Dakhlallah v. Zima
| Decision Date | 28 May 2014 |
| Docket Number | No. 12 cv 8087,12 cv 8087 |
| Citation | 42 F.Supp.3d 901 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
| Parties | Yaser Dakhlallah, Plaintiff, v. Justice Police Officer Cpl. Ryan Zima, and the Village of Justice, Defendants. |
Jonathan Daniel Wassell, Edward M. Fox, Ed Fox & Associates, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff.
Patrick John Ruberry, Litchfield and Cavo, LLP, Chicago, IL, for Defendants.
Presently before us is a motion for summary judgment filed by Defendants Ryan Zima and the Village of Justice as to all claims brought by Plaintiff Yaser Dakhlallah. Defendants contend that Plaintiff's claims for false arrest, unreasonable search, trespass, and malicious prosecution should be dismissed, as well as Plaintiff's request for punitive damages. For the reasons discussed below, we grant Defendants' motion for summary judgment in its entirety.
In May 2011, Lisa Aydin obtained from the Circuit Court of Cook County an order of protection that prohibited Plaintiff from contacting her and from taking, transferring, encumbering, concealing, damaging or otherwise disposing of her property. (RSOF ¶ 2.) Aydin then vacated that order of protection on June 14, 2011, but filed for a second order of protection against Plaintiff on February 21, 2012. (Id. ¶¶ 8–10.) In June 2012, Plaintiff and Aydin spoke over the phone. (RSOF ¶ 12.) According to Aydin, Plaintiff called to ask her to “drop the restraining order” because of his “immigrant status” and to meet and provide him with a written, notarized statement. (SOF ¶¶ 12–14, 30.) Plaintiff disputes this fact, stating that he never told Aydin that she needed to drop the restraining order because there was no active restraining order against him on her behalf. (RSOF ¶¶ 12–14.) Plaintiff denies that the order of protection was active at the time, testifying that he wanted Aydin to provide a written statement admitting that she lied under oath when she obtained the order of protection against him and that the order of protection was “all lies.” (Id. ¶ 29.) Regardless of the intended purpose of the meeting, the parties agree that on June 8, 2012, Aydin drove to Plaintiff's apartment at 8142 Thomas Street, Apartment 1–E, Justice, Illinois. (Id. ¶¶ 1, 17.) Plaintiff was living with his brother, Abdul–Aziz Aldakhlla, who at the time was 19–years–old and had been living in the U.S. on and off for four years. (Id. ¶¶ 1, 81.)1
Although the parties dispute the sequence of events,2 they agree that Aydin at some point entered Plaintiff's apartment, where Plaintiff's brother as well as his brother-in-law, Yasser Lakoud, were present, and worked on the statement for approximately two minutes before Aydin began screaming at Plaintiff. (Id. ¶¶ 23, 31.) Plaintiff then exited his apartment and called the Justice Police Department, telling the dispatcher that Aydin was “at his home screaming, fighting.” (Id. ¶ 33.) Aydin, believing her cell phone to be missing, also called 911 after she left the apartment and told the operator that her “ex” had taken her cell phone. (Id. ¶¶ 25–26.)
Defendant Corporal Ryan Zima and officer Joseph Bonkowski were dispatched to Plaintiff's apartment in response to a “domestic disturbance” call. (Id. ¶¶ 34–35.) Upon arrival, both officers approached Plaintiff, who was standing in a driveway adjacent to the apartment building, and asked for his identification, which Plaintiff provided. (Id. ¶¶ 37–38, 41.) Plaintiff told Zima that he had called the police because he was unsure if Aydin was going to come back to the apartment, and if she did, she had a history of attacking him, which he did not want to happen. (Id. ¶ 40.)
At some point, Aydin drove back to Plaintiff's apartment, and upon seeing that the police had arrived, got out of the car. (Id. ¶ 27.) Zima alleges, and Plaintiff denies, that Aydin began yelling at Plaintiff and accusing him of stealing her phone. (SOF, RSOF ¶¶ 42, 43.) Zima asked Aydin to produce identification and then ran her identification over to dispatch. (RSOF ¶ 44.) Aydin explained to Zima that when she started to leave Plaintiff's apartment, she realized that her phone was missing. (Id. ¶ 45.) Zima also alleges, and Plaintiff denies, that Plaintiff stated, (SOF, RSOF ¶ 47.)
Dispatch informed Zima that the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (“LEADS”) showed an active order of protection, naming Plaintiff as respondent and Aydin as petitioner, that barred Plaintiff from having contact with Aydin and from removing or concealing Aydin's property. (RSOF ¶¶ 48–49.) Zima instructed Plaintiff to turn around and place his hands behind his back, stating to Plaintiff that he was placing him into custody for violating a restraining order. (Id. ¶¶ 50–51.) He then placed Plaintiff in the backseat of the squad car. (Id. ¶ 53.) Plaintiff informed Zima that there was no active order of protection. (RSOF ¶ 52, RSAF ¶ 4.) Moreover, Plaintiff alleges, and Zima denies, that he told Zima that he had a paper showing that the order had been vacated and that Aydin also told Zima “multiple times” that there was no active order of protection. (SAF, RSAF ¶¶ 4, 5.)3
After Zima placed Plaintiff in the squad car, he reviewed the information provided by LEADS. (RSOF ¶ 53.) The parties agree that the LEADS system showed that there was an active order of protection naming Plaintiff as respondent and Aydin as petitioner. (SOF ¶ 48.) Although Plaintiff denies the following, Zima states that he then asked Aydin what she wanted, to which Aydin responded that she wanted her phone returned. (SOF, RSOF ¶ 55.) Zima also alleges, and Plaintiff denies, that Zima then asked Plaintiff if he had the phone, to which Plaintiff responded that he did not have it and that Zima could search his car and his house. (Id. ¶ 56.)
Zima walked up to Plaintiff's apartment building and pushed the buzzer for his unit, 1–E. (RSOF ¶ 57.) Plaintiff's brother, Abdul–Aziz, buzzed in Zima, who then proceeded to the unit, knocked on the door, and met Abdul–Aziz, who said “hi.” (Id. ¶¶ 58, 73.) The parties dispute whether Abdul–Aziz expressly told Zima that he could enter the apartment. Plaintiff states that Zima continued into the apartment without asking for permission or consent to enter. (RSOF ¶ 59, SAF ¶ 10.) Zima, on the other hand, alleges that Abdul–Aziz said he did not think the phone was in the house but that Zima could enter the apartment and help him search for it. (SOF ¶ 59.) According to Abdul–Aziz, before Zima walked into the apartment, he told Abdul–Aziz that he was looking for Aydin's phone. (RSOF ¶ 76.) Abdul–Aziz also testified that Zima did not “deceive” or “trick” him in order to gain access to the apartment. (RSOF ¶ 74.) Abdul–Aziz did not hear his brother yelling to him from outside that Zima did not have permission to enter the apartment. (Aldakhlla Dep. 67:20–24, 68:1–4.) According to Abdul–Aziz, he did not object to Zima entering because he was a police officer. (RSOF ¶ 74; SAF ¶ 11.) Lastly, Abdul–Aziz testified that he stood next to Zima while Zima searched for the phone, that he did not object while Zima searched, and that he did not feel threatened during the course of the search. (RSOF ¶¶ 76, 77.)
Although the amount of time that Zima was initially in the apartment is in dispute, the parties agree that Zima at some point left to ask Aydin for her cell phone number so that he could call it from his phone, which Aydin agreed to do. (Id. ¶¶ 61–62.) When Zima returned to the apartment building, Abdul–Aziz again buzzed Zima in and then also opened the apartment door for him. (Id. ¶ 79.) Zima dialed Aydin's number and heard a ringtone coming from the bathroom sink. (Id. ¶¶ 63–64.) After finding her phone, he returned it to her outside. (Id. ¶ 65.) Plaintiff asserts, and Zima denies, that Plaintiff “informed Zima multiple times prior to entering his apartment, the first and second time, that he did not have permission or consent.” (SAF, RSAF ¶ 7.)
After arriving at the Village of Justice Police Department, Zima spoke to Plaintiff's immigration attorney, Cherissa Loire, over the phone. (RSAF ¶ 12.) Loire faxed the order that vacated or terminated the May 23, 2011 order of protection and spoke with someone at the police department after the document was received. (Id. ¶ 14.) Loire informed whomever she was speaking with that he could call the Cook County Clerk to verify that the order was vacated. (Id. ¶ 17.) The parties agree that Zima was shown the fax, although they dispute whether that occurred before or after Plaintiff was processed. (SOF, RSOF ¶ 66.) They also dispute whether the faxed copy had an official seal. (Id. ¶¶ 66, 67.)
Plaintiff was charged with violating the protective order. (RSOF ¶ 70.) When Plaintiff was released from jail five days later, on June 13, 2012, he was required to wear a GPS monitoring device until June 22, 2012, when his case was called for hearing and the charges were dismissed against him. (RSAF ¶¶ 23, 24.) At the hearing, Plaintiff's attorney, Peter Papoutsis, told the court that “it looks like this is a violation of an order of protection” and that “there has been an ongoing issue with this order of protection inasmuch as my client has been arrested for violating it several times.” (Id. ¶ 71.) Papoutsis told the court that the order had been terminated on June 14, 2011, but “it has never come out of the computer for LEADS so he keeps getting picked up on this.” (Id. ¶ 72.) According to Officer Bonkowski, there have been times when the LEADS system has been incorrect and Village of Justice police officers, upon seeing the person's “proper paperwork on them, the official stamp from a judge” have either released the person or investigated it further. (SAF ¶ 20 ().)
Plaintiff...
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