Arias v. City of Everett
| Decision Date | 04 December 2019 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL ACTION NO. 19-10537-JGD |
| Parties | JORGE ARIAS and ANGEL ARIAS, Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF EVERETT, MAYOR CARLO DEMARIA, POLICE OFFICER JASON LEONARD OF EVERETT P.D., POLICE OFFICER CHRIS HANNON OF EVERETT P.D., CHIEF OF POLICE STEVEN MAZZIE, HOME DEPOT, and KRIS GAFF Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts |
This action arises out of the wrongful conviction of Jorge Arias ("Mr. Arias") for attempted larceny from a Home Depot, in Everett, Massachusetts, and his subsequent incarceration for almost five years by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and then by ICE, until his conviction was vacated and he was acquitted following a retrial. The new trial was granted on the grounds that the Everett Police Department had withheld material evidence. It is Mr. Arias' contention that Home Depot, and its then Manager of Loss Prevention, Kris Gaff, also withheld evidence from both trials in the form of surveillance tapes which may have exonerated him as well. The plaintiff Angel Arias ("Angel") is Mr. Arias' minor son. The plaintiffs brought this suit against the City of Everett, its Mayor Carlo DeMaria, its Chief of Police Steven Mazzie, and Police Officers Jason Leonard and Chris Hannon (the "Municipal Defendants"), and Home Depot USA, Inc. and its former Manager Kris Gaff ("Home Depot Defendants").
This matter is before the court on the Home Depot Defendants' motion to dismiss (Docket No. 8) and the Municipal Defendants' motion to dismiss (Docket No. 11). For the reasons detailed here, the Home Depot Defendants' motion is ALLOWED and the Municipal Defendants' motion is ALLOWED IN PART and DENIED IN PART as follows: Count I is dismissed as to the City of Everett and the individual defendants in their official capacities only; Count II is dismissed against the individual defendants in their official capacities only; Count VI is dismissed as to the City of Everett only; and Count VII is dismissed against the individual defendants in their official capacities only. Otherwise, the Municipal Defendants' motion to dismiss is denied.
The following summarizes the facts as alleged in the plaintiffs' Amended Complaint. (Docket No. 1 Ex. B ("Compl.")). On the night of February 27, 2007, there was an attempted larceny at the Home Depot located in Everett, Massachusetts. (Compl. ¶ 5). Officer Leonard, a defendant, testified at Mr. Arias' trial that, while working a paid detail at the Home Depot, around 8:00 p.m. he saw a man throwing boxes over the garden center wall. (Id.). The man went back inside the Home Depot. (Id.). Officer Leonard drove over to the Garden Center and confronted a man who had driven a truck over to the area. (Id.). The man got back in his truck and "lurched" toward Officer Leonard, before reversing and driving away. (Id.). A chaseensued involving the Everett, Chelsea, and Boston police departments, including the defendant Officer Hannon of the Everett Police. (Id. ¶¶ 5, 6). Boston police apprehended Mr. Arias. (Id. ¶ 5). Officer Leonard testified that he responded to an address in East Boston where the Boston Police were holding Mr. Arias and he identified Mr. Arias as the man he had seen outside Home Depot. (Id.).
At Mr. Arias' first trial in 2008, three witnesses were called to testify on behalf of the prosecution. Officer Leonard identified Mr. Arias. (Id.). He described the man who he interacted with at Home Depot as a "Hispanic male" whose face was "burnt in his memory." (Id.). Officer Hannon testified he could not identify the defendant despite the fact that the man "came right at him" and was "inches away." (Id. ¶ 6). Finally, defendant Kris Gaff, the Home Depot Asset Protection Manager, testified that he had reviewed the store surveillance video and he could not identify the defendant. (Id.). He also testified as to the value of the goods and that it was common to see people who dressed and looked like the defendant at Home Depot. (Id.).
Mr. Arias counsel called Jose Palacios, who testified that he had loaned Mr. Arias his old truck so that he could get to work, and that the truck was not in a condition to drive at high speeds. (Id. ¶ 7). Mr. Arias also testified, professing his innocence and testifying that he had gone to work in Peabody and then driven straight home to East Boston. (Id.). Mr. Arias testified that he had never been to the Home Depot in Everett and that he did not even know where it was located. (Id.).
On August 4, 2008, a jury convicted Mr. Arias. (Id. ¶ 8). He was found guilty of larceny over $250, assault with a dangerous weapon, and reckless operation of a motor vehicle. (Id.).He was sentenced to 4½ years in jail. (Id.). During his incarceration, Mr. Arias suffered "severe emotional distress, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and embarrassment, loss of employment and opportunities, and loss of residency[.]" (Id. ¶16). He maintained his innocence throughout. (Id. ¶ 9). Upon Mr. Arias' conviction, his minor son, Angel, went to live with his aunt and uncle who were in the United States. (See id. ¶ 12).1 Angel's separation from his father caused him to become angry and depressed. (Id.). He went for mental health counseling and would cry every day because his father was not able to be with him. (Id.). He had a difficult time in school, his grades suffered, and he had to repeat a grade. (Id.).
"At the time of his trial, Mr. Arias, a native of El Salvador, was a legal resident of the United States pursuant to temporary protected status." (Id. ¶ 10). He lost that status as a result of his conviction so, after serving his sentence, Mr. Arias was taken into custody by ICE where he remained until he was released on bond on January 17, 2013. (Id. ¶¶ 10-11, 14). During that time, Angel continued to live with his aunt and uncle. (Id. ¶ 12).
Sometime prior to January 17, 2013, Mr. Arias' conviction was vacated. (See id. ¶ 14). It was discovered that exculpatory evidence had not been produced or disclosed to the defense. (Id. ¶ 13). The plaintiffs originally described this missing evidence as a "call log record from the Chelsea Police Department [that] indicated that there were three suspects occupying the black pickup truck that the officers were chasing and not just one occupant as officer Leonard testified to and wrote in his police report." (Id.). In the Amended Complaint, the plaintiffs allegethat both Officers Hannon and Leonard testified and reported that there was only one occupant in the truck. (Id. ¶ 38).
At Mr. Arias' second trial in 2014, Officer Leonard, Officer Hannon, and Kris Gaff again testified. (Id. ¶ 36). By the time of the second trial, Kris Gaff was no longer employed by Home Depot but was a police officer with the Everett Police Department. (Id. ¶ 32). According to the plaintiffs, Mr. Gaff testified as a police officer at the second trial. (Id.). Again, at the second trial Home Depot did not produce the potentially exculpatory evidence of either the Home Depot surveillance video or the Home Depot Asset Protection reports. (Id. ¶ 31). However, the Chelsea call log was admitted into evidence at the second trial, and Mr. Arias was found not guilty. (Id. ¶ 14).
According to the plaintiffs, Mr. Arias "continues to suffer from the consequences of his arrest dating back to 2007, the first trial in 2008 and the continued prosecution of him at the second trial in 2014 and continuing into 2015, 2017, and 2018." (Id. ¶ 33). Mr. Arias continues to be subject to immigration proceedings. (Id. ¶ 34). He currently has no legal status as his temporary protected status was removed following his first conviction. (Id.). Imminent deportation was stayed by his finding of not guilty. (Id.). Mr. Arias continues to "suffer[] mentally and physically due to actions taken by Defendants: Police Officers Hannon and Leonard, and Home Depot and its' [sic] asset protection manager Kris Gaff." (Id.).
Angel also continues to suffer both physically and emotionally. (Id. ¶ 35). He was young while his father was going through two criminal trials, years of incarceration, and immigration proceedings. (Id.). He continues to suffer because Angel is aware his father could be deported at any time. (Id.).
Additional facts will be provided below where appropriate.
The plaintiff filed the instant suit on September 27, 2017 in Essex Superior Court. (See Docket No. 1 at 1). The complaint alleged 15 counts: Count I - Civil Rights Violations Under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 12, § 11H-1, Count II - Deliberate Indifference, Count III - Negligent Training, Count IV - Negligent Supervision, Count V - Mass. Tort Claims Act, Count VI - Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, Count VII - Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress, Count VIII - False Imprisonment, Count IX - Abuse of Process, Count X - Malicious Prosecution, Count XI - Wrongful Conviction, Count XII - False Arrest, Count XIII - Defamation, Count XIV - Negligence, Count XV - Pendant Causes of Action. .
In September 2018, the Superior Court dismissed claims III, IV, V, VIII, XI, XII, XIII, XIV and XV with prejudice. (Docket No. 22 at p. 266/818 ("Mem. of Decision")). Counts I, II, VI, and VII were dismissed, in part, without prejudice. (Id.). Superior Court Judge Lu dismissed as untimely the Count I and II claims, "arising out of his alleged misidentification, arrest, and incarceration that commenced on or about February 27, 2007." (Mem. of Decision at 2.). However, Judge Lu dismissed the claims without prejudice because "[i]t is unclear to the court whether the complaint alleges civil rights violations that may have accrued during Arias's incarceration or his re-trial." (Id.). Similarly, Judge Lu dismissed as untimely Counts VI and VII, "based upon the arrest of Jorge Arias, and the alleged false accusations and false testimony at his trial that concluded on August 4, 2008." (Id. at 3). Jud...
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