Hall v. City of White Plains

• Decision Date: 25 January 2002
• Docket Number: No. 00 CIV. 6958(CM).,00 CIV. 6958(CM).
• Citation: 185 F.Supp.2d 293
• Parties: Francisco HALL, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF WHITE PLAINS, City of White Plains Department of Public Safety, Simon Property Management a/k/a Fashion Mall Partners, Williams-Sonoma, Victoria's Secret Stores, P.O. Douglas, P.O. Solomon, I.PC. International Corp., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

185 F.Supp.2d 293

Francisco HALL, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF WHITE PLAINS, City of White Plains Department of Public Safety, Simon Property Management a/k/a Fashion Mall Partners, Williams-Sonoma, Victoria's Secret Stores, P.O. Douglas, P.O. Solomon, I.PC. International Corp., Defendants.

No. 00 CIV. 6958(CM).

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

January 25, 2002.

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Leonard Buddington, Esq., White Plains, NY, for Plaintiff.

Joseph A. Maria, Esq., White Plains, NY, Eric S. Strober, Esq., New York City, Mitchell Teitelbaum, Esq., Mineola, NY, Craig L. Roberts, Esq., New York City, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

MCMAHON, District Judge.

Plaintiff Francisco Hall sues defendants City of White Plains, the City of White Plains Department of Public Safety ("WPDPS"), Simon Property Management ("Simon"), Williams-Sonoma, White Plains Police Officers Douglas and Solomon, Victoria's Secret Stores ("Victoria's Secret") and I.P.C. International Corporation ("IPC") for violation of his federal constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and for state law claims of false arrest, negligence and prima facie tort, for an incident in which he was briefly detained as a shoplifting suspect in a shopping mall. Defendants City of White Plains, WPDPS, Officers Douglas and Solomon move for summary judgment and, in the event they are found liable, cross-claim against the other defendants. Victoria's Secret, Simon and IPC also move for summary judgment.

Summary judgment as to defendants the City of White Plains and WPDPS is granted. Summary judgment on the claims of negligence as against Simon, Victoria's Secret and IPC is granted. Williams Sonoma was not named in the Amended Complaint and is therefore dismissed. Summary judgment on the claims for false arrest and imprisonment under Section 1983 against Officers Douglas and Solomon is denied.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The following facts are construed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party—in this case, the plaintiff.

On or about June 19, 1999, plaintiff was shopping with his fiancé at the Westchester Mall in White Plains, New York. They arrived at approximately 4:00 P.M. and proceeded to make a purchase at Williams-Sonoma. The purchase was placed in two Williams-Sonoma bags, one inside the other. Plaintiff was carrying the Williams-Sonoma bag when he and his fiancé went on to Victoria's Secret.

Plaintiff left his fiancé in Victoria's Secret to go to another store. At some point after plaintiff left Victoria's Secret, he was approached by two uniformed City of White Plains Police Officers. According to plaintiff, Officer Solomon asked: "What is in the bag?" Plaintiff explained that the bag contained purchases made by his fiancé at Williams-Sonoma. Solomon then asked him why it was "double-bagged," to which plaintiff responded: "Why don't you ask Williams-Sonoma?"

Officer Solomon directed plaintiff to accompany them to Williams-Sonoma. Plaintiff asked if he could stay where he was standing while the officers went to Williams-Sonoma, but the officers told him that they should all go to Williams-Sonoma together. Plaintiff, in his deposition testimony, described his encounter with the police in this way:

"He asked me did I have ID. I said, `Yes.' At that point he asked me, `What's in the bag? What did you actually buy?' I advised him I'm not sure, that I didn't make the purchase. I told him my fiancé made the purchase. He then asked me to search the bag. I said, `No.' He then asked me again, `What are you hiding between the bags?' I replied, `Nothing.' He then asked me, `Why is the bag doubled?' I said, `I'm not sure. That's something you would have to ask the clerk who doubled it,' and then he asked—then he said, `Let's walk down to the clerk.' `Williams-Sonoma' actually he said. And I said, `I'll wait here. You can go ask if you want.' And he then said, `No, let's all go down.' I'm sorry. I—also, the last time that I answered, actually said no to him, he then approached me and that's when he said that he has enough to arrest me, actually, and not to give him a hard time. He took a step towards me."

(Hall Dep. at 26.)

Upon reaching Williams-Sonoma, plaintiff asked the officers if he could leave to look for his fiancé, and the officers again directed him not to leave. Officer Douglas and five mall security guards waited with plaintiff in front of Williams-Sonoma while Officer Solomon went inside to investigate. After several minutes, Solomon exited the store and stated: "It's not him." The defendant officers did not explain to plaintiff the basis of their investigation, nor did they apologize for inconveniencing him. Plaintiff took down the defendant police officers' badge numbers.

Plaintiff alleges that he was detained because a Victoria's Secret employee called mall security in reference to a "suspicious looking black male" carrying a "booster bag."¹ Mall security guards then called the City of White Plains Police Department.

Officer Solomon's recollection of the incident largely corresponds with plaintiff's account. See Police Report of Incident, Exh. E, Def. Exhibits to Summary Judgment Motion by City of White Plains. Officer Solomon wrote in his incident report that he and Officer Douglas responded to a call from the Westchester Mall. Upon arrival at the mall, the officers were "met by Security who stated that an employee/manager from Victoria's Secret called them and said they were observing a black male with three black females in their store." See Solomon Aff., p. 2. Officer Solomon recalled "The male was carrying a `booster bag' and it was Security's opinion that they looked suspicious. When we arrived at the Victoria's Secret Store, the male in question walked from the second floor to the third floor." Id. At that time, Officers Solomon and Douglas approached Hall and asked him why his shopping bag was doubled up. Officer Solomon recalled that Hall "pulled the bag close to himself and asked if I was asking to search him." Id. Officer Solomon replied "that he was not requesting to search him, but did want to know why the bag was doubled up." Id. Officer Solomon stated that Hall became "agitated," and a crowd was starting to gather. Id. Officer Solomon advised Hall to calm down or he would be arrested. Id.

Officer Solomon wrote that he asked Hall for the third time why the bag was doubled, and Hall replied, "Why don't you ask Williams-Sonoma?" Id. According to Officer Solomon, he replied "we will, let's go." Id. Hall said that he would wait where he was. Id. In response, Officer Solomon said that they should all go together. Id. At this point, Officer Solomon stated that Hall walked toward Williams-Sonoma, and he, Officer Douglas and the mall security guards followed him. Id. As they all walked to Williams-Sonoma, Officer Solomon stated that Hall said he was with only one woman who was somewhere in the mall, not three women. Id. Officer Solomon spoke with a Williams-Sonoma clerk who corroborated Hall's Williams-Sonoma purchase. Officer Solomon then advised Hall that his story checked out, he asked Hall for his identification so that he could fill out his report and then thanked him. Id. at 3.

Plaintiff alleges that defendants Solomon and Douglas falsely arrested and imprisoned him in violation of his Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution (First Cause of Action); that the City of White Plains had a policy and custom of failing to train defendant police officers in the proper methodologies of arrest, detention and interrogation, as they relate to racial and ethnic minorities (Second Cause of Action); that defendant police officers falsely arrested him in violation of New York State law (Third Cause of Action); that defendants and their security personnel were negligent in training, hiring and supervising police officers, security guards, and employees (Fourth Cause of Action); and that defendants committed a prima facie tort by taking actions with the deliberate intent to injure plaintiff (Fifth Cause of Action).

Defendants City of White Plains, WPDPS, Officers Douglas and Solomon move for summary judgment and cross-claim against the other defendants, alleging that if plaintiff is successful in proving liability against them, then the other co-defendants will be liable to them for the amount caused by their relative responsibility in the incident. Victoria's Secret, Simon and IPC also move for summary judgment.

For the reasons stated below, summary judgment is granted on all claims against the City of White Plains and WPDPS. Summary judgment is granted for the claims of negligence against Simon, Victoria's Secret and IPC. Summary judgment is denied as to the claims against Officers Douglas and Solomon.

DISCUSSION

Summary judgment is appropriate where there are no genuine issues of material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A genuine issue for trial exists if, based on the record as a whole, a reasonable jury could find in favor of the non-movant. See Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. In making its determination, the court must resolve all ambiguities and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-movant. See id. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505. To defeat summary judgment, the non-moving party must go beyond the pleadings and "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, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). When opposing a motion for summary judgment, it is not sufficient for the non-moving party to present evidence that is conclusory or speculative, with no basis in fact. See Liberty Lobby, ...