Stephens v. Broward Sheriff's Office

84 F. Supp. 3d 1327, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170817, 2014 WL 7779275
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedDecember 10, 2014
DocketCase No. 0:13-CV-60349
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 84 F. Supp. 3d 1327 (Stephens v. Broward Sheriff's Office) 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
Stephens v. Broward Sheriff's Office, 84 F. Supp. 3d 1327, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170817, 2014 WL 7779275 (S.D. Fla. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO STRIKE AND GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

ROBIN L. ROSENBERG, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on Defendant Nick DeGiovanni’s Motion for [1331]*1331Summary Judgment as to Counts II-V [DE 101] and Defendant Nick DeGiovan-ni’s Motion to Strike Plaintiffs Unauthorized Sur-Reply [DE 119]. The Motions have been fully briefed by both sides. The Court has reviewed the documents in the case file and is fully advised in the premises. A hearing was held on the Motions on December 5, 2014.

The Court first denies Defendant Nick DeGiovanni’s Motion to Strike Plaintiffs Unauthorized Sur-Reply [DE 119]. To the extent that the Plaintiffs affidavit, which was filed after (and is responsive to) the Defendant’s reply to the Plaintiffs response to the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment, can be construed as an unauthorized sur-reply, the Court in its discretion will allow the affidavit and consider it as part of the record. For the reasons set forth below, Defendant Nick DeGiovanni’s Motion for Summary Judgment as to Counts II-V [DE 101] is granted, and the remaining state law claims (Counts I and VI) are dismissed without prejudice.

I. INTRODUCTION

The Plaintiff filed the instant suit under the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and 42 U.S.C. § 1981, additionally alleging common law tort claims (assault and battery), for damages resulting from the use of excessive force against the Plaintiff in the course of an unlawful seizure, and racial discrimination against the Plaintiff. DE 37 ¶ 1. Although the Plaintiffs Amended Complaint contains six counts, only Counts II through V, all of which are brought against Defendant DeGiovanni only, are before the Court on the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment. DE 101 at 1. Count I, for assault and battery against the Broward Sheriffs Office, and Count VI, for assault and battery against Defendant DeGiovanni (pled in the alternative to Count I) are not before the Court.

II. SUMMARY JUDGMENT 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). Judgment as a matter of law is merited when, after “adequate time for discovery,” the non-moving party “has failed to make a sufficient showing on an essential element of her case with respect to which she has the burden of proof.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). “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 nonmoving party’s case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial.” Id. The standard for granting summary judgment “mirrors the standard for a directed verdict under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(a), which is that the trial judge must direct a verdict if, under the governing law, there can be but one reasonable conclusion as to the verdict.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

The Court is required “to view the facts and draw reasonable inferences ‘in the light most favorable to the party opposing the [summary judgment] motion.’ ” Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 378, 127 S.Ct. 1769, 167 L.Ed.2d 686 (2007) (quoting United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962) (per curiam)). Where the parties’ versions of events differ in significant respects, that means adopting the nonmoving party’s version of the facts. See id.

Here, there is no question that a genuine dispute exists as to material facts. [1332]*1332As just one example, the parties present very different pictures of the plaintiffs injuries. The Defendant’s expert opines, in part, that- “[t]he findings made in all the imaging studies of the cervical spine and neck of Paul Stephens were pre-existing conditions that were not caused by the incident,” and “[t]he imaging studies of the cervical spine show no evidence of herniation,” while the Plaintiffs expert attributes “a cervical sprain/strain with multilevel disc herniations and resultant foraminal stenosis” to the incident. DE 101 Ex. 5 at 6; DE 100 Ex. 1 at 9. For purposes of determining whether the Defendant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, then, the Court must accept the Plaintiffs version of events as true where a genuine dispute exists as to material facts.1

III. PLAINTIFF’S ACCOUNT OF THE FACTS

On February 16, 2009, Plaintiff Paul' Stephens and his cousin, Roan Greenwood, [1333]*1333were in the parking lot of the Shoppes of St. Croix, a mixed-use business and resi-' dential complex, where they were working on a car belonging to Stephens’s girlfriend.2 DE 109 Ex. 1 ¶¶ 2-8. Both men were there on the invitation of Claudia White, who lived at 4001 NW 34th Street, Apt. 205, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33319, which was on the second floor of the Shoppes. Id. ¶ 2. The men were examining the car because the “check engine” light had come on. Id. ¶ 3. The car was off and parked in a space that was not designated “Retail Parking Only.” Id. ¶ 3; see also DE 111 Ex. 1 ¶ 3. The key was not in the ignition. DE 111 Ex. 1 ¶ 3. The driver’s car door was open and Stephens was on the driver’s side of the car, sitting on the metal frame of the driver’s door doorway, with both feet outside of the vehicle and on the ground. DE 109 Ex. 1 ¶ 3. Greenwood was sitting in the passenger seat. Id. At “some point” during Stephens’s examination of the car, but before the Defendant drove by, Stephens employed a scanner to determine what was wrong with the car. DE 118 Ex. 1 ¶ 3. While he was using the scanner, the ignition of the car was on but the engine was off. See id.

Defendant Nick DeGiovanni was employed as a Deputy Sheriff by the Broward County Sheriffs Office. DE 101 Ex. ¶ 2. On February 16, 2009, at 8:15 P.M., he was on road patrol assigned to Lauderdale Lakes. Id. at ¶¶ 2-3, 5. He was patrolling in Lauderdale Lakes when he saw a 1997 gray Toyota Camry with Florida license plate # U54-0RT parked in front of closed businesses at the Shoppes of St. Croix. Id. ¶ 3. Because DeGiovanni was aware of recent burglaries in the area, and it was late in the day (all of the businesses in the Shoppes were closed), he decided to investigate. Id. ¶ 5.

According to Stephens, DeGiovanni drove past the Camry, reversed his car, parked it immediately behind the Camry, and exited the car to approach Stephens while he (Stephens) remained seated. DE 109 Ex. 1 ¶ 4.

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Related

Jones v. Coty Inc.
362 F. Supp. 3d 1182 (U.S. Circuit Court, 2018)
Paul Stephens v. Nick Degiovanni, individually
852 F.3d 1298 (Eleventh Circuit, 2017)

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Bluebook (online)
84 F. Supp. 3d 1327, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170817, 2014 WL 7779275, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stephens-v-broward-sheriffs-office-flsd-2014.