Stanley v. Broward County Sheriff

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedSeptember 29, 2022
Docket0:12-cv-62406
StatusUnknown

This text of Stanley v. Broward County Sheriff (Stanley v. Broward County Sheriff) 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
Stanley v. Broward County Sheriff, (S.D. Fla. 2022).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

CASE NO. 1:12-CV-62406-COOKE/DAMIAN

JEFFREY STANLEY,

Plaintiff,

v.

BROWARD COUNTY SHERIFF Gregory Tony, in his official capacity,

Defendant. _____________________________________/

ORDER ON DEFENDANT’S OMNIBUS MOTION IN LIMINE AND MOTION TO STRIKE PREVIOUSLY UNDISCLOSED WITNESS [ECF NO. 305]

THIS CAUSE is before the Court on Defendant, Broward County Sheriff’s (“Defendant” or “BSO”)1, Omnibus Motion in Limine and Motion to Strike Previously Undisclosed Witness, filed August 18, 2022. [ECF No. 305 (“Motion”)]. This matter was referred to the undersigned by the Honorable Kathleen M. Williams, on behalf of the Honorable Marcia Cooke, United States District Judge. [ECF No. 311]. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A).

1 The lawsuit originally named Sheriff Albert Lamberti in his official capacity as Broward County Sheriff. On September 30, 2019, the Court granted Plaintiff’s Unopposed Motion to Substitute Sheriff Gregory Tony, in his official capacity as Broward County Sheriff, as Defendant [ECF No. 249], because he is the current Broward County Sheriff. [ECF No. 252]. A lawsuit against a government entity’s employee in his official capacity is tantamount to a lawsuit against the entity itself. Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 165–66 (1985). THE COURT has reviewed the parties’ briefing and exhibits [ECF Nos. 305, 309], the pertinent portions of the record, and all relevant authorities and is otherwise fully advised in the premises. For the reasons that follow, Defendant’s Omnibus Motion in Limine and Motion to Strike Previously Undisclosed Witness [ECF No. 305] is granted in part and denied

in part. I. RELEVANT FACTUAL BACKGROUND Plaintiff, Jeffrey Stanley (“Plaintiff” or “Stanley”), worked as a BSO detention deputy sheriff from February 2001 through December 2007. [ECF No. 171-1 (“Amended Complaint”)]. Stanley ultimately resigned from his position to take a better paying job as

director of security at a hospital that was scheduled to open in Miami Beach, Florida. Id. The hospital did not open as planned, and Stanley applied for rehire with BSO on May 2, 2008. Id. On September 25, 2008, Stanley received a conditional offer of employment from BSO, subject to several requirements and a final review of his file. Id. On October 15, 2008, Stanley attended a debate between Albert Lamberti, the incumbent Broward County Sheriff, and Scott Israel, who were competing for the Office of Broward County Sheriff. Id. Stanley wore a T-shirt with “Cops for Israel” imprinted on it. Id. On November 4, 2008, Sheriff Lamberti was reelected as Sheriff of Broward County. Id. On December 4, 2008, Stanley received a telephone call from a BSO representative informing

him that he would not be rehired, allegedly based on his support for Israel. Id. Shortly thereafter, Stanley received a letter from BSO stating that he would not be rehired because areas of concern arose during the selection process. Id. Stanley alleges that even after Lamber was no longer Sheriff, he did not later seek to reapply with BSO because he believed such efforts would be futile. According to a May 3, 2022 letter attached to BSO’s Motion, Stanley ultimately received an offer of employment from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (“FDJJ”). See ECF No. 305-6. II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY On December 4, 2012, Stanley filed the Complaint in the instant action against BSO

asserting a single claim under Title 42, United States Code, Section 1983, based on alleged violations of his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. [ECF No. 1]. Since the filing of the Complaint nearly ten years ago, the Court, previously by Judge William Zloch, twice granted summary judgment in favor of BSO [ECF Nos. 151 and 232], and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals twice reversed those orders. [ECF Nos. 172 and 241]. After the case was reassigned to Judge Marcia Cooke in June 2011 and BSO’s fourth motion for summary judgment was denied, on April 7, 2022, Judge Cooke entered an Order setting the trial during the trial period commencing September 12, 2022, and directing that joint pretrial stipulations and motions in limine be filed by September 2, 2022. [ECF No. 284].

On June 21, 2022, the Court issued an Order amending the scheduling order and re-setting the case for trial during the two week trial period commencing on October 11, 2022. [ECF No. 287]. Thereafter, on August 11, 2022, the Court extended the deadline for the filing of joint pretrial stipulations and motions in limine to August 18, 2022. [ECF No. 299]. Meanwhile, on August 4, 2022, the Court denied BSO’s Motion to Modify the Scheduling Order to permit BSO to propound limited discovery regarding a comment made by Plaintiff’s counsel during mediation and admonished that the Motion violated the Local Rules regarding the confidentiality of settlement discussions and that BSO had not “come close to justifying” the reopening of discovery at this stage. [ECF No. 295]. BSO filed the Motion now before the Court on August 18, 2022. [ECF No. 305]. Stanley filed his Response on September 6, 2022, and BSO filed its Reply on September 13, 2022. [ECF Nos. 309, 310]. The Motion is now fully briefed and ripe for adjudication.

III. LEGAL STANDARDS Courts have broad discretion in determining the admissibility of evidence. Equity Lifestyle Props., Inc. v. Fla. Mowing & Landscape Serv., Inc., 556 F.3d 1232, 1243 (11th Cir. 2009). “Motions in limine are generally disfavored” and “[e]vidence is properly excluded only if the evidence is clearly inadmissible for any purpose.” Baptista v. Carnival Corp., No. 1:17-CV- 22115-KMM, 2018 WL 1226041, at *1 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 5, 2018) (Moore, C.J.) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). “The real purpose of a Motion [i]n Limine is to give the trial judge notice of the movant’s position so as to avoid the introduction of damaging evidence which may irretrievably effect the fairness of the trial.” Stewart v. Hooters of Am., Inc.,

No. 8:04-CV-40-T-17-MAP, 2007 WL 1752843, at *1 (M.D. Fla. June 18, 2007) (citing Luce v. United States, 469 U.S. 38, 41 (1984)). “Unless evidence meets this high standard, evidentiary rulings should be deferred until trial so that questions of foundation, relevancy, and potential prejudice may be resolved in proper context.” In re Seroquel Prods. Liab. Litig., Nos. 6:06-md-1769-Orl-22DAB, 6:07-cv-15733-Orl-22DAB, 2009 WL 260989, at *1 (M.D. Fla. Feb. 4, 2009). A court’s order on the motion “remains subject to reconsideration by the court throughout the trial.” Id. (“At trial, the court may alter its limine ruling based on developments at trial or on its sound judicial discretion.”) (citing Luce, 469 U.S. at 41). The movant has the burden to demonstrate that the evidence is inadmissible on any relevant

ground. Id. IV. DISCUSSION In the Motion now before the Court, BSO seeks to preclude four categories of evidence from being offered by Stanley at trial: (1) evidence or testimony regarding BSO allegedly telling Stanley’s prospective employers that it does not possess Stanley’s personnel file or there

is no record of his employment with BSO; (2) Stanley’s May 3, 2022 Offer Letter from the FDJJ and testimony from FDJJ Representative and Records Custodian, Terrance Lopez; (3) information derived from documents provided by BSO during confidential settlement negotiations regarding Stanley’s potential back pay and benefits; and (4) vaguely identified exhibits on Plaintiff’s Exhibit List.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Elisha Cooley v. Great Southern Wood Preserving
138 F. App'x 149 (Eleventh Circuit, 2005)
George Lips v. City of Hollywood
350 F. App'x 328 (Eleventh Circuit, 2009)
Romero v. Drummond Co., Inc.
552 F.3d 1303 (Eleventh Circuit, 2008)
Luce v. United States
469 U.S. 38 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Kentucky v. Graham
473 U.S. 159 (Supreme Court, 1985)
Ernestine Mitchell v. Ford Motor Company
318 F. App'x 821 (Eleventh Circuit, 2009)
Bowe v. Public Storage
106 F. Supp. 3d 1252 (S.D. Florida, 2015)
United States v. Thornton
300 F. App'x 768 (Eleventh Circuit, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Stanley v. Broward County Sheriff, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stanley-v-broward-county-sheriff-flsd-2022.