Anilao v. Spota

Decision Date28 November 2018
Docket NumberNo. 10-CV-00032 (JFB) (AKT),10-CV-00032 (JFB) (AKT)
Citation340 F.Supp.3d 224
Parties Juliet ANILAO, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Thomas J. SPOTA, III, et al., Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York

Plaintiffs are represented by James Druker, Kase & Druker, Esqs., 1325 Franklin Avenue, Suite 225, Garden City, NY 11530; Paula Schwartz Frome, Esq., 1325 Franklin Ave., Suite 225, Garden City, NY 11530; and Oscar Michelen, Cuomo LLC, 200 Old Country Road, Suite 2 South, Mineola, NY 11501.

Plaintiff Felix Vinluan is also represented by Sherri Anne Jayson, Cuomo LLC, 9 East 38th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10016.

Defendant Thomas J. Spota is represented by Brian C. Mitchell, Suffolk County Dept. of Law, 100 Veterans Memorial Highway, P.O. Box 6100, Hauppauge, NY 11788 and Garrett W. Swenson, Jr., Esq., 76 Bay Road, Brookhaven, NY 11719.

Defendants Leonard Lato and the County of Suffolk are also represented by Brian C. Mitchell.

Defendants Sentosa Care, LLC, Avalon Gardens Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, Prompt Nursing Employment Agency, LLC, Francris Luyun, Bent Philipson, and Berish Rubinstein are represented by Matthew Didora, Sarah C. Lichtenstein, and John Scanlan Cahalan, Abrams Fensterman, 1111 Marcus Avenue, Suite 107, Lake Success, NY 11042.

Sarah C. Lichtenstein also represents defendants Susan O'Connor and Nancy Fitzgerald.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Joseph F. Bianco, District Judge:

Juliet Anilao, Harriet Avila, Mark Dela Cruz, Claudine Gamaio, Elmer Jacinto, Jennifer Lampa, Rizza Maulion, James Millena, Theresa Ramos, Ranier Sichon (the "nurse plaintiffs"), and Felix Q. Vinluan ("Vinluan") (collectively "plaintiffs") brought this action against Thomas J. Spota, III, individually and as District Attorney of Suffolk County ("District Attorney Spota" or "Spota"); the Office of the District Attorney of Suffolk County ("the DA's Office"), Leonard Lato, individually and as an Assistant District Attorney of Suffolk County ("Lato"), and the County of Suffolk (collectively the "County defendants"); Sentosa Care, LLC ("Sentosa"), Avalon Gardens Rehabilitation and Health Care Center ("Avalon"), Prompt Nursing Employment Agency, LLC ("Prompt"), Francris Luyun ("Luyun"), Bent Philipson ("Philipson"), Berish Rubinstein ("Rubinstein"), Susan O'Connor ("O'Connor"), and Nancy Fitzgerald ("Fitzgerald") (collectively the "Sentosa defendants"),1 alleging that the County defendants and the Sentosa defendants violated plaintiffs' constitutional rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (" Section 1983").2

As set forth in more detail below, the claims in this case stem from what was originally an employment dispute between the nurse plaintiffs and the Sentosa defendants. Based upon the undisputed facts, the record demonstrates that Sentosa recruited the nurse plaintiffs to work in the United States, and they were placed at the Avalon facility. Many of the nurse plaintiffs were specifically assigned to work in Avalon's pediatric ventilator unit, a unit whose patients required intensive medical care. The nurse plaintiffs had a number of complaints about their employment conditions. They voiced these complaints several times, beginning at the latest on February 16, 2006. By letter dated March 3, 2006 and addressed to Bent Philipson, an owner of Avalon and Sentosa who was also involved in the management of the facility during the relevant time period, and Susan O'Connor, the Administrator of Avalon, the nurse plaintiffs outlined their complaints. They further stated that, if they did not "have positive results" by March 6, 2006, they would not work until they were "treated with fairness and respect." The nurse plaintiffs also consulted Felix Vinluan, an immigration and employment attorney, about their complaints. Vinluan advised the nurse plaintiffs that, in his opinion, Sentosa breached its employment contract with them and that the nurse plaintiffs were legally free to resign.

On the afternoon of April 7, 2006, the nurse plaintiffs submitted resignation letters to Nancy Fitzgerald, Director of Nursing at Avalon. At the time of their resignation, only one of the plaintiff nurses, Theresa Ramos, was completing a shift at the facility. Ramos finished her shift. None of the nurse plaintiffs returned to work at Avalon after tendering their resignation.

There is a factual dispute as to how difficult (if at all) it was to secure coverage for the post-resignation shifts the nurse plaintiffs had been assigned to before they resigned, as well as whether any of the nurse plaintiffs' patients were ever in danger because of the need to secure coverage. However, it is undisputed that the Sentosa defendants did ultimately secure coverage for these shifts, and no patient was harmed as a result of the resignation.

In response to the resignation, O'Connor filed a complaint with the New York Department of Education and a police report with the Suffolk County Police Department ("SCPD"). The police report states that Avalon "wishe[d] to document that 11 workers ... walked out of work and never returned without notice." The police did not take any action against plaintiffs in response to O'Connor's police report, and the Department of Education declined to revoke the nurses' licenses.

Sentosa's counsel, Howard Fensterman, secured a personal meeting with the District Attorney of Suffolk County, Thomas Spota. According to Leonard Lato, an assistant district attorney whom Spota later assigned to work on the case, Spota had given Fensterman "an audience" because they knew each other. At the meeting, the Sentosa defendants presented information concerning the resignation to Spota and some of his staff, including that the nurse plaintiffs had resigned without notice and that there had been concern on the part of the Sentosa defendants that something horrific could have happened to the patients because of the resignation. At some point, Spota became aware of O'Connor's contact with the SCPD. Spota agreed to investigate the case, and subsequently assigned it to Lato.

In the course of his investigation, Lato visited the Avalon facility twice, and he and investigators from the DA's Office interviewed several of the plaintiffs. Ultimately, Lato decided to present the case to the Grand Jury. According to plaintiffs, in the course of the Grand Jury presentation, several of the Sentosa defendants made false statements. Moreover, plaintiffs assert, among other things, that the Grand Jury was misled to believe that the nurse plaintiffs may have resigned during their shifts (as opposed to at the end of their shifts). On March 6, 2007, the Grand Jury returned an indictment against plaintiffs, charging them with endangering the welfare of a child, endangering the welfare of a physically disabled person, conspiring to do the same, and solicitation.

The prosecution of plaintiffs was halted, however, when the New York State Appellate Division granted plaintiffs' Article 78 petition for a writ of prohibition based upon the fact that plaintiffs were being "threatened with prosecution for crimes for which they cannot constitutionally be tried." Matter of Vinluan v. Doyle , 60 A.D.3d 237, 873 N.Y.S.2d 72, 83 (2d Dep't 2009). Specifically, the Appellate Division found that the prosecution sought to punish the nurse plaintiffs for resigning from their employment at will, and to punish Vinluan for providing legal advice to the nurses in connection with their resignation. As such, the court found that the prosecution violated plaintiffs' First and Thirteenth Amendment rights.

After the prosecution of plaintiffs was accordingly prohibited, on January 6, 2010, plaintiffs commenced this action in federal court, alleging that defendants violated their constitutional rights in a variety of respects and seeking to vindicate those rights under Section 1983 and state law.

On March 23, 2010, the County defendants and the Sentosa defendants moved to dismiss the Amended Complaint. (ECF Nos. 14-15, respectively.) On March 31, 2011, the Court granted in part and denied in part the motions. (ECF No. 31.)3 As to the County defendants, the Court concluded that (1) the individual County defendants were entitled to absolute immunity for conduct in their role as advocates in connection with the presentation of the case to the Grand Jury; (2) the individual County defendants were not entitled to absolute immunity for alleged misconduct during the investigation of plaintiffs;4 (3) plaintiffs sufficiently pled Section 1983 claims against the individual County defendants for alleged Due Process violations in the investigative stage; and (4) plaintiffs sufficiently pled a claim for municipal liability against the County of Suffolk. As to defendants Philipson, Luyun, Rubinstein, Sentosa, Prompt, and Avalon, the Court concluded that (1) plaintiffs sufficiently alleged that they were acting under color of state law; and (2) plaintiffs sufficiently pled claims for malicious prosecution and false arrest under both Section 1983 and state law, as well as a Section 1983 conspiracy claim.5 The Court dismissed the claims against defendants O'Connor and Fitzgerald.

The County defendants, the Sentosa defendants, and defendant Spota now move for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (ECF Nos. 115-117.) For the reasons set forth below, the Court grants the County defendants' motion for summary judgment in its entirety. With respect to the Sentosa defendants' summary judgment motion, to the extent that plaintiffs have asserted a Section 1983 conspiracy claim against the Sentosa defendants for conspiring to fabricate evidence in the investigative stage with the County defendants, the motion for summary judgment is granted as to that claim. However, the Court denies the Sentosa defendants' motion for summary judgment on the malicious prosecution and false arrest claims under federal and state law.

The County defendants are granted summary judgment because, as noted above, Spota and Lato are absolutely...

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11 cases
  • Anilao v. Spota
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit
    • March 9, 2022
    ...violated the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights during the investigative phase of the criminal proceedings. Anilao v. Spota, 340 F. Supp. 3d 224, 250 (E.D.N.Y. 2018) (" Anilao II"). And "given the absence of any underlying constitutional violation in the investigative stage," the court concl......
  • Saraswat v. Bus. Integra, Inc.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York
    • April 25, 2019
    ...Court therefore regards the resolution of this factual issue as irrelevant for purposes of summary judgment. See Anilao v. Spota, 340 F. Supp. 3d 224, 237 n.9 (E.D.N.Y. 2018) (disregarding "factual disputes" that were "not material to the Court's analysis for the purposes of the summary jud......
  • Chapman v. Maycock
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York
    • December 23, 2021
    ...be liable under section 1983, however, if they have conspired with or engaged in joint activity with state actors. Anilao v. Spota, 340 F.Supp.3d 224, 253 (E.D.N.Y. 2018); Stewart v. Victoria's Secret Stores, LLC, 851 F.Supp.2d 442, 445 (E.D.N.Y. 2012). Stating a claim for joint action or c......
  • Kellner v. City of New York
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    • U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York
    • September 16, 2021
    ... ... Culbertson, 200 F.3d 65, 72 (2d Cir ... 1999) (quoting Rounseville v. Zahl, 13 F.3d 625, 632 ... (2d Cir. 1994)); see also Anilao v. Spota, 340 ... F.Supp.3d 224, 255 (E.D.N.Y. 2018) (quoting same) ... Plaintiff ... has alleged sufficient facts to ... ...
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