Udechukwu v. City of N.Y.

333 F. Supp. 3d 161
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedSeptember 20, 2018
Docket17-CV-2261 (WFK) (RLM)
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 333 F. Supp. 3d 161 (Udechukwu v. City of N.Y.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Udechukwu v. City of N.Y., 333 F. Supp. 3d 161 (E.D.N.Y. 2018).

Opinion

WILLIAM F. KUNTZ, II, United States District Judge:

Anselem Udechukwu ("Plaintiff") brings this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and New York law against the City of New York (the "City") and New York City Police Department ("NYPD") Officers Delsano and Christopher Doll (together, the "City Defendants"), and Gamestop Corp. and Brittany Long (together, the "Gamestop Defendants"). Plaintiff seeks damages for alleged violations of his constitutional rights guaranteed by the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, specifically iterated as claims for: (1) false arrest and false imprisonment,1 (2) malicious prosecution, (3) retaliation for exercising his right to free speech, (4) conspiracy, and (5) failure to intervene. Plaintiff also alleges a claim *165for defamation under New York common law against defendant Long. Plaintiff alleges defendants the City and Gamestop are liable for their employees' actions under the common law doctrine of respondeat superior . The City Defendants and the Gamestop Defendants now, move to dismiss the action under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the reasons stated below, the City Defendants' motion to dismiss is GRANTED, and the Gamestop Defendants' motion to dismiss is GRANTED.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff alleges on April 15, 2016, he went to the video game and computer electronics store, Gamestop, located at 1459 Rockaway Parkway, in Brooklyn, New York, and purchased a game card. Compl. ¶¶ 12-13, ECF No. 1. When Plaintiff arrived at home with the game card, his son told him that he got the wrong card. Id. ¶ 13. Plaintiff returned to Gamestop the following day to exchange the game card, but defendant Brittany Long, the store manager of the Gamestop, id. ¶ 9, refused to let Plaintiff exchange or return the card. Id. ¶ 14. Gamestop purportedly has a policy allowing customers to return merchandise within 30 days of purchase. Id. Plaintiff demanded to speak to the store manager, and Long informed Plaintiff she was the store manager. Id. ¶ 15. Plaintiff then demanded to speak to Long's supervisor, and Long responded that she was the supervisor. Id. ¶ 16. Plaintiff, unsure of what to do next, called his girlfriend for advice. Id. ¶ 18. Long overheard Plaintiff's girlfriend advising Plaintiff to call the police, and Long called the police first. Id. ¶ 19.

When NYPD Officers Doll and Delsano arrived, they asked Plaintiff to leave the store and Plaintiff began to comply. Id. ¶ 20. On his way out, Plaintiff told the officers and Long that "it was a fraud to take a customer's money without refund or exchange of the item," and further stated: " 'Mark my face, I will call the FBI on this store.' " Id. ¶¶ 21-22. After this statement, Officer Doll restrained Plaintiff's movement by placing his hands behind his back, and asked Long, "Is your life threatened?" Id. ¶ 23. Long responded "yes," and confirmed she would be pressing charges. Id. ¶¶ 23-24. Officer Doll then placed handcuffs on Plaintiff. Id. ¶ 24. Based on the information provided by Long, Plaintiff was arrested and charged with menacing in the third degree, trespass, and harassment in the second degree. Id. ¶¶ 26-27. The charges against Plaintiff were dismissed on July 27, 2016. Id. ¶ 28.

Plaintiff commenced this action on April 14, 2017. The City Defendants and the Gamestop Defendants are now moving to dismiss the Complaint in its entirety for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.2

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Bluebook (online)
333 F. Supp. 3d 161, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/udechukwu-v-city-of-ny-nyed-2018.