Sultaana v. Corrigan

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedJuly 23, 2020
Docket1:15-cv-00382
StatusUnknown

This text of Sultaana v. Corrigan (Sultaana v. Corrigan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sultaana v. Corrigan, (N.D. Ohio 2020).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO EASTERN DIVISION

HAKEEM SULTAANA, ) CASENO. 1:15 CV 382 ) Plaintiff, ) ) Vv. ) JUDGE DONALD C. NUGENT ) JOHN JERMAN, ef al., ) MEMORANDUM OPINION ) Defendants. )

This matter is before the Court on the Report & Recommendation of Magistrate Judge Thomas M. Parker (ECF #409) which recommends that the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF #345) be granted and that Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF #199) be denied. Magistrate Judge Parker also recommends that Plaintiff be declared a vexatious litigator and be enjoined from making additional filings without first obtaining leave of the Court. Plaintiff has filed an objection to the Report and Recommendation.’ The Court has reviewed de novo those portions of the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation to which objection has been made. See FED. R. Civ. P. 72(b). For the reasons that follow, the Report and Recommendation of Magistrate Judge Parker will be adopted with modification; Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment will be denied; Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment will be granted; and Plaintiff will be declared a vexatious litigator. In consideration of the Plaintiff's pro se status, the Court has considered Plaintiff’ s Objections in their entirety despite the fact that the 43 page document clearly exceeds the 20 page limit established by the Federal Rules and was filed 3 days after the filing deadline for Plaintiffs objection, which was extended at Plaintiffs requests three times to July 11, 2020.

A. Factual and Procedural Background As Magistrate Judge Parker notes, the Sixth Circuit reversed and remanded this Court’s dismissal of Plaintiff's complaint pursuant to Fed. R. 12(b)(6) in part finding that Plaintiff alleged sufficient facts to state a claim that Defendants Detective Jerman and Deputy Williamson violated Plaintiff's Fourth Amendment rights by illegally seizing his currency. The Sixth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of all other claims and defendants. (ECF #23 Magistrate Judge Parker exhaustively reviewed the record and distilled the undisputed or established facts by the Rule 56 evidence. Those facts will be summarized here but not recounted in detail.’ Plaintiffs claim arises from the events surrounding his arrest on March 6, 2014. On that date Detective Jerman obtained an arrest warrant from the state trial court on the grounds that Magistrate Judge Parker determined that the issue of whether Defendants unlawfully entered and searched his home is not currently before the Court based upon the Sixth Circuit’s remand order (“[T]he district court’s judgment is VACATED to the extent it dismissed Sultaana’s claim challenging Jerman and Williamson’s seizure of United States Currency from his home. The district court’s dismissal of Sultaana’s remaining claims is AFFIRMED.”) See Cont’l Cas. Co. v. Indian Head Indus., 941 F.3d 828, 834 (6" Cir. 2019)(“The court cannot go beyond the scope of remand.”) Plaintiff objects that the Magistrate Judge’s limitation of the issues before this Court is at odds with the Sixth Circuit’s ruling. While the Magistrate Judge correctly quotes the Sixth Circuit opinion, the opinion also notes that “the fact that Plaintiff's arrest was effectuated pursuant to a valid arrest warrant did not necessarily render the subsequent search lawful.” (ECF #23 at p. 5) Nevertheless, the Magistrate Judge’s opinion does address Plaintiffs contention that the alleged search and seizure was improper and concludes that the Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity on that claim. All of Plaintiff's claims have thus been addressed. One of Plaintiff's objections to the Report and Recommendation was that the Magistrate Judge failed to adopt all of Plaintiff's allegations of fact. That objection is overruled because the Magistrate Judge carefully sifted through all of the evidence and properly set forth those facts that were unchallenged or were supported by evidence as well as material facts that were challenged. -2-

Plaintiff had violated the terms of his bond by contacting his co-defendants. The warrant ordered the arrest of Plaintiff and listed his last known address. Detective Jerman, Deputy Williamson, with the assistance of Sergeant Sharpe, Detectives Massey and Uthe, Deputy Sikora and K-9 Deputy Riegelmayer (the “CCSO Warrant Unit”) went to Plaintiff's address listed in the Warrant. After the officers knocked on Plaintiffs door, he did not answer for approximately 5-10 minutes. Plaintiff opened the door after the officers threatened to forcibly enter the house. Plaintiff was put into handcuffs on the front porch and shortly thereafter said he was having a diabetic attack. One of the officers in the unit, Deputy Sikora, was also an EMT. The officers returned Plaintiff into the house so that Deputy Sikora could provide better emergency assistance to Plaintiff and because it was cold and poorly lit outside. The officers called for EMS to come to the scene. The officers did not do a protective sweep of the house or a search but saw that there was currency (about $8,900) on the table in the living room which was immediately inside Plaintiff's front door. Plaintiff states that he saw Detective Jerman take the currency. Detective Jerman, Deputy Williamson, Detective Massey and Deputy Sikora attested that they did not take any money from Plaintiff's house and did not see any other officer take money from the house. In his report, Detective Massey noted that the money was not inventoried because Plaintiffs mother, Amirah, had arrived on scene. Amirah, who arrived at the house before EMS arrived, was not allowed to enter the house or ride in the ambulance with Plaintiff. Detectives Jerman and Massey accompanied Plaintiff in the ambulance and transported him to the Cuyahoga County Jail after he was treated and released from the hospital.

-3-

B. Magistrate Judge Parker’s Findings 1. Taking of the Currency After resolving Plaintiffs two evidentiary challenges,’ Magistrate Judge Parker examined the evidence surrounding Plaintiffs claim that Defendants had taken his currency. Plaintiff asserts that the evidence shows that Detective Jerman and Deputy Williamson took the currency and that he is entitled to summary judgment on that issue. Defendants assert that they are entitled to summary judgment in their favor on this issue based upon the testimony of the officers and the contradictory and self-serving nature of Plaintiff's testimony. The Magistrate Judge determined that Plaintiff provided no evidence that Deputy Williamson took the money and the only evidence supporting Plaintiffs claim that Detective Jerman took the money is Plaintiffs testimony. All of the officers testified that they did not take the money and that they did not see any other officer take the money. Accordingly, Magistrate Judge Parker found that Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment on this issue should be denied as there was a dispute of a genuine issue of material fact. The Magistrate Judge recommended that Defendants’ motion for summary judgment on this issue should be granted as to Deputy Williamson because there was no evidence submitted by Plaintiff Plaintiff challenged the use of unauthenticated transcripts of phone conversations between Amirah Sultaana and Detective Schilling. (ECF #349) Magistrate Judge Parker determined that this challenge was moot because reference to the transcripts was not necessary for resolution of the summary judgment motions.

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Sultaana v. Corrigan, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sultaana-v-corrigan-ohnd-2020.