Chase v. Nodine's Smokehouse, Inc.
Decision Date | 22 January 2019 |
Docket Number | No. 3:18-CV-00683 (VLB),3:18-CV-00683 (VLB) |
Citation | 360 F.Supp.3d 98 |
Parties | Nicole CHASE, Plaintiff, v. NODINE'S SMOKEHOUSE, INC., Calvin Nodine, Town of Canton, John Colangelo, Adam Gompper, Mark J. Penney, Christopher Arciero, Defendants. |
Court | U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut |
Lewis H. Chimes, Mary-Kate Georgette Smith, Law Office of Lewis Chimes LLC, Stamford, CT, Katie Ann Roy, Robert Fortgang Assoc., Simsbury, CT, for Plaintiff.
Elizabeth K. Acee, LeClairRyan, New Haven, CT, David A. Moraghan, Smith, Keefe, Moraghan & Waterfall, LLC, Torrington, CT, Kristan M. Maccini, Christopher A. Clark, Howd & Ludorf, LLC, Hartford, CT, for Defendants.
Plaintiff Nicole Chase brings the instant action alleging claims arising out of her arrest by the Canton Police following a complaint of sexual assault by her then employer, Defendant Calvin Nodine. Ms. Chase brings thirteen claims against Nodine's Smokehouse and Calvin Nodine (the "Nodine Defendants"), and ten claims against the Town of Canton, Detective John Colangelo, Officer Adam Gompper, Sergeant Mark J. Penney, and Chief Christopher Arciero (the "Town Defendants"), including false arrest, malicious prosecution, denial of equal protection, denial of substantive due process, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent infliction of emotional distress. See [Dkt. 1-1 (Notice of Removal, Att. 1 (Compl.) ) ].
The Town Defendants now move to dismiss all claims against them under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. For the following reasons, the motion is granted in part and denied in part.
For the purposes of the motion to dismiss, the court assumes the following facts set forth in the Complaint to be true.1
Ms. Chase started working at Nodine's Smokehouse, Inc. ("Nodine's Smokehouse") in or about September 2016. [Dkt. 1-1 ¶ 7]. She initially worked at the Nodine's Smokehouse factory, and later assisted with Nodine's Restaurant. Id. ¶ 28. Nodine's Restaurant opened in or about November 2016. Id. ¶ 29.
For most of the time Ms. Chase worked at Nodine's Restaurant, Calvin Nodine, the owner, would come by the restaurant regularly but usually would not stay for very long. Id. ¶¶ 14, 30. When he was there, Mr. Nodine "would engage in inappropriate conduct that made [Ms. Chase] feel uncomfortable." Id. ¶ 31. For example, Mr. Nodine, on more than one occasion, purposefully dropped his eye glasses on the floor and directed Ms. Chase to pick them up. Id. When she would do as directed, he would stare down her shirt. Id. Mr. Nodine would make suggestive comments and jokes. Id. He would also stare at Ms. Chase and follow her around. Id. Mr. Nodine's behavior made Ms. Chase uncomfortable, but she "put up with it because he was never around in the restaurant very long." Id. ¶ 32.
Mr. Nodine started spending more time at Nodine's Restaurant in April 2017. Id. ¶ 33. On May 6, 2017, Mr. Nodine was at the restaurant while Ms. Chase was working. Id. ¶¶ 35-36. That day, Mr. Nodine made multiple offensive sexual comments directed at Ms. Chase, which she ignored. Id. ¶¶ 37, 39-40. Mr. Nodine also made unwanted and uncomfortable physical contact with Ms. Chase multiple times that day, including hugging and kissing her on the cheek and later coming up behind her and squeezing her body and her buttocks. Id. ¶¶41-44. At the end of the day, Mr. Nodine pulled Ms. Chase into the men's bathroom, locked the door, and forced Ms. Chase to perform oral sex on him. Id. ¶¶ 45-46.
After the incident, Ms. Chase texted her former general manager at Nodine's Restaurant and told him of the assault, leaving out the detail that Mr. Nodine had successfully forced her to perform oral sex on him. Id. ¶¶ 48, 101. He told her to report it to the police. Id. Ms. Chase told her mother about the assault that night as well, again leaving out the oral sex detail. Id.
The next day, May 7, 2017, Ms. Chase went with her mother to the Canton Police Department to report the assault. Id. ¶¶ 49, 60. Defendant police officer Adam Gompper met with Ms. Chase, who had her relate the details of the assault in the lobby of the Canton Police Department. Id. ¶ 64. Ms. Chase told Officer Gompper that she was not sure if she wanted to press charges at that time, and Officer Gompper told her to come back and make a written statement if she decided to pursue charges. Id. ¶ 70. Ms. Chase returned to the Police Department on Thursday, May 11, 2017, and spoke to Officer Gompper again, who typed up her statement and had her sign it. Id. ¶ 71. Ms. Chase did not specify that Mr. Nodine had forced her to perform oral sex during either of the meetings or in the written statement. Id. ¶ 101. Two other Nodine's Restaurant employees provided statements to the police corroborating Ms. Chase's account of Mr. Nodine's other behavior towards her. Id. ¶¶ 74-76.
According to Ms. Chase's arrest warrant, Officer Gompper and Defendant Detective John Colangelo interviewed Mr. Nodine on May 18, 2017. Id. ¶ 81. Mr. Nodine had his attorney present and, while he initially denied any sexual contact with Ms. Chase, after conferring with his attorney, he told Officer Gompper and Detective Colangelo that Ms. Chase had performed consensual oral sex on him on one occasion. Id. ¶¶ 82-83. The Police Department did not update Ms. Chase following Mr. Nodine's interviews as Officer Gompper had said they would. Id. ¶ 84. After trying to reach Officer Gompper multiple times to get an update on her case, Ms. Chase was able to speak with him and he informed her that the Department was still investigating the matter. Id. ¶ 85-86.
On June 21, 2017, Ms. Chase reported to the Police Department at their request. Id. ¶¶ 87-88. She met with Detective Colangelo, whom she was meeting for the first time, in an interview room. Id. ¶¶ 89-90. Detective Colangelo asked Ms. Chase about her story and then pressed her for more information. Id. ¶¶ 92-97. Detective Colangelo told Ms. Chase that Mr. Nodine had told them she had performed consensual oral sex on him. Id. ¶ 100. He also told her that Mr. Nodine had taken a lie detector test, leaving out that he had failed that test and then refused to take another test. Id. ¶¶ 98-99, 136. Ms. Chase felt that Detective Colangelo was being aggressive and was intimidated by him. Id. She became emotional and, despite being ashamed and uncomfortable with explaining the specifics, she told Detective Colangelo that Mr. Nodine forced her to perform oral sex and that it was not consensual. Id. ¶¶ 102-104. Thereafter, Detective Colangelo focused on Ms. Chase's prior omission of these details and questioned whether Mr. Nodine had sexually assaulted her. Id. ¶ 105.
Ms. Chase told Detective Colangelo about the text messages she sent her former manager shortly after the assault, and Detective Colangelo asked that she provide them with copies of the messages. Id. ¶¶ 106-107. Detective Colangelo told Ms. Chase that she had made a false statement and asked if she wanted to revise her previous statement. Id. ¶¶ 108-109. While denying that her statement had been false, Ms. Chase told Detective Colangelo that she would like to revise her statement but would like to speak with a lawyer first. Id. Several days later, Ms. Chase called Detective Colangelo to try to coordinate a time to come in and amend her statement but she was unable to reach him. Id. ¶ 110. The Court infers Ms. Chase to allege that she left messages asking Detective Colangelo to call her back but he failed to return her calls.
According to Ms. Chase's arrest warrant, Detective Colangelo signed the warrant application for the arrest of Ms. Chase for making a false statement on July 7, 2017, 16 days after he interviewed her. Id. ¶ 111. Around July 13, 2017, Ms. Chase went to the police department to drop off copies of the text messages and again asked to speak with Detective Colangelo about revising her statement, but he was not available. Id. ¶¶ 112-113. Ms. Chase thereafter emailed Detective Colangelo multiple times about revising her statement, the second time attaching revisions to be incorporated into her original statement. Id. ¶¶ 116-118. On August 10, 2017, Detective Colangelo responded to Ms. Chase's emails. Id. ¶ 119. In his response, Detective Colangelo indicated that he did not know she had wanted to give a new statement but stated that he had documented the change in her story and had provided the case to the court for review.
Id. He further indicated that the case was still with the State's Attorney's office and that he hoped to have next steps shortly. Id.
The Complaint alleges that the Assistant State's Attorney signed the warrant application on August 30, 2017, after Ms. Chase's many attempts to revise her statements and after Detective Colangelo finally acknowledged those requests and represented to Ms. Chase that he had documented the change. Id. ¶ 121. The warrant was signed by the court on September 6, 2017. Id. ¶ 122. On September 8, 2017, Detective Colangelo arrested Ms. Chase for making a false statement in violation of Connecticut General Statute § 53a-57b and she was thereafter arraigned on the charge. Id. ¶¶ 123, 126. On November 6, 2017, the State's Attorney's Office entered an unconditional nolle prosequi and the case was dismissed. Id. ¶ 127.
On April 10, 2018, Ms. Chase filed this lawsuit in Connecticut Superior Court, Judicial District of Hartford. Case No. HHD-CV-17-5049825-S. On April 20, 2018, the Town Defendants—the Town of Canton, Detective Colangelo, Detective Gompper, Sergeant Penney, and Town of Canton Chief of Police Christopher Arciero—removed the case to federal court. See [Dkt. 1].
Ms. Chase's Complaint alleges violations of the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act for harassment, hostile work environment, retaliation, and aiding and abetting;...
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