Weinstein v. City of North Bay Village

977 F. Supp. 2d 1271, 2013 WL 5630753, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 149643
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedSeptember 26, 2013
DocketCase No. 13-CV-20064
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 977 F. Supp. 2d 1271 (Weinstein v. City of North Bay Village) 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
Weinstein v. City of North Bay Village, 977 F. Supp. 2d 1271, 2013 WL 5630753, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 149643 (S.D. Fla. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER

PAUL C. HUCK, District Judge.

THIS MATTER is before the Court upon Defendants’, City of North Bay Village (“the City” or “North Bay Village”), Matthew Schwartz, James McVay, and Gustavo Cruz, Motions to Dismiss the First Amended Complaint [D.E. Nos. 19, 27, 30, 44], Plaintiff, Mark Weinstein (‘Weinstein”), claims the defendants violated his First and Fourth Amendment rights while Weinstein was a police officer with the North Bay Village Police Department. Weinstein alleges that the defendants retaliated against him because he advocated to change the official union of the police department. The defendants seek dismissal on various grounds, including failure to state a claim, quasi-judicial immunity, qualified immunity, and the intracorporate conspiracy doctrine.

The Court held a hearing on McVay and Cruz’s motions on August 8, 2013 and has duly considered all four motions. For the [1276]*1276reasons discussed below, the City’s motion is denied, Schwartz’s motion is denied, and McVay and Cruz’s motions are granted.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Facts1

Weinstein was an officer at the North Bay Village Police Department, along with defendant McVay, a lieutenant, and defendant Cruz, an acting sergeant. First Am. Compl. ¶¶ 9, 11, 12. McVay and Cruz were close personal friends, and, as a lieutenant, McVay was both Weinstein and Cruz’s superior officer. Id. ¶ 72. Defendant Schwartz was the city manager and had the power to hire and fire City police officers. Id. ¶¶ 13, 169-72. McVay also led the local chapter of the Police Benevolent Association (“PBA”) — the official union of the police department. Id. ¶ 31. In that role, McVay served as the union representative for the officers whom he managed. Id. ¶ 11. Political candidates in the City sought endorsements of the PBA, and those endorsements helped several candidates win their elections and receive appointments. Id. ¶¶ 38, 40-43.

Police officers began to express discontent with McVay, believing he was using his PBA position for his own political gain and exercising his power as lieutenant to play favorites on the police force. Id. ¶¶ 50-51. Officers further worried that McVay’s close political connections to the City’s leaders created a conflict of interest that could prevent McVay from protecting their interests in disciplinary proceedings against the City. Id. ¶ 52.

Eventually the discontent grew into action. Weinstein and other officers spearheaded an effort to change the police union, creating a chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police (“FOP”), with Weinstein as president. Id. ¶¶ 56-62. Sixteen of the twenty-three police officers on the force supported the change, allowing the FOP to become the official bargaining unit of the department. Id. ¶ 61,156.

However, McVay and other supporters of the PBA viewed the FOP as a threat to their political power base. Id. ¶ 64. City leaders openly supported the PBA. Id. ¶ 65. For example, the mayor wore a PBA pin to a City Commission meeting, causing a ruckus. Id. Weinstein claims that the bad blood over the union rivalry resulted in a campaign waged against him. Id. ¶ 63. His mailbox at work was vandalized with a drawing that, as Weinstein explains it, was a statement that he was considered a traitor by the PBA supporters. Id. ¶ 66. Even though Weinstein reported the incident, nothing was done to bring the vandal to justice. Id. ¶ 68.

On February 16, 2009, the problems erupted into a physical altercation between McVay and Weinstein. Id. ¶¶ 70, 81. Weinstein and Cruz were working in their offices, which were in temporary space in a double-wide trailer. Id. ¶¶ 70-71. McVay entered the trailer and began speaking to Weinstein about the transition of power between the PBA and the FOP and certain promotions on the police force that Weinstein opposed. Id. ¶ 75. McVay told Cruz that Weinstein had made a contribution to the mayor and was upset about not being promoted in return. Id. ¶ 79. Weinstein told McVay this was a lie. Id. ¶ 80. McVay responded by attacking Weinstein, holding him on the ground, and choking him. Id. ¶¶ 81-82. During the fight, [1277]*1277McVay told Cruz to take Weinstein’s firearm, which Cruz did. Id. ¶ 85.

Once McVay got off of Weinstein, McVay told Weinstein: “This isn’t going anywhere. You’re not going to say anything. This is going to stay here. This will go bad for you. I’m a lieutenant. You’re going to lose. This is going to stay here.” Id. ¶ 88. Weinstein then turned to Cruz and repeatedly said: "You saw what he did!” Id. ¶ 89. Cruz put his hands up and shook his head, as if to say: “What do you expect from me?” Id. Weinstein followed McVay’s orders and did not report the incident because he feared that McVay would be able to spin the incident to make Weinstein look bad. Id. ¶ 90. According to Weinstein, McVay and Cruz also agreed between themselves to conceal what had happened. Id. ¶ 91.

McVay soon realized that he had injured his hamstring in the attack and had difficulty walking. Id. ¶ 93. He ran into the chief of police, Roland Pandolfi (“Pandolfi”), and other officers, and made excuses for his limp (for example, that he had hurt himself wrestling with his kids), and did not mention the fight. Id. McVay went to the hospital and was admitted for compartment syndrome. Id. ¶ 94. That evening, he called Weinstein and again ordered Weinstein not to report the incident. Id. ¶ 95. However, once McVay learned he would need surgery on his leg, he reported to Pandolfi that Weinstein had attacked him. Id. ¶ 96.

Without knowing of McVay’s report, Weinstein, too, decided to report the incident. Id. ¶ 97. Pandolfi would not listen to Weinstein’s side of the story, and instead told Weinstein that he was aware of the incident and that it would be investigated, and instructed Weinstein to remain silent about the incident. Id. ¶ 98. According to Weinstein, Pandolfi did not follow police department policy when he would not listen to his complaint about McVay. Id. ¶ 99.

About a month later, Schwartz directed that a formal disciplinary proceeding be brought against Weinstein for his role in the fight with McVay. Id. ¶ 106. Pandolfi served Weinstein with a notice that he was the subject of an internal affairs investigation, then suspended him with pay, directed him to stay at home during business hours and barred him from off-duty employment. Id. ¶¶ 106-08. Pandolfi was apparently following Schwartz’s orders in carrying out these disciplinary actions. Id. ¶ 106.

Following a factual investigation by the Professional Compliance Bureau of the Miami-Dade County Police Department, Pandolfi, at Schwartz’s direction, held a pre-determination hearing on charges of conduct unbecoming an officer and failure to promptly report official misconduct. Id. ¶¶ 115-118. Pandolfi found the charges to be sustained, and recommended to Schwartz that Weinstein be suspended without pay for thirty days. Id. ¶ 118. Schwartz presided over a final pre-determination hearing, and found Weinstein guilty in violation of City policy and found that Weinstein had committed a battery against a fellow officer, and had failed to timely report the incident. Id. ¶ 120.

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977 F. Supp. 2d 1271, 2013 WL 5630753, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 149643, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/weinstein-v-city-of-north-bay-village-flsd-2013.