strike portions of Plaintiffs’ filings.

II. MOTIONS TO STRIKE

Defendants have filed Motions to Strike that take issue with Plaintiffs’ response to Defendants’ statements of material facts.

In this District, a motion for summary judgment must be accompanied by a “statement of material facts as to which the moving party contends there is no genuine issue.” Local Rule 56.1(a)(3). The opposing party must respond to the movant’s statement and support any disagreement with “specific references to the affidavits, parts of the record, and other supporting materials relied upon.” Local Rule 56.1(b)(8)(B). Local Rule 56.1 is supposed to facilitate this Court’s adjudication of summary judgment motions “by requiring the parties to nail down the relevant facts and the way they propose to support them.” Sojka v. Bovis Lend Lease, Inc., 686 F.3d 394, 398 (7th Cir.2012).

While some of Plaintiffs’ answers comport with this requirement, others miss the mark completely. For example, the Village’s Statement 32 asserts that DiDomen-ico told Chief Lukaszek that Steven had loaded weapons and was suicidal. Village of Hillside L.R. 56.1 Statement of Facts (“Village SOF”) 32. The Village supports that statement with a citation to Chief Lukaszek’s deposition, in which he testified that DiDomenico told him Steven threatened suicide. Lukaszek Dep. 308-09. As we will see, the content of DiDomenico’s conversation with Chief Lukaszek is critical to whether Chief Lukaszek was justified in believing that Steven needed assistance because he was about to commit suicide.

Plaintiffs respond to Statement 32 not with any evidence that DiDomenico did not say that Steven was suicidal, but with the unhelpful declaration that “Plaintiff neither admits nor denies [statement 32] as Plaintiff lacks personal knowledge of what DiDomenico actually told the Hillside Police.” Plaintiffs’ L.R. 56.1 Statement of Facts (“PL SOF”) 32.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
19 F. Supp. 3d 798, 2014 WL 477439, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15194, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rusinowski-v-village-of-hillside-ilnd-2014.