Young v. Klass

776 F. Supp. 2d 916, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22714, 2011 WL 825509
CourtDistrict Court, D. Minnesota
DecidedMarch 7, 2011
DocketCase 09-CV-1223 (PJS/SRN)
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 776 F. Supp. 2d 916 (Young v. Klass) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Young v. Klass, 776 F. Supp. 2d 916, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22714, 2011 WL 825509 (mnd 2011).

Opinion

ORDER ON THE MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OF DEFENDANTS KYLE KLASS AND SECU-REFORCE, LLC

PATRICK J. SCHILTZ, District Judge.

In May 2007, plaintiff Dwight Young was instructed to leave the Gameworks arcade in downtown Minneapolis by defendant Kyle Klass, a security guard working at the arcade. Young complied. A few minutes later, Young was arrested on the sidewalk outside of Gameworks by two Minneapolis police officers, defendants Clark Goset and Jer Yang. Young alleges that Goset and Yang acted on the basis of false information provided by Klass. In the course of the arrest, defendant Joseph Will, another Minneapolis police officer, applied a taser to Young’s back. After being arrested, Young was taken to jail by Goset and Yang.

Based on these events, Young brought a total of 12 claims against 10 defendants: Klass; Klass’s employer, SecureForce, LLC; officers Goset, Yang, and Will, as well as two police sergeants, Daniel A. Swalve and Dale Burns; the City of Minneapolis; Sega Entertainment U.S.A., Inc., the owner of the arcade; and Block E Hotel Capital, LLC, the owner of the complex known as “Block E” that housed the arcade.

All defendants except Block E Hotel Capital, LLC (which has not appeared) moved for summary judgment. In an order dated October 1, 2010 [Docket No. 74], the Court ruled on most of the motions, dismissing all claims against four defendants (Sega Entertainment U.S.A., Inc., the City of Minneapolis, Burns, and Swalve) and dismissing all state-law claims against Goset, Yang, and Will. Young’s federal claims against Goset, Yang, and' Will remain pending.

In this order, the Court addresses the summary-judgment motion of Klass and SecureForce, against whom Young asserts state-law claims for malicious prosecution, abuse of process, false imprisonment, and negligence. Because Young alleges that SecureForce is vicariously liable for Klass’s actions — and does not allege that SecureForce committed any independent torts — the summary-judgment arguments of SecureForce and Klass are the same. Accordingly, for ease of exposition, the Court refers only to Klass in discussing Young’s claims.

For the reasons that follow, the Court denies summary judgment with respect to Young’s malicious-prosecution and false-imprisonment claims; grants summary judgment with respect to Young’s abuse-of-process claim; and grants in part and denies in part summary judgment with respect to Young’s negligence claim.

*919 I. BACKGROUND

A. Introduction

The parties agree on this rough outline of events: On May 10, 2007, at about 10:00 p.m., Young entered Gameworks, an arcade located in Block E in downtown Minneapolis, and talked to some customers. Klass asked Young to leave, and Young complied. Although Young left the premises, he remained on the sidewalk outside of Gameworks. Klass came out and asked Young to leave, but Young refused.

Two Minneapolis police officers, Goset and Yang, arrived on the scene. Either before or after the officers arrived, someone handcuffed Young. A third officer, Will, applied a taser to Young’s back, and Young was placed in Goset and Yang’s squad car. Goset and Yang took Young to the Hennepin County jail where he was held for disorderly conduct and trespassing. Sautter Deck (Second) Ex. 17 at 3 [Docket No. 69-1]. After spending the night in jail, Young pleaded not guilty and was released. Register of Actions, State v. Young, No. 27-CR-07-030590 (Hennepin Criminal Downtown). 1 The charges against Young were dropped a few months later. Id.

As for the details of the evening’s events, however, Young, Klass, and the various police officers all tell very different stories. Because defendants move for summary judgment, the Court must construe the evidence in Young’s favor. In an ordinary case, construing the evidence in the plaintiffs favor means taking the plaintiffs version of events as true. This is an unusual case, however, in that Young’s version of events is in some respects less favorable to his own cause than defendants’ versions.

At oral argument, Young conceded that his claims must stand or fall based on his version of events, even if that version is less favorable than a defendant’s version. The Court therefore relies primarily on Young’s version of events. When other evidence does not contradict Young’s version, the Court construes that evidence in the light most favorable to Young.

B. Facts

Young’s version of events — supplemented by other evidence that does not contradict Young’s version — is as follows:

While walking past Gameworks on the evening of May 10, 2007, Young decided to go in to play pool. Young Dep. at 21, 75. 2 Once inside, Young asked a man who was playing pool whether he wanted to play a game with Young. Id. at 25, 75-76. The man declined but offered Young his table. Id. at 25. Young then asked a different man if he wanted to play. Id. at 25-26. Before the man answered, Klass tapped Young on the shoulder and told him to leave. Id. at 26, 76-77. Young immediately complied. Id. at 26-27, 78.

Young walked out of the second-floor entrance to Gameworks and into a common area within Block E, took an escalator down to the ground level of the complex, and exited onto the sidewalk. Id. at 26-28, 78. Klass followed Young the entire way. 3 *920 Id. at 27-29, 78-79,103-04. As Young was walking along the sidewalk toward a bus stop, he turned to Klass and asked why Klass was still following him. Klass responded that he was making sure that Young got off the block and (according to Young) “took [his] ass home.” Young replied that Klass was “full of shit” and was harassing him. Id. at 29-30, 79.

Klass then waved at a nearby police car and gestured for the officers to come over. Id. at 29-30, 79-80. Goset and Yang pulled over, got out of the car, and walked directly up to Young; either Goset or Yang then handcuffed Young. Id. at 29-32, 105-07. The officers placed the handcuffed Young up against the side of their squad car and pat searched him. Id. at 32-33, 81.

Klass never put his hands on Young, id. at 80, 107-08, but at some point, Klass had a conversation with Goset, Goset Dep. at 29, 33, 53. 4 Klass told Goset that Young had been trespassing and acting disorderly inside Gameworks. Goset Dep. at 32-33, 45-46, 56-61; Boggs Aff. Ex. 11 [Docket No. 53-10]; Klass Dep. at 76. Klass also told Goset that he suspected Young of being drunk and had asked Young to leave Gameworks because Young was bothering patrons. Goset Dep. at 59-60.

While Young was leaning against the squad car in handcuffs, he twice asked why he was being arrested and was twice told to shut up. Young Dep. at 34-35, 47. Young said that he would not shut up and needed to know why he was being arrested. Id. at 34-35.

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Bluebook (online)
776 F. Supp. 2d 916, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22714, 2011 WL 825509, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/young-v-klass-mnd-2011.