Williams v. Hernandez

District Court, S.D. New York·Decided December 12, 2023·No. 1:20-cv-05995·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK --------------------------------------------------------------X : GARFIELD ANTHONY WILLIAMS, : Plaintiff, : : 20 Civ. 5995 (LGS) -against- : : OPINION AND ORDER CITY OF NEW YORK, et al. : Defendants. : ------------------------------------------------------------- X LORNA G. SCHOFIELD, District Judge: Plaintiff Garfield Anthony Williams brings this action for false arrest, failure to intervene and state constitutional violations against the City of New York (the “City”) and Oscar Hernandez, Joseph Ottaviano and Ruben Leon (the “Individual Defendants”), who are employed by the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”). Hernandez and Ottaviano arrested Plaintiff for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs following an accident on the Bronx River Parkway. Defendants move for summary judgment on all claims. Plaintiff moves for sanctions relating to two pieces of evidence. For the reasons below, Defendants’ motion is granted in part and denied in part, and Plaintiff’s motion for sanctions is denied. I. BACKGROUND The following facts are drawn from the parties’ Rule 56.1 statements and other submissions on this motion and are undisputed except as noted. The evidence is construed in the light most favorable to Plaintiff as the non-moving party, and all reasonable inferences are drawn in his favor. See Covington Specialty Ins. Co. v. Indian Lookout Country Club, Inc., 62 F.4th 748, 752 (2d Cir. 2023). On December 14, 2019, Plaintiff ended his shift at the Westchester Medical Center around 11:00 P.M. Around 12:08 A.M. on December 15, Plaintiff was involved in an automobile accident on the Bronx River Parkway. The parties disagree about the cause of the accident, and Plaintiff offers evidence that his vehicle was hit from behind, which caused him to hit another vehicle. Members of NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit (“ESU”), including Defendant Detective Ruben Leon, encountered the accident while returning from another assignment. Upon arriving, Leon observed three cars. One of the vehicles had two occupants, a woman sitting in the driver’s seat and Plaintiff. Leon spoke with the woman, who stated that she was not involved in the accident, but Plaintiff was. Leon requested assistance, then remained at the site of the accident until Defendant Officers Oscar Hernandez and Joseph Ottaviano arrived on the scene. Construing the evidence in favor of Plaintiff, Plaintiff did not speak with the officers

before they arrested him, and he did not display any signs of intoxication. This evidence is disputed. Defendants offer evidence that when Hernandez arrived, a member of the ESU informed him that one of the drivers involved in the accident appeared to be intoxicated. Defendants also offer evidence that Hernandez and Ottaviano each concluded that Plaintiff was intoxicated based on their personal observations of the smell of alcohol on Plaintiff and his bloodshot and watery eyes. Plaintiff was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence. Following his arrest, Plaintiff was transported to Jacobi Hospital. At the hospital, Plaintiff refused through his attorney to submit to a blood test for alcohol. Plaintiff did not sustain physical injuries as a

result of the arrest. Plaintiff was released from the hospital and held until the following evening by the NYPD. Plaintiff’s criminal charges were dismissed before he was arraigned because the driver of the other car involved in the accident did not cooperate with the investigation. Construing the 2 evidence in favor of Plaintiff, Plaintiff did not receive a voucher with instructions to reclaim his vehicle when he was released from the precinct. On approximately February 2, 2020, Plaintiff received a letter from the NYPD with instructions on how to obtain his property. Plaintiff eventually reclaimed the license plates for his vehicle but was unable to recover his vehicle. II. STANDARD Summary judgment is proper where the record establishes 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). A genuine dispute exists “if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986); accord Electra v. 59 Murray Enters., Inc., 987 F.3d 233, 248 (2d Cir. 2021). “Only

disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248; accord Saleem v. Corp. Transp. Grp., Ltd., 854 F.3d 131, 148 (2d Cir. 2017). Courts must construe the evidence and draw all reasonable inferences in the non-moving party’s favor. Electra, 987 F.3d at 248. When the movant properly supports its motion with evidentiary materials, the opposing party must establish a genuine issue of fact by citing to particular parts of materials in the record. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1)(A). In adjudicating a motion for summary judgment, the Court “must disregard all evidence favorable to [Defendants] that the jury is not required to believe,” that is, “give credence to the evidence favoring [Plaintiff] as well

as that evidence supporting [Defendants] that is uncontradicted and unimpeached . . . .” Davis- Garett v. Urban Outfitters, Inc., 921 F.3d 30, 46 (2d Cir. 2019) (quoting Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 151 (2000)). 3 III. DISCUSSION A. False Arrest (First Claim) The first claim in the First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) alleges false arrest against the Individual Defendants under federal and state law. Summary judgment is denied to Defendants Hernandez and Ottaviano because the disputed facts, if resolved in favor of Plaintiff, do not establish probable cause to arrest Plaintiff. Summary judgment is granted to Leon on the false arrest claim because it is undisputed that he was not present at Plaintiff’s arrest. Probable cause provides a complete defense to a false arrest claim, whether it is brought under federal or New York law. Gonzalez v. City of Schenectady, 728 F.3d 149, 155 (2d Cir. 2013) (“The existence of probable cause . . . is a complete defense to an action for false arrest,

whether that action is brought under [New York] state law or under § 1983.”)1; accord Aberra v. City of New York, No. 21 Civ. 1992, 2023 WL 221096, at *2 (2d Cir. Jan. 18, 2023) (summary order). Probable cause exists when police officers “have knowledge or reasonably trustworthy information of facts and circumstances that are sufficient to warrant a person of reasonable caution in the belief that the person to be arrested has committed or is committing a crime.” Ashley v. City of New York, 992 F.3d 128, 136 (2d Cir. 2021). Defendants argue that probable cause existed at the moment of Plaintiff’s arrest based on (1) the fact that multiple vehicles, including Plaintiff’s, were damaged in an accident; (2) Plaintiff’s exhibited signs of inebriation, including the smell of alcohol, slurred speech and his bloodshot and watery eyes; (3) another

driver involved in the accident telling Ottaviano that Plaintiff was stumbling and “fucked up”;

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