Defalco v. Mta Bus Co.
| Decision Date | 11 September 2018 |
| Docket Number | 15-CV-7369 (PKC)(RML) |
| Parties | Anthony DEFALCO and Eric Trantel, Plaintiffs, v. MTA BUS COMPANY, MTA Police Department Detective Brian Longaro, MTA Bus Company Supervisor of Maintenance Francis Bristow, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
Beth M. Margolis, Gladstein, Reif & Meginniss, LLP, Jessica E. Harris, New York, NY, for Plaintiffs
Helene R Hechtkopf, Steven Mark Silverberg, Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney, LLP, Jason Douglas Barnes, New York, NY, for Defendants
Plaintiffs Anthony Defalco and Eric Trantel bring this action against Defendants Detective Brian Longaro, Supervisor Francis Bristow, and MTA Bus Company ("MTA Bus") alleging violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for false arrest, malicious prosecution, and denial of due process, in connection with Plaintiffs' arrest, subsequent prosecution, and suspension of employment. Before the Court is Defendants' motion for summary judgment. For the reasons stated below, Defendants' motion is granted.
On September 27, 2012, Defendant Francis Bristow, a foreman at the John F. Kennedy Bus Depot ("JFK Depot" or "Depot"), reported to John McGovern, the Security Director of MTA Bus's internal security department, and John Dhuman, an Assistant General Manager at the Depot, that bus batteries were being stolen by MTA Bus employees, including Plaintiff Eric Trantel.2 (Defs.' 56.1, at ¶¶ 6, 8; Deposition of Francis Bristow ("Bristow Dep."), at 40:9-17, 41:17-19, 42:4-10.)3 Bristow told McGovern that he had been notified about the thefts by three MTA Bus employees: Doodnath Seecharan, Maniram Sukhee, and Balmore Hamilton. (Defs.' 56.1, at ¶ 7; Dkt. 57-7, at ECF 26;4 Bristow Dep., at 55:17-23.) MTA Bus's internal security department began an investigation based on Bristow's complaint. (Defs.' 56.1, at ¶ 9.) McGovern told Bristow that, going forward, he should "[k]eep an eye out for anyone removing batteries from the Depot without authorization." (Bristow Dep., at 57:12-17, 58:7-15.) On December 6, 2012, the investigation was reassigned from McGovern to MTA Police Department ("MTAPD") Detective Henry Micyk. (Defs.' 56.1, at ¶ 20.)
On December 8, 2012, Bristow received a call from his supervisor, Orin Blackman, who told him to go to the Depot fuel station, because "Eric Trantel is operating a forklift behind truck—[a]n unknown truck" in the Engine Wash Bay. (Bristow Dep., at 152:12-23; see also Deposition of Orin Blackman ("Blackman Dep."), Dkt. 60-50, at 87:11-89:4.) Bristow, who was Trantel's supervisor that day, went to the glass window or door in the fuel station office and saw Trantel in a forklift placing a pallet of bus batteries onto an MTA pick-up truck being operated by Defalco. (Dkt. 57-7, at ECF 28; Dkt. 57-15; Bristow Dep., at 156:3-173:3.) According to Bristow, Defalco then left the Depot with the batteries in the truck and later returned to the Depot without them. (Defs.' 56.1, at ¶ 15.) Bristow subsequently submitted a report to Blackman about what he observed and also reported the incident to McGovern. (Dkt. 60-8, at ECF 3; Defs.' 56.1, at ¶ 15.)
On February 26, 2013, the investigation was transferred from MTAPD Detective Micyk to Defendant MTAPD Detective Brian Longaro. (Defs.' 56.1, at ¶ 25.) Longaro received all of Micyk's case files and spoke with the MTA's Office of the Inspector General's Principal Investigator William McGowan, McGovern, and McGovern's supervisor, Robert Piccarelli, regarding the investigation. (Id. at ¶ 26; Dkt. 57-7, at ECF 25-26.) Longaro also spoke with Bristow 5 (Deposition of Brian Longaro ("Longaro Dep."), at 126:9-127:24.)6 ,7
On March 11, 2013, Longaro received a report from McGovern that Bristow had informed McGovern that he had seen another MTA Bus employee, Vincent Williams, remove batteries from the Depot on March 9, 2013. Detective Longaro conducted surveillance at the Depot on March 11, 2013, and ultimately arrested Williams, who admitted that he had been stealing batteries from the Depot. (Defs.' 56.1, at ¶ 27.)
On March 13, 2013, Longaro arrested Defalco and charged him, via criminal complaint, based on the events of December 8, 2012, with Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fourth Degree. (Id. at ¶ 28; Dkt. 57-34, at ECF 3-5.) On March 14, 2013, Longaro arrested Trantel for Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fourth Degree and signed the criminal complaint the following day. (Defs.' 56.1, at ¶¶ 31, 35; Dkt. 57-19.) Defalco and Trantel were arraigned in Queens County criminal court on these charges on April 13 and April 15, 2013, respectively. (Defs.' 56.1, at ¶¶ 37-38.) On October 6, 2014, the cases against Defalco and Trantel were dismissed and sealed by the court. (Id. at ¶ 41.)
Plaintiffs are members of Local 1179 Amalgamated Transit Union (the "Union" or "Local 1179"). (Defs.' 56.1, at ¶ 5.) Local 1179 and the MTA Bus Company are parties to a Collective Bargaining Agreement ("CBA"). (Id. at ¶ 43.) The CBA states, inter alia , "[t]he Company shall have the right to discharge or suspend an employee for sufficient cause" (id. at ¶ 44) and (id. at ¶¶ 45-46). MTA Bus policy is that "the decision to terminate an employee is made upon notification that the employee has been arrested for a felony charge." (Deposition of Robert Miller, Dkt. 57-23, at 185:4-9.)
In this case, once Defalco and Trantel were arrested, MTA Bus began the process of terminating their employment, and they were suspended without pay. (Defs.' 56.1, at ¶ 51; see also Affidavit of Anthony Defalco, Dkt. 60-36, at ¶¶ 11-13; Affidavit of Eric Trantel, Dkt. 60-36, at ¶¶ 10-12.) On April 26, 2013, Plaintiffs received a MTA Disciplinary Action Report recommending that they be fired and were also notified that a Step 1 hearing8 would be held on May 3, 2013 regarding MTA Bus's decision to fire them. (Dkts. 57-24, 57-25, 57-26, 57-27.) However, the hearings were stayed pending the outcome of Plaintiffs' criminal cases. (Defs.' 56.1, at ¶¶ 53-54.) On October 10, 2014, four days after Plaintiffs' criminal cases were dismissed, the Union sought Plaintiffs' reinstatement to their positions. (Id. at ¶ 56.) Plaintiffs elected to arbitrate MTA Bus's decision to terminate through their union, and on February 10, 2015, MTA Bus Company reinstated Plaintiffs to their jobs. (Id. at ¶¶ 57, 60-62.)
Plaintiffs filed their initial complaint on December 28, 2015. (Dkt. 1.) On December 14, 2017, Plaintiffs withdrew their claims against Defendants Henry Micyk, John McGovern, Butch Miller, Tom Losito, and the MTA Police Department, as well as their claims for First Amendment retaliation. (Dkt. 47.) Defendants Longaro, Bristow, and MTA Bus's motion for summary judgment on Plaintiffs' remaining claims for false arrest, malicious prosecution, and due process was fully briefed on April 3, 2018. (Dkt. 54.) That same day, Defendants also filed a motion to strike the affidavit of Defalco's supervisor, Vinny Hernandez. (Dkt. 65.)
Summary judgment is appropriate where the submissions of the parties, taken together, "show[ ] that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a) ; see Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 251-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (). A dispute of fact is "genuine" if "the [record] evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson , 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
The initial burden of "establishing the absence of any genuine issue of material fact" rests with the moving party. Zalaski v. City of Bridgeport Police Dep't , 613 F.3d 336, 340 (2d Cir. 2010). Once this burden is met, however, the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to put forward some evidence establishing the existence of a question of fact that must be resolved at trial. Spinelli v. City of N.Y. , 579 F.3d 160, 166-67 (2d Cir. 2009) ; see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). A mere "scintilla of evidence" in support of the nonmoving party is insufficient; "there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the [non-movant]." Hayut v. State Univ. of N.Y. , 352 F.3d 733, 743 (2d Cir. 2003) (quotation omitted; alteration in original). In other words, "[t]he nonmoving party must come forward with specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Caldarola v. Calabrese , 298 F.3d 156, 160 (2d Cir. 2002) (quotation omitted).
In determining whether a genuine issue of fact exists, the court must resolve all ambiguities and draw all reasonable inferences against the moving party. Major League Baseball Props., Inc. v. Salvino, Inc. , 542 F.3d 290, 309 (2d Cir. 2008). The Court also construes any disputed facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. See Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co. , 398 U.S. 144, 157-59, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970). Howeve...
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