Briggs v. Hallenbeck

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

VERON BRIGGS,

Plaintiff,

1:22-CV-1392

Vv. (DJS)

“| JAMES HALLENBECK,

Defendant.

APPEARANCES: OF COUNSEL:

VERON BRIGGS

Plaintiff, Pro Se

Troy, New York 12182

PATTISON SAMPSON GINSBERG & RHIANNON I. GIFFORD, ESQ.

GRIFFIN PLLC

Attorney for Defendant

P.O. Box 208

22 First Street

Troy, New York 12180

DANIEL J. STEWART

United States Magistrate Judge

MEMORANDUM-DECISION AND ORDER!

Pro se Plaintiff Veron Briggs brings this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights action

alleging that Defendant falsely arrested him in violation of his constitutional rights. See

generally Dkt. No. 1, Compl. Pending before the Court is Defendant’s Motion for

Summary Judgment seeking dismissal of the Complaint in its entirety. Dkt. Nos. 24 &

' Upon the parties’ consent this matter has been referred to the undersigned to exercise full jurisdiction pursuant to

28 U.S.C. § 636(c) and Federal Rule of Crvil Procedure 73. See Dkt. No. 19.

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24-8, Def.’s Mem. of Law. Plaintiff filed an opposition to the Motion to which Defendant

replied. Dkt. No. 32, Pl.’s Opp.; Dkt. No. 35. Plaintiffs opposition is styled as a cross-

motion for summary judgment. See generally P|.’s Opp.

For the reasons set forth below, Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment is

GRANTED and Plaintiffs Cross-Motion is DENIED.’

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff alleges that on April 6, 2022, he called 911 to report that his home was

being burglarized by Ms. Nevaeh Wright. Dkt. No. 32-3 at p. 1. In response, Defendant

was dispatched to the scene. /d.; Dkt. No. 24-1 at § 4. Upon arrival, Defendant spoke

with Plaintiff and requested identifying information. Dkt. No. 24-1 at J 6. Plaintiffs

_| identifying information revealed that he was the subject of an active arrest warrant for

physically assaulting and choking Ms. Wright on a separate occasion. Dkt. No. 24-5;

Dkt. No. 32-3 at pp. 2-3. Acting on this information alone, Defendant arrested Plaintiff.

Dkt. No. 24-1 at 4 9, 13, 15. Plaintiff maintains that his arrest violated his Fourth and

Eighth Amendment rights. Compl. at pp. 2-3.

Il. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

Summary judgment is appropriate only where “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). The moving party bears the burden to demonstrate through “pleadings,

depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with . . .

? The Court notes that Plaintiffs Cross-Motion is untimely because it was filed after the response date set by the

Dkt. Nos. 30 & 32. Nor does it comply with the Court’s Local Rules for filing a cross-motion. See L.R.

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affidavits, if any,” that there 1s no genuine issue of material fact. F.D..C. v. Giammettei,

34 F.3d 51, 54 (2d Cir. 1994) (quoting Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323

(1986)). To defeat a motion for summary judgment, the non-movant must set out specific

facts showing that a genuine issue exists and cannot rest merely on allegations or denials

of the facts submitted by the movant. FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c); see also Scott v. Coughlin,

344 F.3d 282, 287 (2d Cir. 2003) (“Conclusory allegations or denials are ordinarily not

sufficient to defeat a motion for summary judgment when the moving party has set out a

documentary case.”’).

When considering a motion for summary judgment, the court must resolve all

ambiguities and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-movant. Anderson v.

_| Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255 (1986). “[T]he trial court’s task at the summary

judgment motion stage of the litigation is carefully limited to discerning whether there

are any genuine issues of material fact to be tried, not to deciding them. Its duty, in short,

is confined at this point to issue-finding; it does not extend to issue-resolution.” Gallo v.

Prudential Residential Servs., Ltd. P’ship, 22 F.3d 1219, 1224 (2d Cir. 1994).

Furthermore, where a party is proceeding pro se, the court must “read [his or her]

supporting papers liberally, and . . . interpret them to raise the strongest arguments that

they suggest.” Burgos v. Hopkins, 14 F.3d 787, 790 (2d Cir. 1994), accord, Soto v.

Walker, 44 F.3d 169, 173 (2d Cir. 1995). Nonetheless, summary judgment is appropriate

“Twhere the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the

non-moving party.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574,

587 (1986).

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II. DISCUSSION

Defendant seeks summary judgment arguing that Plaintiff was not subject to false

arrest as a matter of law and any Eighth Amendment claim is baseless. See generally

Def.’s Mem. of Law. For the following reasons, Defendant’s Motion 1s granted.

5 A. False Arrest

“To establish a § 1983 claim for false arrest, [Plaintiff] must adduce evidence that:

(i) the [Defendant] intended to confine [him]; (11) [Plaintiff was] conscious of the

confinement; (111) [Plaintiff] did not consent to being confined; and (iv) the confinement

was not otherwise privileged.” Berg v. Kelly, 897 F.3d 99, 106 (2d Cir. 2018). “The

existence of probable cause to arrest constitutes justification and is a complete defense to

_| an action for false arrest, whether that action is brought under state law or under § 1983.”

Covington v. City of New York, 171 F.3d 117, 122 (2d Cir. 1999) (internal quotation marks

omitted); see also Singer v. Fulton Cnty. Sheriff, 63 F.3d 110, 118 (2d Cir. 1995) (“There

can be no federal civil rights claim for false arrest where the arresting officer had probable

cause.”’).

[P]robable cause to arrest exists when the 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... . The

question of whether or not probable cause existed may be determinable

as a matter of law if there is no dispute as to the pertinent events and the

knowledge of the officers[.]

Maron v. Cnty. of Albany, 166 F. App’x 540, 541-42 (2d Cir. 2006) (internal quotation

marks omitted).

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It is well-settled that “[a]n arrest pursuant to a valid warrant is presumptively made

with probable cause.” See, e.g., Martinetti v. Town of New Hartford Police Dep’t, 112

F.Supp.2d 251, 252-53 (N.D.N.Y. 2000). This presumption can only be rebutted by a

showing of “fraud, perjury, or the misrepresentation or falsification of evidence.” Cea v.

Ulster Cnty., 309 F.Supp.2d 321, 329 (N.D.N.Y. 2004) (internal quotation marks omitted).

Thus, an arresting officer acting in reliance on a facially valid arrest warrant is shielded

from liability under the doctrine of qualified immunity. /d at 330; see also Dirienzo v.

U.S., 690 F. Supp. 1149, 1154 n.4 (D. Conn. 1988) (“The arresting officer need not inquire

into the merits of a facially valid arrest warrant before execution. Indeed, once probable

cause for the arrest has been established by a judicial officer and an arrest warrant has

issued, the warrant compels arrest and a law enforcement officer ignores this

command at his peril.’’).

Here, it is undisputed that Plaintiff had an active warrant out for his arrest. Dkt.

No. 24-5; See generally Pl.’s Opp. Likewise, both parties agree that Defendant did not

participate in applying for the arrest warrant or take part in any of the events leading to

the issuance of the arrest warrant. Dkt. No. 24-1 at 12-14; Dkt. No. 32-3 at pp. 2-3.

”) Because Defendant arrested Plaintiff pursuant to a valid arrest warrant, a presumption of

probable cause justifies the arrest. Plaintiff has not rebutted this presumption. Instead,

Plaintiff has only alleged, in wholly conclusory fashion, that the arrest warrant was issued

as aresult of “false sworn Affidavits” submitted by police officers not named in the instant

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case. Dkt. No. 32-3 at p. 6.3 Here, Defendant was under no obligation to inquire into the

merits of the arrest warrant. Dirienzo v. U.S., 690 F. Supp. at 1154 n.4. Having arrested

Plaintiff in reliance on a facially valid arrest warrant, there was no Fourth Amendment

violation. As such, the Court finds that Defendant is entitled to summary judgment on

this ground.

B. Eighth Amendment

The Eighth Amendment protects prisoners from “cruel and unusual punishment”

at the hands of prison officials. Wilson v. Seiter, 501 U.S. 294, 296-97 (1991); Estelle v.

Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 102 (1976). The keyword is prisoner. It is well-settled that the

Eighth Amendment “does not apply to individuals who are detained pre-trial as they ‘have

_,|not been convicted of a crime and thus may not be punished in any manner—neither

cruelly and unusually nor otherwise.’” Laurent v. Edwin, 528 F. Supp. 3d 69, 85

(E.D.N.Y. 2021) (quoting Darnell v. Pineiro, 849 F.3d 17, 29 (2d Cir. 2017)). While a

false arrest claim implicates the Fourth Amendment it does not implicate the Eighth. See,

e.g., Micalizzi v. Ciamarra, 206 F. Supp. 2d 564, 579 (S.D.N.Y. 2002). Thus, summary

judgment should be granted where a plaintiff does not state an Eighth Amendment claim.

Thomas v. City of New York, 2012 WL 4889257, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 16, 2012).

Here, Plaintiff asserts that his alleged false arrest violated his Eighth Amendment

rights. Compl. at pp. 2-3. However, it is undisputed that Plaintiff was a mere pre-trial

detainee upon his arrest. Plaintiff does not allege any facts suggesting that he was a

3 “Fven assuming that [the unnamed officers] misrepresented or omitted material facts that led to the issuance of

the arrest warrant, [Defendant is] entitled to qualified immunity because [he] acted in good faith, relying ona

facially valid arrest warrant.” Cea y. Ulster Cnty., 309 F.Supp.2d at 330.

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prisoner subject to cruel and unusual punishment. See generally Compl.; Pl.’s Opp.

Because the Eighth Amendment does not apply to Plaintiff's claim, and he has failed to

plead any facts suggesting otherwise, summary judgment is also granted on this ground.

IV. CONCLUSION

WHEREFORE, it is hereby

ORDERED, that Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. No. 24) is

GRANTED; and it is further

ORDERED, that Plaintiff's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. No. 32)

is DENIED; and it is further

ORDERED, that the Complaint (Dkt. No. 1) is DISMISSED; and it is

ORDERED, that the Clerk of the Court serve a copy of this Memorandum-

Decision and Order upon the parties to this action.

Dated: April 30, 2024

Albany, New York

ZL,

US-Magistrate Judge

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