Bontkowski v. U.S.

Decision Date19 July 1994
Docket NumberNo. 92-3341,92-3341
Citation28 F.3d 36
PartiesEdward BONTKOWSKI, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant-Appellee.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

William J. Stevens, Chicago, IL (argued), for plaintiff-appellant.

Jonathan Haile, Office of U.S. Atty., Civ. Div., Chicago, IL (argued), for defendant-appellee.

Before MANION, KANNE, and ROVNER, Circuit Judges.

KANNE, Circuit Judge.

In 1984 Edward Bontkowski pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud and two counts of a multi-count drug indictment. We have set out the facts in this underlying case in Bontkowski v. United States, 850 F.2d 306 (7th Cir.1988). He was sentenced to four years for the bank fraud and four years for the drug charges, to be served concurrently, followed by five years of probation and a special parole term of three years.

Bontkowski filed habeas petitions in both cases, and the petitions were dismissed by the district court. On appeal, we affirmed the dismissal of the petition based on the drug charge conviction, and we remanded the petition arising from the bank fraud. Bontkowski v. United States, 850 F.2d 306 (7th Cir.1988).

We found in this earlier case that the related case of United States v. Bruun, 809 F.2d 397 (7th Cir.1987), had "for the first time set out the requirements for finding a defendant guilty of aiding and abetting in the misapplication of bank funds involving stolen collateral." Id. at 314. We remanded the earlier Bontkowski case to the district court to determine whether or not Bontkowski had waived his right to retroactively apply the Bruun case and challenge the factual sufficiency of the charge against him.

On remand the government did not oppose Bontkowski's petition to vacate the bank fraud conviction, and the district court vacated it in December 1988.

In December 1990 Bontkowski delivered an administrative federal torts claim to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He claimed that employees of the Department of Justice had "embarked on a course of oppressive acts" against him to convict him for acts which were not illegal, and he demanded damages of $750,000. The Bureau of Prisons denied the claim in February 1991, but mailed the denial to the wrong address. Bontkowski claims he did not receive notice of denial until August 1991.

On December 12, 1991 Bontkowski filed a complaint in the district court under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2671, alleging injury at the hands of employees of the F.B.I., the U.S. Attorney's Office, and informants acting as "quasi-agents" of the Department of Justice.

The district court dismissed Bontkowski's complaint for malicious prosecution as time-barred. He now appeals that decision. We affirm on different grounds. In re Scarlata, 979 F.2d 521, 525, n. 5 (7th Cir.1992) (We may affirm a dismissal on any grounds consistent with the facts alleged.).

The Federal Tort Claims Act imposes liability upon the United States where a private person would be liable in accordance with the law of the place where the alleged acts or omissions occurred. 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1346(b). Therefore we look to Illinois law to determine whether or not Bontkowski successfully stated a claim for malicious prosecution.

In Illinois one of the elements of malicious prosecution is absence of probable cause for the proceeding. "The existence of probable cause acts as a complete defense to an action for malicious prosecution...." Ely v. National Supermarkets, Inc., 102 Ill.Dec. 498, 502, 500 N.E.2d 120, 149 Ill.App.3d 752, (1986), appeal denied, 108 Ill.Dec. 416, 508 N.E.2d 727, 114 Ill.2d 544 (1987).

In this case, Bontkowski was indicted by a grand jury. In Illinois this is prima facie evidence of probable cause. Freides v. Sani-Mode Mfg. Co., 33 Ill.2d 291, 296, 211 N.E.2d 286 (1964). Furthermore, he pled guilty to the charged offense. In Illinois, "[a]n action for malicious prosecution will not lie if the prior criminal proceedings terminated in any manner not indicative of Plaintiff's innocence." Hajawii v. Venture Stores, Inc., 80 Ill.Dec. 461, 463, 465 N.E.2d 573, 575, 125 Ill.App.3d 22 (1984).

Bontkowski now claims that the proceeding terminated in a manner...

To continue reading

Request your trial
23 cases
  • Lawrence v. City of St. Paul
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of Minnesota
    • 15 Septiembre 2010
    ...was convicted after pleading guilty to one count of harassment in exchange for dismissal of the other charges. See Bontkowski v. United States, 28 F.3d 36, 37 (7th Cir.1994) (prosecution ending in guilty plea is not indicative of plaintiff's innocence and thus cannot give rise to a maliciou......
  • Bontkowski v. Smith
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit
    • 26 Septiembre 2002
    ...under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), buried it prematurely because a few faint signs of life remained. A frequent filer (see Bontkowski v. United States, 28 F.3d 36 (7th Cir.1994); Bontkowski v. First National Bank of Cicero, 998 F.2d 459 (7th Cir.1993); Bontkowski v. Jenkins, 661 F.Supp. 576 (N.D.......
  • Cusick v. Gualandri
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois
    • 22 Noviembre 2021
    ...jury indictment forecloses an element of Cusick's unlawful detention claim—lack of probable cause. They rely on Bontkowski v. United States , 28 F.3d 36 (7th Cir. 1994), that recognized a grand jury indictment is prima facie evidence of probable cause in Illinois. But that case is distingui......
  • Garcia v. Hudak
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois
    • 5 Enero 2016
    ...favor because he pleaded guilty. In support of their argument, Defendants rely on the Seventh Circuit's decision in Bontkowski v. United States , 28 F.3d 36 (7th Cir.1994).In Bontkowski , the plaintiff pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting bank fraud. Id. at 36. As a part of the plea colloq......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT