Fiedler v. Incandela

• Decision Date: 06 December 2016
• Docket Number: 14–cv–2572 (SJF)(AYS)
• Parties: Colby FIEDLER, Plaintiff, v. P.O. Michael INCANDELA, P.O. John Focas, P.O. Steven Capparelli, P.O. Dane Flynn, P.O. Richard Yasso, P.O. Stacey Cunneen, P.O. Moira Huggins, Sgt. Christopher Foley, The County of Nassau, and The County of Suffolk, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York

222 F.Supp.3d 141

Colby FIEDLER, Plaintiff,
v.
P.O. Michael INCANDELA, P.O. John Focas, P.O. Steven Capparelli, P.O. Dane Flynn, P.O. Richard Yasso, P.O. Stacey Cunneen, P.O. Moira Huggins, Sgt. Christopher Foley, The County of Nassau, and The County of Suffolk, Defendants.

14–cv–2572 (SJF)(AYS)

United States District Court, E.D. New York.

Signed December 6, 2016

222 F.Supp.3d 150

Edward Sivin, Clelia Douyon, Glenn D. Miller, Sivin & Miller, LLP, New York, NY, Ameer Nadav Benno, Benno & Associates P.C., New York, NY, for Plaintiff.

Scott J. Kreppein, Quatela, Hargraves & Chimeri PLLC, Hauppauge, NY, Brian C. Mitchell, Hauppauge, NY, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

FEUERSTEIN, District Judge:

Plaintiff Colby Fiedler ("Plaintiff" or "Fiedler") commenced this action against Defendants P.O. Michael Incandela, P.O. John Focas, P.O. Steven Capparelli, P.O. Dane Flynn, P.O. Richard Yasso, P.O. Stacey Cunneen, P.O. Moira Huggins, Sgt. Christopher Foley, the County of Nassau, and the County of Suffolk (collectively, "Defendants"), alleging causes of action arising under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and New York state law. See Docket Entry ("DE") [1]. Presently before the Court are two (2) motions for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. DE [39], [40]. On December 11, 2015, Defendants Focas, Capparelli, Flynn, Yasso, Cunneen, Huggins, Foley, and the County of Suffolk (collectively, the "Suffolk County Defendants") filed a motion for summary judgment, which Plaintiff does not oppose. DE [39], [39–17]. On December 14, 2015, Defendants Incandela and the County of Nassau (together, the "Nassau County Defendants") filed a motion for summary judgment, which Plaintiff opposes. DE [40], [40–6]. For the reasons set forth herein, both motions are granted in their entirety.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

This action arises out of Plaintiff's December 20, 2011 arrest and subsequent criminal prosecution for criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree in violation of N.Y. Penal Law § 165.40.¹ See Compl., DE [1], ¶¶1–5. At all relevant times on December 20, 2011, Defendant Incandela was an off-duty police officer for the Nassau County Police Department ("NCPD"). Pl.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 1; Incandela Aff. ¶ 17. The NCPD is an administrative branch of Defendant Nassau County. See Nassau County Defendants' Answer ("Nassau Ans."), DE [20], ¶ 16. At all relevant times, Defendants Focas, Capparelli, Flynn, Yasso, Cunneen, Huggins, and Foley (collectively, the "Individual Suffolk Defendants") were police officers for the Suffolk County Police Department ("SCPD"). See Suffolk County Defendants' Amended Answer ("Suffolk Am. Ans."), DE [22], ¶¶6–12. The SCPD is an administrative

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branch of Defendant Suffolk County. Id. at ¶ 5.

On December 15, 2011, an unidentified individual stole a package from the home of Incandela's girlfriend in Lindenhurst, New York. See Incandela Aff. ¶ 4. According to Incandela, surveillance images revealed that the individual who took the package exited "an older grey Kia Optima with a distinctive dent." Id. at ¶ 7. Subsequently, while driving to his girlfriend's home on December 20, 2011, Incandela "recognized the vehicle in front of [him] as being the vehicle in the surveillance footage." Id. at ¶ 8. It is undisputed that Fiedler was a passenger in the vehicle that Incandela observed on December 20, 2011, and that non-party Vincenzo Francese was driving the vehicle. See Pl.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 4; Sivin Decl. Ex. 1 ("Fiedler Aff.") at ¶ 2.

Incandela contacted the SCPD in order to "relay [his] observations to responding officers" and followed the vehicle to 669 South Sixth Street in Lindenhurst. See Incandela Aff. ¶¶8, 9; Pl.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 3. According to Incandela, at 669 South Sixth Street, he "observed two individuals, males with dark hair, one relatively skinny and the other stockier, exit the vehicle and unload boxes into the garage." Incandela Aff. ¶ 10. Fiedler disputes unloading packages from the vehicle and claims that, upon arrival at 669 South Sixth Street, he "immediately entered the house" while Francese "remained outside, having told [Fiedler] that he wanted to smoke a cigarette." Fiedler Aff. ¶ 3. According to Fiedler, he "never unloaded, or assisted [Francese] in unloading, anything from [Francese's] vehicle, nor did [he] carry anything into [Francese's] garage or house." Id. at ¶ 5. When Fiedler and Francese returned to the vehicle and drove away, Incandela remained on the telephone with the SCPD and followed the vehicle to 28 Knoll Street, Lindenhurst, New York. Incandela Aff. ¶ 11.

At approximately 3:35 p.m. on December 20, 2011, Defendants Capparelli and Focas responded to 669 South Sixth Street and received voluntary consent from the property owner, Luciano Francese, to search the premises. Suffolk 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 10; Mitchell Decl. Ex. F. According to Capparelli and Focas, "[t]he search resulted in the discovery of packages in the garage that were determined to be stolen." Mitchell Decl. Ex. G ("Capparelli Aff.") at ¶ 4; Mitchell Decl. Ex. J ("Focas Aff.") at ¶ 4. Subsequently, non-parties Danielle DeMaio, Carolyn Shabunia, and Jason Kraft (collectively, the "Property Owners") each completed a Larceny or Criminal Possession of Stolen Property Affidavit stating that they owned the property that was recovered from the garage at 669 South Sixth Street, and that their property was "taken, obtained, or withheld without [their] permission." Mitchell Decl. Exs. B–D. Capparelli and Focas relayed this information to their superior, non-party Sergeant Wayne Hutzel. Capparelli Aff. ¶ 5; Focas Aff. ¶ 5.

Hutzel, along with Defendants Cunneen, Flynn, and Yasso, responded to 28 Knoll Street and spoke to Incandela. See Mitchell Decl. Ex. K ("Hutzel Aff.") at ¶ 4; Mitchell Decl. Ex. H. ("Cunneen Aff.") at ¶ 4; Mitchell Decl. Ex. L ("Yasso Aff.") at ¶ 4. Incandela identified Fiedler and Francese as the men he observed moving boxes from the vehicle to the garage at 669 South Sixth Street. Id. Based on Capparelli and Focas's determination that the boxes in the garage at 669 South Sixth Street were stolen, along with Incandela's identification of Fiedler and Francese, SCPD officers arrested Fiedler and Francese outside of 28 Knoll Street. See Suffolk 56.1 Stmt. ¶¶7–11. As the officers arrested Fiedler and Francese, Incandela remained

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in his vehicle parked across the street and observed the SCPD officers handcuff both men and place them in separate police vehicles. Incandela Aff. ¶¶13, 14. It is undisputed that Plaintiff was arrested in Suffolk County by SCPD officers. Pl.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶¶1, 2.

Following Plaintiff's arrest, Incandela provided a sworn statement to Defendant Focas, in which he stated that, on December 20, 2011, he saw "the same exact vehicle that [he] saw on [his] girlfriend's surveillance video travelling northbound on Shore Rd. towards Montauk Hwy." See Nassau 56.1 Stmt. Ex. B ("Incandela Stmt."), DE [40–3], at 1. Incandela further stated, in relevant part:

I followed the vehicle to 669 S. 6th St., Lindenhurst. I saw the vehicle pull nose in into the driveway and I saw 2 white males exit the vehicle and carry 5 boxes from the trunk of the car into the garage. I then saw both white males go into the back seat of the Kia ... and take out items which they covered up with a towel and brought those items into the house. The 2 males came out of the house, got back into the Kia and drove to 28 Knoll St., Lindenhurst.... When the 2 white males exit[ed] the vehicle I positively identified them as the same 2 white males that unloaded the 5 boxes into the garage at 669 S. 6th St., Lindenhurst. As a matter of fact I never lost sight of the vehicle ... as I followed it from 669 S. 6th St. to 28 Knoll St., Lindenhurst.

Id. at 1–2. According to Incandela, after identifying Fiedler and Francese as the individuals who moved the boxes from the vehicle to the garage, he returned to 669 South Sixth Street, where he observed five (5) boxes that were "positively the same boxes [he] saw the 2 males carrying into the garage from the Kia trunk earlier in the day." Id. at 2.

On December 20, 2011, Cunneen, Yasso, and Flynn each prepared and signed a Misdemeanor Information charging Plaintiff with criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree in violation of N.Y. Penal Law § 165.40. Suffolk 56.1 Stmt. ¶¶1–6. Cunneen, Yasso, and Flynn based their charges on Incandela's December 20, 2011 sworn statement to the SCPD and the Property Owners' Affidavits. Id. ; see also Mitchell Decl. Exs. B–D. According to the Suffolk County Defendants, "[b]etween the time of the plaintiff's arrest and his arraignment, no defendant officer became aware of any information that would lead them to believe that probable cause did not exist for his arrest or that would eliminate probable cause." Suffolk 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 12.

On January 14, 2013, Incandela gave another sworn statement to the SCPD, stating that, "through police investigation," he learned that "one of the people [he] observed carrying boxes from the described vehicle into the garage ... to be Colby Fiedler." Sivin Decl. Ex. 5...