DiNicola v. DiPaolo
| Decision Date | 31 March 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV. A. 94-323.,CIV. A. 94-323. |
| Citation | 25 F.Supp.2d 630 |
| Parties | Louis P. DiNICOLA, Plaintiff, v. Dominick DiPAOLO, Donald Gunter, William Vorsheck, Edward Wayne Edwards, and the City of Erie, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Pennsylvania |
Gary Eiben, The McDonald Group, Erie, PA, for Dominick DiPaolo, Donald Gunter, Erie Police Department.
James D. McDonald, Brian M. McGowan, The McDonald Group, Erie, PA, for William Vorsheck.
Natalie Dwyer Haller, Quinn, Buseck, Leemhuis, Toohey & Kroto, Inc., Erie, PA, for Edward Wayne Edwards.
Gary Eiben, The McDonald Group, Erie, PA, Gregory A. Karle, Dailey, Restifo & Dailey, Erie, PA, for City of Erie, Penn.
Plaintiff Louis P. DiNicola brings the instant action against Defendants Dominick DiPaolo and Donald Gunter (former police officers for the City of Erie, Pennsylvania), William Vorsheck (a hypnotist formerly residing in Erie County), Edward Wayne Edwards (a former witness against DiNicola), and the City of Erie (the "City") under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988 and Pennsylvania state law. The claims arise out of Plaintiff's arrest and conviction in 1980 on charges of arson and second degree murder for which he was eventually retried and acquitted. This Court has jurisdiction over Plaintiff's claims based on 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1343 and 1367(a).
Presently pending before this Court are motions by all Defendants for summary judgment. For the reasons stated below, these motions will be granted.
On the night of August 30 and early morning hours of August 31, 1979, a fire ravaged a two-story residence at 622 West 16th Street in Erie, Pennsylvania. The fire claimed three lives, including two children of one Deborah Sweet, the first floor occupant. Plaintiff was suspected by the Erie police of being responsible for the fire. On March 26, 1980 he was arrested and charged with arson and three counts of murder in the second degree. On October 20, 1980, Plaintiff was convicted on all counts. His conviction was subsequently overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court1 and, following extensive interim proceedings, Plaintiff was retried and acquitted in May of 1994. This suit followed on November 23, 1994.
Plaintiff alleges that the Defendants acted to deprive him of his rights under both federal and state law. Count I of his amended complaint asserts claims under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988 for alleged violations of his Fourth Amendment right to be free from unlawful seizure (including arrest without probable cause, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution), and his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process of law. Count II asserts a cause of action for malicious prosecution under Pennsylvania law.2 Underlying these claims are several central factual allegations, viz: (a) that Defendants, through highly suggestive hypnotic regression, procured false testimony from Deborah Sweet implicating Plaintiff as the perpetrator of the fire; (b) that, through Defendants' collaborative conduct, critical exculpatory evidence was destroyed and/or deliberately concealed from Plaintiff, from the judge who authorized his arrest warrant, and from the original trial court; (e) that Defendants Gunter and DiPaolo deliberately failed to record and retain evidence that implicated a different person in the crime; and (d) that false testimony from Defendant Edwards was used against Plaintiff in an effort to convict him in his second criminal trial. Plaintiff claims that his constitutional injuries were the proximate result of a practice or custom on the part of the City of failing to properly train, discipline and supervise its police officers and agents with respect to the constitutional rights of the criminally accused.
All Defendants have now filed motions for summary judgment with respect to all of Plaintiff's claims. Defendants Vorsheck and Edwards argue that they cannot be liable because they were not persons acting under color of state law for purposes of Plaintiff's federal claims and because their respective actions were not unlawful. Vorsheck further claims that, if he was in fact a state actor, he is entitled to summary judgment under the doctrines of collateral estoppel and/or qualified immunity. DiPaolo and Gunter likewise claim that they are entitled to summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity. Alternatively, they claim that there is no evidence to establish any violation of Plaintiff's constitutional rights. The City contends that it is entitled to summary judgment on the § 1983 claim because Plaintiff has failed to adduce evidence of a municipal custom or policy that could have caused the alleged violations of his constitutional rights.
We conclude that summary judgment is appropriately granted in favor of Defendants DiPaolo and Gunter because, as a matter of law, they had probable cause to arrest Plaintiff and to assist in filing criminal charges against him. In the alternative, the Court concludes that DiPaolo and Gunter are entitled to qualified immunity for their conduct.
Our resolution of the claims against DiPaolo and Gunter necessarily leads us to conclude that the claims against Vorsheck and Edwards, which are premised on essentially the same conduct, also fail as a matter of law. In short, there is insufficient evidence to establish that Vorsheck or Edwards committed any violation of Plaintiff's federal constitutional rights or that they violated his rights under Pennsylvania law. Alternatively, we conclude that Vorsheck and Edwards are entitled to summary judgment on DiNicola's § 1983 claims because DiNicola cannot establish that those individuals acted under color of state law. Finally, based on our resolution of the claims against the individual Defendants, we conclude that the City is likewise entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
Summary judgment is proper "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Upon a motion for summary judgment, the non-moving party, to prevail, must "make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of [every] element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Knabe v. Boury Corp., 114 F.3d 407, 410 n. 4 (3d Cir.1997) (quoting Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)). In evaluating whether the non-moving party has established each necessary element, we must grant all reasonable inferences from the evidence to the non-moving party. Id. (citing Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)). However, "[w]here the record taken as a whole could not lead a reasonable trier of fact to find for the non-moving party, there is no `genuine issue for trial.'" Id. (quoting Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348).
Plaintiff's federal claims are brought pursuant 42 U.S.C. § 1983,3 which provides that:
Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State ... subjects, or causes to be subjected, any ... person ... to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and the laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress.
42 U.S.C.A. § 1983 (West 1994). In order to maintain an action under § 1983, a plaintiff must demonstrate: (i) a violation of a right secured by the Constitution or the laws of the United States; and (ii) that the alleged deprivation was committed by a person acting under color of state law. Kneipp v. Tedder, 95 F.3d 1199, 1204 (3d Cir.1996) (citation omitted).
We initially consider Plaintiff's claims against DiPaolo and Gunter premised on their alleged violations of his Fourth Amendment rights, including his right to be free from arrest without probable cause, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution. The lack of probable cause is an essential element for each of these claims. See Groman v. Township of Manalapan, 47 F.3d 628, 634 (3d Cir.1995) (); Id. at 636 (); Rose v. Bartle, 871 F.2d 331, 349 (3d Cir.1989) () (citation omitted) (emphasis added). Otherwise stated, the presence of probable cause is a complete bar to DiNicola's federal claims for false arrest, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution. See Ortega v. Christian, 85 F.3d 1521, 1525 (11th Cir.1996) (citation omitted); Williams v. Kobel, 789 F.2d 463, 470 (7th Cir.1986); Whitmore v. Smith, No. Civ. A. 96-2745, 1997 WL 438441 at *5 (E.D.Pa., Jul 30, 1997); Schertz v. Waupaca County, 683 F.Supp. 1551, 1564 (E.D.Wis. 1988) (citing cases), aff'd, 875 F.2d 578 (7th Cir.1989); Seip v. Newark Police Dept., 648 F.Supp. 489, 492 (D.N.J.1986).
Although the existence vel non of probable cause is normally a factual issue for the jury's determination, like any other factual issue it may be...
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