Benta v. Christie's, Inc.

• Decision Date: 17 March 2017
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 2013-0080
• Parties: OAKLAND BENTA, JEFFREY J. PROSSER, and DAWN E. PROSSER, Plaintiffs, v. CHRISTIE'S, INC., WILLIAM H. STASSEN, YANN GERON, DAVID MARSHALL NISSMAN, and CHARLES ANTIN, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Virgin Islands

OAKLAND BENTA, JEFFREY J. PROSSER,and DAWN E. PROSSER, Plaintiffs, v. CHRISTIE'S, INC., WILLIAM H. STASSEN, YANN GERON,DAVID MARSHALL NISSMAN, and CHARLES ANTIN, Defendants.

Civil Action No. 2013-0080

DISTRICT COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS DIVISION OF ST. CROIX

March 17, 2017

Attorneys:

Yvette D. Ross-Edwards, Esq.,

Jeffrey B.C. Moorhead, Esq.,

St. Croix, U.S.V.I.

For Plaintiffs

Lawrence H. Schoenbach, Esq.,

New York, NY

For Plaintiff Jeffrey J. Prosser

Bernard C. Pattie, Esq.,

St. Croix, U.S.V.I.

Samuel H. Israel, Esq.,

Philadelphia, PA

For Defendants Yann Geron

and William Stassen

Gordon Rhea, Esq.,

Mount Pleasant, SC

For Defendants Christie's, Inc.

and David Nissman

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Lewis, Chief Judge

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on two Motions to Dismiss—the first jointly filedby Defendants Yann Geron and William H. Stassen (Dkt. No. 9), and the second jointly filed by Defendants David Nissman and Christie's, Inc. (Dkt. No. 14).¹ The two motions assert the same legal bases for dismissal, and thus the Court will address the filings together. For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant both motions, dismiss the Complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and permit Plaintiffs to file an Amended Complaint.

I. BACKGROUND

On July 29, 2013, Plaintiffs Oakland Benta, Jeffrey Prosser and Dawn Prosser (collectively, "Plaintiffs") filed a Complaint against Defendants Christie's, Inc. and Charles Antin, a Christie's employee; attorneys William H. Stassen, Yann Geron, and David Marshall Nissman; and "Certain Un-Named Co-Conspirators." (Dkt. No. 1). Plaintiff Benta was described in the Complaint as District Police Chief-St. Croix who was appointed as Training Director-Training Bureau of the Virgin Islands Police Department ("VIPD") in February 2012. Id. ¶¶ 17-19. Plaintiffs Jeffrey and Dawn Prosser (the "Prossers"), husband and wife, were residents of St. Croix and owned property at Estate Shoy's (the "Prosser residence"). Id. ¶¶ 5, 23. Jeffrey Prosser had previously declared bankruptcy pursuant to Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. Id. ¶ 25. Prior to the events set forth in the Complaint, the Bankruptcy Court of the District of the Virgin Islands (the "Bankruptcy Court") had issued an Order authorizing James P. Carroll (the "Trustee"), as Chapter 7 Trustee of the Estate of Jeffrey J. Prosser, or the Trustee's agents, to have access to the Prosser residence for the purpose of taking possession of valuable wines stored at that location. Id.

The Complaint provides that "Christie[']s, Inc. and its employees, including but not limited to defendant Antin, have been the Chapter 7 Trustee's agents," and that Christie's was engaged bythe Trustee to remove the aforementioned wine. Id. ¶¶ 24, 26, 27. Defendants Yann Geron and William H. Stassen were identified as attorneys employed by Fox Rothschild, LLP, and Defendant David Nissman was described as a St. Croix attorney. Id. ¶¶ 6-8. Plaintiffs alleged causes of action for violation of their constitutional and civil rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1985(1) and (2) (First Amendment and Defamation), and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress. (Dkt. No. 1).

The Complaint alleges that, on July 29, 2011, "Benta was present at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey J. Prosser. . . for purposes of allowing representatives of Christie's, Inc. to enter the Prosser Residence wine storage area to package, take possession of, and remove all wines then stored in that area." Id. ¶¶ 23, 24. Over an hour later, the Christie's representatives, including Defendant Antin, left without taking possession of the wine, id. ¶ 29, which Christie's declared was "ruined." Id. ¶ 32. After the Christie's employees left, Benta inspected the wine storage area and noticed that the window air conditioning unit was unplugged. He plugged the unit back in. Id. ¶ 30.

Believing that a crime may have been committed due to the unplugging of the air conditioner which caused the wine to be ruined, Benta reported the "July 29, 2011 Incident" to the VIPD. The three-page Offense Report, authored by Reporting Officer Melissa Freeman, was attached to the Complaint. Id. ¶ 33; Dkt. No. 1-2. The Offense Report indicates, inter alia, that inspectors from Christie's had come to the Prosser residence, by court order, on July 29, 2011 to inspect and transport the wine kept on the property; and that, fifteen minutes after they left, Benta noticed that the air conditioner was unplugged and immediately plugged it back in and secured the room. (Dkt. No. 1-2). Officer Freeman concluded the report by stating: "I advised Mr. Benta that this was a civil matter and that it would have to be dealt with in civil court." Id. She requested that the case be closed. Id.

The Complaint goes on to say that VIPD Officer Cuthbert Cyril continued to investigatethe incident (Dkt. No. 1, ¶ 36), and a Virgin Islands Assistant Attorney General ("AAG") signed two "Forthwith Subpoenas," dated September 27, 2011, directing Antin and another Christie's employee—both of whom were in New York—to appear before Officer Cyril in the Virgin Islands regarding the July 29, 2011 incident. Id. ¶ 37; Dkt. No. 1-3. On October 10, 2011, Officer Cyril supplemented the initial Offense Report with a statement from another witness present with Benta on July 29, 2011 who saw the air conditioner unplugged. (Dkt. No. 1-4). The supplement concluded with a request from Officer Cyril that "this case be left open pending contact with the [Christie's] inspectors." (Dkt. No. 1, ¶ 38; Dkt. No. 1-4). On November 3, 2011, Officer Cyril sent a letter to Mrs. Prosser on "Office of the Police Commissioner" stationery, updating her on the status of the criminal investigation and requesting contact information for the Chapter 7 Trustee. Id. ¶ 39, Dkt. No. 1-5.

The Complaint further states that, on November 21, 2011, the Attorney General's Office issued a "Forthwith Subpoena" to the Trustee, requiring him to give testimony regarding the July 29, 2011 incident. Id. ¶ 41. According to the Complaint, "[r]ather than co-operate with the police investigation," the Trustee, through Stassen, moved to quash the subpoena. Id. ¶ 42. The Complaint quotes a statement made by Stassen in a Bankruptcy Court proceeding in which he questioned the legitimacy of the investigation being conducted by Officer Cyril, and stated that the Trustee believed Benta's involvement in the issuance of the subpoena showed "a concerted effort by the Prossers and their agent Mr. Benta, to manipulate local law enforcement and interfere with this [Bankruptcy] Court's jurisdiction[.]" Id.²

The Complaint provides that, at a December 8, 2011 Bankruptcy Court proceeding, an AAG—presented by Attorney Stassen—represented to the Court that her office had no knowledge of the criminal investigation of the July 29, 2011 incident, despite the issuance of the three subpoenas by another Assistant Attorney General, and despite Stassen's knowledge of those subpoenas. Id. ¶¶ 43, 44. On December 9, 2011, Officer Cyril filed another Supplement to the Police Department's Report of the July 29, 2011 incident, indicating that Stassen had supplied him with a Bankruptcy Court transcript in which the Court ordered the turnover of the wine to the Trustee. (Id. ¶45; Dkt. No. 1-6). Cyril again requested that "this case be turned over to the Criminal Investigation Bureau," id., and made a similar request in a third supplement filed on December 13, 2011. (Dkt. No. 1-8).

With regard to the individual Defendants, the Complaint alleges that, on December 12, 2011, during a break in the deposition of Jeffrey Prosser concerning the July 29, 2011 incident, in which Stassen was acting "in his capacity as attorney for the Chapter 7 Trustee," Stassen stated to Prosser that "your little friend [Plaintiff Benta] has gotten himself into trouble he cannot get out of." Id. ¶ 46. The Complaint further provides that, during a December 18, 2011 deposition, Antinadmitted that, on July 29, 2011, he had instructed a colleague from Christie's who accompanied him to the Prosser residence, to unplug the air conditioner in the wine area, and the colleague unplugged it. (Id., ¶ 49). With regard to Geron, the Complaint alleges that, in a September 9, 2011 Bankruptcy Court proceeding, Geron stated, in response to the allegation that the Chapter 7 Trustee's agent had unplugged the air conditioner: "We have assured ourselves by discussing this with Christie's that the allegation[s] certainly insofar as the trustee is concerned are wholly untrue and that will prove itself up in connection with the hearings that are currently set up." Id. ¶ 34. The Complaint also alleges that in December 2011, Benta was approached by Nissman who suggested that Benta terminate the investigation of the July 29, 2011 incident, but Benta refused. Id. ¶¶ 53, 57.

According to the Complaint, on December 27, 2011, the VIPD Acting Police Commissioner wrote Benta to inform him that a recommendation for his termination had been submitted to the Governor's Office regarding his "actions of July 29, 2011 which led to an investigation of the alleged criminal act at the Estate Shoys home of Jeffrey Prosser." Id. ¶ 60. The letter, a copy of which was attached to the Complaint, states that the investigation was pursued despite the fact that the original police report indicated the incident was of a non-criminal nature; that Benta, who supervised Officer Cyril, allowed him "to participate and be involved in obstructing the proceeding of the Bankruptcy Court"; that the November 3, 2011 letter Officer Cyril sent to Mrs. Prosser was "written on stationery reserved for use only by the Office of the Police Commissioner [and] was sent without the approval of the Police Commissioner"; and that despite allowing Officer Cyril to secure subpoenas through the Attorney General's Office, an AAG testified she had no knowledge of the criminal investigation. (Dkt. No. 1-9). The letter indicated that Benta's course of conduct...