DeMuria v. Hawkes
| Decision Date | 13 May 2003 |
| Docket Number | Docket No. 02-7430. |
| Citation | 328 F.3d 704 |
| Parties | Susan DeMURIA and Michael DeMuria, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Albert F. HAWKES and Judith A. Marshall, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
Norman Pattis, New Haven, CT (John R. Williams, Williams and Pattis, LLC, of counsel), for Plaintiffs-Appellants.
Kenneth J. McDonnell, Essex, CT (Gould, Larson, Bennet, Wells & McDonnell, P.C., of counsel), for Defendant-Appellee Hawkes.
Nicole Fournier, New Haven, CT (Eric P. Smith, Timothy P. Pothin, and Lynch, Traub, Keefe and Errante, P.C., of counsel), for Defendant-Appellee Marshall.
Before OAKES, KEARSE and B.D. PARKER, Circuit Judges.
Plaintiffs Susan and Michael DeMuria sued Judith Marshall, their neighbor in Clinton, Connecticut, and Albert Hawkes, a Clinton police officer, alleging, inter alia, violations of equal protection and substantive due process based on Marshall's harassment of the DeMurias and Hawkes's failure to respond adequately to the harassment. The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, Alan H. Nevas, Judge, dismissed the DeMurias' complaint, finding that the DeMurias' equal protection claim was not pled with sufficient specificity and that their substantive due process claim could not be supported by their allegations. We agree with the district court that the DeMurias' complaint does not give rise to a substantive due process claim. We find, however, that their equal protection claim satisfies the requirements for a "class of one" action under Village of Willowbrook v. Olech, 528 U.S. 562, 120 S.Ct. 1073, 145 L.Ed.2d 1060 (2000)(per curiam), and should be allowed to proceed beyond the pleading stage. Accordingly, we affirm in part, and vacate and remand in part.
The neighbor-to-neighbor dispute that led to this action began in 1998, when Marshall commenced litigation against the DeMurias and others over run-off surface water flowing onto her property. The DeMurias' complaint alleges that, at that time, Marshall began a year-long campaign of harassment against them which included threats, attempts to have their water turned off and trash removal stopped, offensive mailings sent to their house, repeated harassing and threatening phone calls, and an attempt to have their backyard excavated without their consent. For the purposes of this appeal, we accept as true all the allegations made by the DeMurias in their complaint.
The DeMurias further allege that, starting in the fall of 1998, they repeatedly contacted Officer Hawkes in an effort to end Marshall's harassing conduct. Officer Hawkes told the DeMurias that he would take charge of their complaints against Marshall and, in response to their direct question, denied having any personal relationship with her. He advised the DeMurias to have the telephone company put a device on their phone to record Marshall's calls, but later requested that the company not reinstall the device. After Marshall's attempt to arrange the excavation of the DeMurias' backyard, Hawkes promised them that he would apply for a warrant to arrest Marshall, but did not do so until almost six weeks had passed. Between the time that Hawkes promised to arrest Marshall and the time he actually applied for a warrant, Hawkes told a third party that Marshall would never be arrested because she was his friend. Hawkes later failed to supply the prosecuting attorney assigned to review the warrant application with the information necessary to determine probable cause. Hawkes instead closed the file and told the DeMurias that the court would not issue a warrant against Marshall.
In addition to these allegations, the DeMurias plead in their complaint that Hawkes aided and abetted Marshall's unlawful conduct and knowingly assisted her in causing injury to them. The complaint alleges that Hawkes had the duty and opportunity to protect the plaintiffs from Marshall, but failed to do so. Finally, the complaint states that "Hawkes subjected the plaintiffs to a different standard of police protection than any other citizens of Clinton and he did so maliciously, arbitrarily, for the purpose of injuring them, and for the reason that they were involved in a dispute with his friend."
On March 25, 2002, the district court dismissed the DeMurias' case on the basis of the pleadings. The court found the allegation that Hawkes had treated the DeMurias differently than other citizens of Clinton to be insufficiently specific for the purpose of maintaining an equal protection claim because the DeMurias did not name any similarly situated individuals or identify any differently-handled disputes. The court also found that the complaint articulated neither an impermissible or illicit motivation nor the lack of a rational basis for Hawkes's conduct. With respect to substantive due process, the court held that the complaint did not allege "conscience-shocking" governmental action and had failed to identify any deprivation of a constitutionally protected liberty or property interest.
We apply a de novo standard of review to the grant of a motion to dismiss on the pleadings, accepting as true the complaint's factual allegations and drawing all inferences in the plaintiff's favor. Scutti Enters. v. Park Place Entm't Corp., 322 F.3d 211, 214 (2d Cir.2003). "The court may not dismiss a complaint unless it appears beyond doubt, even when the complaint is liberally construed, that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts which would entitle him to relief." Jaghory v. New York State Dep't of Educ., 131 F.3d 326, 329 (2d Cir.1997) (internal quotation omitted). Because the complaint must allege facts which confer a cognizable right of action, "`[t]he issue is not whether a plaintiff will ultimately prevail but whether the claimant is entitled to offer evidence to support the claims.'" York v. Ass'n of the Bar of the City of New York, 286 F.3d 122, 125 (2d Cir.2002) (citing Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974))(alteration in original).1
As recognized by the district court, the DeMurias' equal protection claim is governed by the Supreme Court's holding in Village of Willowbrook v. Olech, 528 U.S. 562, 120 S.Ct. 1073, 145 L.Ed.2d 1060 (2000) (per curiam). There, the Court held that a successful equal protection claim may be "brought by a `class of one,' where the plaintiff alleges that she has been intentionally treated differently from others similarly situated and that there is no rational basis for the difference in treatment." Id. at 564, 120 S.Ct. 1073. Olech sued the Village after it required her to grant a 33-foot easement, as opposed to the 15-foot easement required from other property owners, to connect to the Village's water supply. Id. at 563, 120 S.Ct. 1073. Olech claimed that the Village's demand for an additional easement was "irrational and wholly arbitrary" and was made with the intent to deprive her of her rights or in reckless disregard of her rights. Id. The lower court dismissed Olech's complaint on the pleadings, finding her allegations to be insufficient to state a judicially cognizable equal protection claim. Id. The Seventh Circuit reversed, concluding that an allegation of subjective ill will was adequate to make out an equal protection violation.
The Supreme Court affirmed on a different rationale. The Court found that Olech's complaint could "fairly be construed as alleging" differential treatment from similarly situated property owners which, coupled with Olech's allegation that the Village's conduct was irrational and wholly arbitrary, was "sufficient to state a claim for relief under traditional equal protection analysis." Id. at 565, 120 S.Ct. 1073. In so holding, the Court found it unnecessary to consider the question of the Village's subjective motivation. Id.
The district court in this case held that the DeMurias' allegations were distinguishable from those in Olech because they lacked the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Cohn v. New Paltz Central School Dist.
...Cir.2002) (quoting Vill. of Willowbrook v. Olech, 528 U.S. 562, 564, 120 S.Ct. 1073, 145 L.Ed.2d 1060 (2000)); see also DeMuria v. Hawkes, 328 F.3d 704, 707 (2d Cir.2003) (permitting a "class of one" claim to survive a motion to dismiss where the complaint only generally alleged that other ......
-
National Council of Arab Americans v. City of Ny
...Willowbrook v. Olech, 528 U.S. 562, 564, 120 S.Ct. 1073, 145 L.Ed.2d 1060 (2000)." Cobb, 363 F.3d at 109-10; see also DeMuria v. Hawkes, 328 F.3d 704, 706-07 (2d Cir.2003). Defendants contend, without objection from Plaintiffs, that only the latter equal protection violation is alleged in t......
-
S&M Brands, Inc. v. State
...for any number of reasons, but it certainly is not irrational.5 Some of that authority isn't even authoritative. DeMuria v. Hawkes, 328 F.3d 704, 707 (2d Cir. 2003), which S & M cites for the proposition that general allegations of unequal treatment suffice to establish an equal protection ......
-
Montanye v. Wissahickon School Dist.
...basis for selectively enforcing the law is a pretext for an impermissible motive.") (internal citations omitted); De Muria v. Hawkes, 328 F.3d 704, 707 (2d Cir.2003) (holding that allegation of impermissible motive and animus is sufficient to allege equal protection violation); Bartell v. A......