Costabile v. County of Westchester, New York
| Decision Date | 25 April 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. 06 Civ. 3329(WCC).,06 Civ. 3329(WCC). |
| Citation | 485 F.Supp.2d 424 |
| Parties | Candida COSTABILE, as Guardian Ad Litem For Anthony Costabile, and Anthony Costabile, Individually, Plaintiffs, v. COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER, NEW YORK, Frank Bonfonte, Roy Shapiro and Roberto Alancarta, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Gerald J. Resnick, Esq., Jonathan I. Nirenberg, Esq., of Counsel, Resnick, Nirenberg & Siegler, Roseland, NJ, for Plaintiffs.
Irma W. Cosgriff, Senior. Asst. County Attorney, of Counsel, Charlene M. Indelicato, Westchester County Attorney, White Plains, NY, for Defendants.
Plaintiffs Candida Costabile ("C. Costabile"), as guardian ad litem for Anthony Costabile, and Anthony Costabile, individually, ("A. Costabile")1 (collectively, "plaintiffs") bring this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the N.Y. EXEC. LAW, Art. 15, HUMAN RIGHTS LAW § 296 (the "NYSHRL") against the County of Westchester (the "County"), Frank Bonfonte ("Bonfonte"),2 Roy Shapiro ("Shapiro")3 and Roberto Alancarta ("Alancarta") (collectively, "defendants").4 Plaintiffs allege that defendants discriminated against A. Costabile on the basis of his disability by subjecting him to harassment during the course of his employment with the Parks Department, and suspending him for four days and ultimately terminating his employment without justification, in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the NYSHRL.5 Defendants move to dismiss the Amended Complaint pursuant to FED. R. CIV. P. 12(b)(1) and (6), citing plaintiffs' failure to serve a notice of claim upon defendants as required by N.Y. COUNTY LAW, Art. 2, § 52 and N.Y. GEN. MUN. LAW, Art. 4, § 50-i, and contending that the Amended Complaint does not state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Plaintiffs filed a cross-motion to serve a late notice of claim pursuant to N.Y. GEN. MUN. LAW, Art. 4, § 50-e. For the reasons that follow, defendants' motion is granted in part and denied in part, and plaintiffs' cross-motion is denied in its entirety.
The following discussion of the facts is derived from the allegations of plaintiffs' Amended Complaint.6 A. Costabile was diagnosed with ADHD and NLD as a young child and has had a long history of learning disabilities. (See Am. Complt. ¶¶ 10-11.) In June 2002, he was employed by the County in its Parks Department at Glen Island Park in New Rochelle, New York. (See id. ¶ 12.) Due to his mental condition, he was substantially limited in the kind of work he could perform and required "constant direction and supervision" when performing his job tasks. (See id. ¶ 11.) His job duties included landscaping, garbage pick-up and general maintenance duties. (See id. ¶ 12.) At all relevant times, defendants were aware of plaintiffs disabilities. (See id. ¶ 13.)
Plaintiffs allege that Alancarta, as A. Costabile's direct supervisor, subjected him to "numerous vicious acts of discriminatory treatment due to, his condition[.]" (See id. ¶ 14.) Specifically, plaintiffs allege that Alancarta, inter alia: (1) tied him to a tree with "shrink wrap" and threatened him with undesirable jobs, including cutting the grass with scissors, and suspension without pay if he was unable to free himself from the tree in a certain amount of time; (2) tied him to a chair and wrapped his feet with "shrink wrap" so that he was unable to move; (3) tied him to a chair with wheels using "shrink wrap," rolled the chair into the parking lot and hosed him down with water; (4) tied him to a chair with "shrink wrap" and ignited the "shrink wrap" when plaintiff proved unable to get free; (5) dumped buckets of cold water on him while he was tied to chairs, causing him to struggle to get free and strain his muscles in his legs and develop a hernia, which eventually required surgery; and (6) subjected him to verbal ridicule, such as calling him a "retard," "stupid" and "idiot." (See id.) They allege that Alancarta targeted A. Costabile due to his mental disabilities. (See id.)
As to Bonfonte and Shapiro, plaintiffs allege that they "participated in, witnessed and/or were aware of the discriminatory and unlawful conduct directed against [A.] Costabile, and refused and neglected to take any actions to stop the harassment or otherwise prevent future grievous acts directed against [him.]" (See id. ¶ 18.) On information and belief, they allege that Bonfonte and Shapiro took similar actions toward other disabled employees, and that their actions "were part of a pattern of misconduct and harassment toward disabled individuals that was known by the County." (See id. ¶ 21.) Furthermore, plaintiffs allege that "the County failed to adequately train, supervise and discipline Bonfonte or Shapiro in such a way that it amounted to a deliberate indifference to the rights of County employees who worked for them." (See id. ¶ 22.)
Plaintiffs also allege that Alancarta wrongfully suspended A. Costabile for purportedly unloading a truck too slowly. (See id. ¶ 15.) Alancarta told him that he could avoid suspension if he "jump[ed] off the Glenn Island Bridge, subject[ed] another co-worker to a soaking with a hose, or pa[id] Alancarta a designated sum of money." (See id. ¶ 16.) When A. Costabile refused to comply, Alancarta suspended him from work for four days. (See id.) Subsequently, on July 7, 2004, defendants terminated A. Costabile's employment, purportedly because he left work fifteen minutes early without permission from a supervisor. (See id. ¶ 17.) Plaintiffs claim, however, that A. Costabile was given express permission to leave work early by Mike Tomanelli, the acting supervisor on site at that time, (see id. ¶ 17) and contend that defendants' decision to terminate his employment was predicated upon their animus towards him as a result of his disabilities.
Defendants now move to dismiss the Amended Complaint pursuant to FED. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) and (6). As a jurisdictional matter, defendants contend that all state law claims must be dismissed because plaintiffs failed to serve a notice of claim upon defendants pursuant to N.Y. COUNTY LAW, Art. 2, § 52 and N.Y. GEN. MUN. LAW, Art. 4,. § 50-i. Plaintiffs, in response, seek leave to serve a late notice of claim. In addition, defendants seek dismissal of plaintiffs' claims pursuant to FED. R. Civ. P.12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
When ruling on a motion to dismiss pursuant to FED. R. Cry. P. 12(b)(1) and (6), the Court must accept all of the well-pleaded facts as true and consider those facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. See Triestman v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 470 F.3d 471, 474 (2d Cir.2006); Natural Res. Defense Council v. Johnson, 461 F.3d 164, 171 (2d Cir.2006); see also McCarthy, 482 F.3d at 191, 2007 WL 967937, at *4; Hertz Corp., 1 F.3d at 125; In re AES Corp., 825 F.Supp. at 583. "`The appropriate inquiry is not whether a plaintiff is likely to prevail, but whether he is entitled to offer evidence to support his claims.'" Cohane v. Nat'l Collegiate Athletic Ass'n ex rel. Brand, 215 Fed.Appx. 13, 14-15 (2d Cir.2007) (quoting Nechis v. Oxford Health Plans, Inc., 421 F.3d 96, 100 (2d Cir.2005)). A complaint should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim "unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief." Padavan v. United States, 82 F.3d 23, 26 (2d Cir.1996) (quoting Hughes v. Rowe, 449 U.S. 5, 10, 101 S.Ct. 173, 66 L.Ed.2d 163 (1980)). "`This rule applies with particular force where the plaintiff alleges civil rights violations....'" Cohane, 215 Fed.Appx. at 14 (quoting Thompson v. Carter, 284 F.3d 411, 416 (2d Cir.2002)). However, allegations that are so conclusory that they fail to give notice of the basic events and circumstances of which the plaintiff complains, are insufficient as a matter of law. See Martin v. N.Y. State Dep't of Mental Hygiene, 588 F.2d 371, 372 (2d Cir.1978).
It is well-established that a party bringing a claim pursuant to the NYSHRL against a county located in the State of New York must serve a notice of claim upon the county within ninety days after the claim arises. See N.Y. COUNTY LAW, Art. 2, § 52 ();. N.Y. GEN. MUN. LAW, Art. 4, § 50-i (); N.Y. GEN. MUN. LAW, Art. 4, § 50-e (); see also Mills v. County of Monroe, 59 N.Y.2d 307, 308, 451 N.E.2d 456, 464 N.Y.S.2d 709 (1983) (...
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