Yorzinski v. City of New York

175 F. Supp. 3d 69, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44251, 2016 WL 1270248
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMarch 31, 2016
Docket1:14-cv-1302-GHW
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 175 F. Supp. 3d 69 (Yorzinski v. City of New York) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Yorzinski v. City of New York, 175 F. Supp. 3d 69, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44251, 2016 WL 1270248 (S.D.N.Y. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

GREGORY H. WOODS, United States District Judge:

Plaintiff, Matthew Yorzinski, a Yankees season ticket holder, was ejected from Yankee Stadium during a game, and was escorted by a stadium attendant to the sidewalk outside. He approached a group of police officers to ask for help to reenter the stadium. He was told to “go away,” and was then arrested and held overnight in jail on the basis of charges that were later dismissed. Mr. Yorzinski filed this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for false arrest and other claims against his arresting officers, New York Police Department (“NYPD”) Officer Socrates Soto and Sergeant George Griffo, and the City of New York (collectively, “Defendants”).

Defendants argue that the officers had probable cause to arrest Mr. Yorzinski for trespass, because, although unbeknownst to him, the publicly accessible portion of the sidewalk outside of Yankee Stadium where he stood was owned by the Yankees. Because a reasonable jury could conclude that Mr. Yorzinski’s ejection from the stadium was not an order by the attendant also to leave the privately owned portion of the sidewalk outside, and because there is a genuine dispute regarding whether the police later ordered Mr. Yor-zinski to leave that portion of the sidewalk prior to his arrest, Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is denied.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background1

On September 1, 2012, Mr. Yorzinski traveled from Branford, Connecticut to New York to attend a baseball game at Yankee Stadium. Declaration of Theresa D’Andrea in Supp. of Defs.’ Mot. for Summ. J. (“D’Andrea Decl.”), Dkt. No. 43, Ex. B, Matthew Yorzinski Deposition (‘Yorzinski Dep.”) 16:8-17:20. Mr. Yorzin-ski was accompanied by his girlfriend. Defs.’ Local Rule 56.1 Statement of Undis[72]*72puted Facts (“Defs.’ SUF”) ¶¶ 1-2; Yorzin-ski Dep. 17:10-18. The couple boarded a Metro North train that morning, arrived at the Yankee Stadium stop in the Bronx, and entered the stadium at approximately 12:30 in the afternoon. Yorzinski Dep. 20:5-23:23.

Mr. Yorzinski and his girlfriend stopped at one of the stadium vendors and purchased two beverages. Id. 24:7-25:12. Accompanied by a stadium attendant, they took their seats around 12:55 p.m., approximately ten minutes before the game was scheduled to begin. Id. 27:8-13, 24:2-4, 28:14-22. After about two innings, Mr. Yorzinski and his girlfriend left their seats to use the restroom. Id. 30:25-31:10. They were away for approximately five minutes. Id. 31:11-13. Upon their return, they noticed that their seats were occupied. Id. 30:25-31:10. Mr. Yorzinski asked the “seat attendant if he could help [those] guests find their seats, check their tickets .., because they were sitting in [his] seats.” Id. ■ Mr. Yorzinski spoke to the seat attendant for about five minutes and, at approximately 2:45 p.m., after examining the couple’s tickets, the attendant asked Mr. Yorzinski to follow him, took Mr. Yorzin-ski down an elevator, and escorted him out of the stadium.2 Id. 33:12-36:21, 39:7-13; Defs.’ SUF ¶ 3; D’Andrea Deck, Ex. F. The attendant kept both tickets so that Mr. Yorzinski would be prevented from reentering the stadium. Defs.’ SUF ¶ 4; Yorzinski Dep. 34:11-13. The attendant left Mr. Yorzinski outside of the stadium; he did not give Mr. Yorzinski any additional directions on where he must go. Yorzinski Dep. 33:12-34:7, 38:11-13.

Once outside, Mr. Yorzinski approached another stadium attendant, explained that he had been escorted outside without explanation, and asked to be allowed back inside. Id. 39:17-23. When that person said that he could not help, Mr. Yorzinski walked around the stadium where he encountered another Yankee Stadium attendant who also said she could not allow him to reenter. Id. 40:20-41:17. While he was denied reentry, the record does not suggest that either attendant directed Mr. Yorzinski to leave the area or the sidewalk abutting the stadium. See Id. 39:17-40:2, 40:8-41:17.

Mr. Yorzinski then made his way toward the stadium’s customer service area, located outside of Gate Four. Id. 39:17-40:2, 41:18-20. On his way there, Mr. Yorzinski noticed a group of approximately eight police officers. Id. 40:3-7, 42:17-18. He approached the officers,' hoping to obtain their assistance to reenter the stadium so that he could watch the remainder of the game. Id. 40:3-7, 43:14-44:3.

Around the same time that Mr. Yorzin-ski was escorted out of the stadium, defendant Sergeant George Griffo received a call over the police radio informing him that “[t]here was some type of disturbance in front of Gate 2” and that “[t]he police were needed there.” Defs.’ SUF ¶ 7; D’Andrea Decl., Ex. D, George Griffo Deposition (“Griffo Dep.”) 16:11-17:20. Sergeant Griffo made his way to the location and joined a group of Yankee Stadium police officers who were present at the scene. Griffo Dep. 18:8-13. Those officers informed Sergeant Griffo that Mr. Yorzinski had been ejected from the stadium due to “some type of improper behavior” and that he was “insisting on going back in.” Pk’s Local Rule 56.1 Statement of Undisputed Facts (“Pk’s SUF”) ¶ 10; Griffo Dep. 18:8-19:3. After he arrived at the location, Sergeant Griffo called defendant Officer Socrates Soto for assistance. Defs.’ SUF ¶ 12; D’Andrea Deck Ex. J, Socrates Soto Deposition (“Soto Dep.”) 27:14-24.

[73]*73Precisely what happened when Mr. Yor-zinski approached the group of NYPD officers is in dispute. According to Mr. Yorzin-ski, among the group of officers, he spoke primarily to Officer Soto. Yorzinski Dep. 44:21-45:4. Mr. Yorzinski attempted to explain to Officer Soto what had happened with the hope of “get[ting] this straightened out” so that he could “reenter the stadium.” Id. 45:11-24. Officer Soto declined to allow Mr. Yorzinski back into the stadium. Id. 45:24-46:9. According to De^ fendants, however, Sergeant Griffo was summoned to the scene after Yankee Stadium police informed him that Mr. Yorzin-ski “was refusing to leave the area.” Defs.’ SUF ¶ 10. Defendants maintain that the police officers outside the stadium • were trying to explain to Mr. Yorzinski that he was not allowed back inside the stadium, and Sergeant Griffo “tr[ied] to explain to Mr. Yorzinski, that once you are ejected from the Stadium ... [y]ou can’t go back in the Stadium. You might as well just leave.” Griffo Dep. 18:8-19:11. When Mr. Yorzinski insisted on reentering the stadium, Defendants assert, Sergeant Griffo “informed him if you don’t leave, you will be subject to being arrested.” Id. 20:25-21:10. Sergeant Griffo “probably told [Mr. Yorzinski] that one or two times ... to give him a chance to leave.” Id.'

In Mr. Yorzinski’s account of the events, only tvfb to three minutes elapsed from the time that he first approached the group of NYPD officers until his conversation with Officer Soto came to an end. Yorzinski Dep. 46:14-17. At that point, Officer Soto told Mr. Yorzinski, “go away or are you coming with me.” PL’s SUF ¶ 11; Yorzinski Dep. 45:24-46:9, 46:18-20, 48:5-9. Mr. Yor-zinski “took a step away and then [Officer Soto] grabbed [him] by the arm and ... walked [him] over to the marked police car” where Officer Soto patted him down, frisked him, and handcuffed him. Yorzinski Dep. 48:10-24. According to Mr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
175 F. Supp. 3d 69, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44251, 2016 WL 1270248, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/yorzinski-v-city-of-new-york-nysd-2016.