Vázquez v. Village of Bensenville

22 F. Supp. 3d 861, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62816, 2014 WL 2441943
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedMay 5, 2014
DocketNo. 12 C 09759
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 22 F. Supp. 3d 861 (Vázquez v. Village of Bensenville) 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
Vázquez v. Village of Bensenville, 22 F. Supp. 3d 861, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62816, 2014 WL 2441943 (N.D. Ill. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

RUBEN CASTILLO, Chief Judge.

Plaintiff William Vázquez brings this action against the Village of Bensenville (the “Village”) as well as Officer Richard La-Porte, Officer Kevin Driscoll, Officer Saul Herrera, and Detective Mike Ptak (collectively, the “Defendant Officers”), alleging deprivation of his constitutional right to equal protection under the law in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Presently before the Court is Defendants’ motion to dismiss the second amended complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). For the reasons stated below, Defendants’ motion to dismiss is granted in part and denied in part.

RELEVANT FACTS

Vázquez is a resident of the Village. (R. 25, Second Am. Compl. ¶ 4.) He has lived at Mason Manor Condominiums (the “Condominium”) for over five years and holds a position with the Mason Manor Condominium Association (the “Association”). (Id. ¶ 13.) From 2010 to the present, Vázquez recommended that the Association perform several repairs and improvements to the building, and the Association consequently imposed fees and special assessments upon unit owners to fund the improvements. (Id. ¶ 16.) Vázquez alleges that unit owners and residents Pawel Kruk, Agnieszka Kruk, Iowna Plaza, and Ernest Skotnicki (collectively, the “Residents”) were upset by the fees and special assessments and began a campaign of harassment against him and other Association members in 2010. (Id. ¶ 17.) Pawel Kruk and Agnieszka Kruk live together in a unit one or both of them own in the Condominium. (Id. ¶ 14.) Iowna Plaza and Ernest Skotnicki live together in a unit Plaza owns in the Condominium. (Id. ¶ 15.)

Since 2010, the Residents have made several complaints about Vázquez to various Village departments, including the Police Department. (Id. ¶ 20.) Police officers, including the Defendant Officers, often came to the Condominium in response to the Residents’ complaints, which Vázquez alleges were “false and baseless” as a result of the Residents’ animosity towards him. (Id. ¶¶20, 23-24.) In response to the volume of complaints, Officer Herrera contacted the Association’s then-president, Scott Beaderstadt, several times in 2012 to request an election of the Association’s members. (Id. ¶ 21.) Officer LaPorte went to the Condominium in late 2011 and told Vázquez that if the police received more calls or reports involving the Condominium, they would be “pinned on [Vázquez.]” "(M1Hi 31-32.) Vázquez alleges that Officer LaPorte’s statement indicated that Vázquez would not be treated in the same manner as his neighbors. (Id. ¶ 33.)

Vázquez alleges that the Defendant Officers filed criminal charges against him without following the appropriate investigative protocol. On January 10, 2012, Pawel Kruk reported to Officer Herrera that Vázquez was “pounding on Kruk’s door and looking through the peep hole.” (Id. ¶ 34.) Vázquez was subsequently arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. (Id.) Vázquez alleges that Officer Herrera failed to adequately investigate the complaint before filing charges, as neither Vázquez nor Piort Zaranski, the person he was with that day, were interviewed by Officer Herrera. (Id. ¶ 36.) Vázquez alleges that he did not engage in disorderly conduct and that he and Zaranski were instead gathering signatures from the resi[864]*864dents for a City of Chicago window and door replacement project. (7<£¶¶ 35-36.) On July 1, 2012, Plaza and Skotnicki reported to a police officer that Vázquez had pushed and threatened to kill Plaza. (Id. ¶ 38.) Vázquez was arrested later that day by the same officer and charged with two counts of battery. (Id.) Vázquez maintains that he did not commit battery or threaten to kill Plaza. (Id. ¶ 39.) On September 26, 2012, Pawel Kruk and his minor son reported to a police officer that Vázquez had threatened to kill them at an Association meeting on September 20, 2012. (Id. ¶ 41.) Vázquez was subsequently charged, pursuant to a complaint prepared by Detective Ptak, with aggravated assault and assault. (7<7.¶41.) Vázquez again alleges that the incident was inadequately investigated before charges were filed as “several people present at the meeting ... would have told [Detective Ptak] that Vázquez made no threats to Pawel Kruk or his son.” (Id. ¶ 43.) Pursuant to a complaint prepared by Officer Driscoll on May 29, 2013, Vázquez was charged with disorderly conduct for purportedly making vulgar statements and gestures towards Agnieszka Kruk and pounding on Pawel Kruk’s door on March 25, 2013. (Id. ¶ 45.) Before filing charges, Officer Driscoll did not speak with Vázquez or the friend he was with that day. (Id. ¶ 47.) Vázquez alleges that his friend would have told Officer Driscoll that Vázquez had no interaction with the Kruks on March 25, 2013. (Id.)

Finally, on July 1, 2013, Vázquez was charged with battery in another complaint prepared by Officer Driscoll relating to a June 25, 2013 incident involving Skotnicki. (Id. ¶ 49.) Vázquez denies committing battery upon Skotnicki that day, (id. ¶50), and he contends that Skotnicki has previously made false statements to the police: Vázquez alleges that on December 21, 2010, Skotnicki came into his apartment and physically assaulted him without provocation, (id. ¶ 25). Skotnicki then left and falsely reported to the Police Department that he was assaulted by Vázquez in the Condominium’s stairwell. (Id. ¶ 26.) A police officer investigated the incident and arrested Skotnicki for assault. (Id. ¶ 29.) On June 25, 2013, Skotnicki allegedly emerged from his unit and attempted to punch Vázquez in the hallway. (Id. ¶ 60.) On June 27, 2013, Vázquez and Beader-stadt went to the Police Department and reported the incident to Officer Driscoll and a sergeant. (Id. ¶ 61.) Officer Dris-coll told Vázquez that Skotnicki claimed that Vázquez had punched him. (Id. ¶ 62.) Vázquez denied this and alleged that his hands were full carrying groceries. (Id.) Vázquez also reminded Officer Driscoll about Skotnieki’s previous false assault claim on December 21, 2010. (Id.) In response, Officer Driscoll stated that the “past is the past” and brought up the frequent complaints Skotnicki and Pawel Kruk made against Vázquez. (Id. ¶ 63.) Beaderstadt told Officer Driscoll that Skotnicki should not be believed because he had claimed publicly that he would continue to file false reports about Vázquez until Vázquez resigned from the Association. (Id.) In response, Officer Driscoll told Vázquez “that maybe [Vázquez] should move and that the Village of Ben-senville Police Department [was] ‘tired’ of all the calls about [Vázquez].” (Id.) Further, Officer Driscoll stated that Skot-nicki’s wife, Plaza, “backed up [Skotnicki’s] story, and therefore it was ‘two against one.’ ” (Id.) Officer Driscoll subsequently refused, to file criminal charges against Skotnicki and instead filed a battery complaint against Vázquez. (Id. ¶ 64.)

Vázquez denies all charges in these five incidents. (Id. ¶¶ 35, 39, 42, 46, 50.) Aside from the July 1, 2012 and June 25, 2013 incidents, he was either found not [865]*865guilty or his criminal charges were dismissed nolle prosequi. (Id.

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22 F. Supp. 3d 861, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62816, 2014 WL 2441943, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vazquez-v-village-of-bensenville-ilnd-2014.