Fraser v. County of Maui

• Decision Date: 07 June 1994
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 92-00635 ACK.
• Citation: 855 F. Supp. 1167
• Parties: Loretta FRASER, Plaintiff, v. COUNTY OF MAUI, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Hawaii

855 F. Supp. 1167

Loretta FRASER, Plaintiff, v. COUNTY OF MAUI, et al., Defendants.

Civ. No. 92-00635 ACK.

United States District Court, D. Hawai`i.

June 7, 1994.

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Anthony L. Ranken, Wailuku, HI, for Loretta Fraser.

Guy A. Haywood, David M. Jorgensen, Corp. Counsel, City & County of Maui, Wailuku, Maui, HI, for County of Maui, Maui County Police Dept., Wendell Loo.

Gregory K. Markham, Peter Y.L. Pong, Chee & Markham, Honolulu, HI, Paul R. Dolan, Lahaina, Maui, HI, for David Firestine, Napili Ridge Ass'n of Apartment Owners.

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

KAY, Chief Judge.

I. BACKGROUND

On September 30, 1992, Plaintiff Loretta Fraser ("Plaintiff") filed a complaint against Defendants Wendell Loo ("Loo"), County of Maui ("County"), David Firestine ("Firestine"), and Napili Ridge Association of Apartment Owners ("Napili Ridge"), asserting federal causes of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and 42 U.S.C. § 1985, and state causes of action under false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Against Napili Ridge, Plaintiff also asserts state negligent employment and supervision claims. Finally, Plaintiff seeks punitive damages.

On March 15, 1994, Defendants Loo and County filed a motion for summary judgment on each of Plaintiff's causes of action against them. Also on March 15, 1994, Defendants Firestine and Napili Ridge filed a separate motion for summary judgment on each of the claims against them. On April 29, 1994, Plaintiff filed a late opposition to the motions for summary judgment.

For the reasons stated below, the Court hereby GRANTS both motions for summary judgment.

II. FACTS

This action arises out of the citizen's arrest of Plaintiff by Firestine on January 23, 1992. Firestine arrested Plaintiff for harassing him. At the time of the arrest, Firestine was the Resident Manager of the condominium complex in which Plaintiff lived. Unhappy with his work, Plaintiff began conducting an informal surveillance of Firestine's job performance. Plaintiff then complained about his performance to the complex's board, of which Plaintiff was a member, and asked that Firestine be fired. The other board members disagreed with Plaintiff's assessment of Firestine's performance and refused to fire him. As a result, Plaintiff began an intensive surveillance of Firestine's activities. For a 3½day period, she followed Firestine around during his job and took notes of his activities. Frustrated, Firestine called the Maui Police Department after the first day of Plaintiff's surveillance and complained to the police about her behavior. Loo was the officer responding to Firestine's complaint.

Loo's affidavit testimony reveals the following about the events leading to Plaintiff's arrest:

Firestine called the Maui Police Department on January 20, 1992 to complain about Plaintiff's conduct. Firestine complained that Plaintiff was following him, sometimes as close as 10 feet behind him, and that she was writing down everything he did. Furthermore, when Firestine entered his apartment, Plaintiff waited outside watching what he was doing inside. Loo arrived at the scene to investigate the complaint. He spoke with both Plaintiff and Firestine. Plaintiff told Loo that she had a right to follow Firestine because she was a member of the condominium complex's board and it was her job to make sure Firestine was doing his job as Resident Manager. Loo told Plaintiff she could not follow Firestine if it was interfering with his work and annoying him, because the situation could escalate to a confrontation. Plaintiff then told Loo she would follow Firestine at a distance so as not to bother him or interfere with his work. Loo spoke with Firestine to be sure Firestine was satisfied with this resolution. Firestine stated he did not want to pursue the matter further. He did, however, tell Loo that Plaintiff was no longer a member of the board.

Early in the morning of January 23, 1992, Firestine again called the Maui Police Department to again complain about Plaintiff's surveillance. Loo went to the complex and saw Plaintiff standing at the bottom of the stairs leading to Firestine's apartment. Firestine was in his apartment. Loo spoke with Firestine, who told him that Plaintiff continued to follow him and that he was getting angry and was liable to hit Plaintiff if she did not stop. Loo talked to Plaintiff and told her he believed she was harassing Firestine and that she could be arrested. Plaintiff stated that she did not believe she was doing anything wrong, but that she would leave the area. Firestine then told Loo that, as long as Plaintiff left him alone, he did not wish to pursue prosecution.

Loo returned to the police station and discussed the situation with his supervisor. They decided that Plaintiff's conduct came within Haw.Rev.Stat. § 711-1106, dealing with the criminal offense of harassment. Later in the morning of January 23, 1992, Loo was again dispatched to the complex to investigate another complaint from Firestine. Upon arriving, Loo saw Plaintiff sitting on the lawn outside Firestine's office. She was surrounded by several tenants, who were telling her to leave Firestine alone. Firestine told Loo that, after Loo left, Plaintiff came back and told Firestine she was going to continue her surveillance. Loo approached Plaintiff, gave her a copy of § 711-1106, and told her she was violating this code section. Firestine then arrested Plaintiff.

To controvert the defendants' evidence, Plaintiff submits her response to an interrogatory asking her to detail her contact with Firestine and also submits portions of her deposition testimony. Plaintiff's evidence does not materially dispute the evidence offered by Loo. In her interrogatory answer, she states that Loo arrived at the scene on January 20, 1992 at about 2:30 p.m., that they spoke and that they agreed that Plaintiff could observe Firestine from a distance. She states that Loo went to Firestine's apartment and spoke with Firestine. She did not hear the conversation between the two. Plaintiff also discusses the arrest on January 23, 1992. She states that Loo told her she was under arrest for the offense of harassment and that she informed Loo that she disagreed with him. Plaintiff's description of the arrest in the interrogatory answer is similar to her description in the deposition testimony. In her interrogatory answer and her deposition testimony, Plaintiff does not address whether Loo spoke with her an additional time on the morning of January 23, 1992 before the arrest took place. Thus, her evidence does not controvert Loo's affidavit testimony regarding the additional conversation. Moreover, Plaintiff's affidavit testimony does not controvert Loo's testimony with regard to the conversations he had with Firestine and with regard to the knowledge he gained from those conversations.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Summary judgment shall be granted where there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). One of the principal purposes of the summary judgment procedure is to identify and dispose of factually unsupported claims and defenses. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The United States Supreme Court has declared that summary judgment must be granted against a party who fails to demonstrate facts to establish an element essential to his or her case where that party will bear the burden of proof of that essential element at trial. Id. at 322, 106 S.Ct. at 2552. "If the party moving for summary judgment meets its initial burden of identifying for the court the portions of the materials on file that it believes demonstrate the absence of any genuine issue of material fact, the nonmoving party may not rely on the mere allegations in the pleadings in order to preclude summary judgment." T.W. Elec. Serv., Inc. v. Pacific Elec. Contractors Ass'n, 809 F.2d 626, 630 (9th Cir.1987) (citations omitted). Instead, Rule 56(e) requires that the nonmoving party set forth, by affidavit or as otherwise provided in Rule 56, specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Id. At least some "significant probative evidence tending to support the complaint" must be produced. Id. Legal memoranda and oral argument are not evidence and do not create issues of fact capable of defeating an otherwise valid motion for summary judgment. British Airways Bd. v. Boeing Co., 585 F.2d 946, 952 (9th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 981, 99 S.Ct. 1790, 60 L.Ed.2d 241 (1979).

The standard for a grant of summary judgment reflects the standard governing the grant of a directed verdict. See Eisenberg v. Insurance Co. of N. Am., 815 F.2d 1285, 1289 (9th Cir.1987) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). Thus, the question is whether "reasonable minds could differ as to the import of the evidence." Id.

The Ninth Circuit has established that "no longer can it be argued that any disagreement about a material issue of fact precludes the use of summary judgment." California Architectural Bldg. Prod., Inc. v. Franciscan Ceramics, Inc., 818 F.2d 1466, 1468 (9th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 1006, 108 S.Ct. 698, 98 L.Ed.2d 650 (1988). Moreover, the United States Supreme Court has stated that "when the moving party has carried its burden under Rule 56(c), its opponent must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1355, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). Indeed, "if the factual context makes the nonmoving party's claim implausible, that party must come forward with more persuasive evidence than would otherwise be necessary...