Hall v. Township of Mount Morris
| Decision Date | 07 March 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 00-CV-72410-DT.,00-CV-72410-DT. |
| Citation | 198 F.Supp.2d 906 |
| Parties | Antonio HALL and DeLisa Hall, Plaintiffs, v. TOWNSHIP OF MOUNT MORRIS, Jeff Iski, and James Gagliardi, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan |
Thomas W. Waun, Michael P. Parillo, Grand Blanc, MI, for plaintiffs.
G. Gus Morris, Cox, Hodgman, Giarmarco, Troy, MI, for defendants.
Plaintiffs Antonio and DeLisa Hall filed this cause of action in the Circuit Court for the County of Genessee contending that the Defendants Mt. Morris Township, Officer Jeff Iski and Officer James Gagliardi violated their Civil Rights.
On April 19, 1998 at approximately 9:00 p.m., the Mt. Morris Township Police Department received a domestic dispute call in which Sally Ann Pettiford reported that her child's father had threatened to return to her home at 1228 W. Cass and shoot up the place. When the officers arrived at the residence and spoke with Ms. Pettiford, the suspect was gone. At approximately 1:30 p.m., the Officers received a second call that there was a family dispute at 1228 W. Cass.
When the Officers arrived at the Plaintiffs' home on the second call and exited their vehicle, Plaintiff Antonio Hall began to walk toward the officers. The officers noticed that Mr. Hall had an unidentifiable object in his hand. The officers told Mr. Hall to get his hands up. Mr. Hall was told to put his hands on the parked car and spread his legs. Officer Iski began to pat Mr. Hall down. It is alleged that Mr. Hall moved his leg and Officer Iski took his foot and kicked Mr. Hall's leg back into the spread eagle position. The moving of the leg back and forth caused Officer Iski to attempt to handcuff Mr. Hall. Mr. Hall resisted and he and the officers began wrestling. It is alleged that Officer Gagliardi began to hit Mr. Hall with an object. Mr. Hall dove into the squad car carrying Officer Iski with him. Officer Iski's arm was pinned behind Mr. Hall. In effort to free Officer Iski and to subdue Mr. Hall, Officer Gagliardi sprayed Mr. Hall with pepper spray. Officer Iski grabbed Mr. Hall by the neck and Mr. Hall bit Officer Iski's finger. Mr. Hall was eventually handcuffed and taken to the Mt. Morris Police Station.
Mr. Hall contends that as a result of Officers Iski's and Gagliardi's conduct he suffered physical injuries. Defendants removed this cause of action from the Circuit Court for the County of Genessee based upon a federal question. Plaintiffs allege in Count I, Violation of Civil Rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and in Count II, assault and battery. On April 6, 2001, Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment. Plaintiffs filed a response. On April 11, 2001, Defendants filed a Motion to Strike Plaintiffs' Expert Witness.
Defendants contend that Plaintiffs sued Officers Iski and Gagliardi in their official capacities only and therefore the Section 1983 claim must be evaluated under the standards which govern public entities. Defendants state that municipalities cannot be held responsible for a constitutional deprivation unless there is a direct casual link between a municipal policy or custom and the alleged constitutional deprivation. Monell v. Dept. of Social Services of New York, 436 U.S. 658, 691, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). In addition, Defendants state that a single, isolated instance of excessive force cannot be used to establish an official policy held by the municipality. Estate of Callahan v. City of Detroit, 863 F.2d 47 (6th Cir.1988) citing City of Oklahoma v. Tuttle, 471 U.S. 808, 105 S.Ct. 2427, 85 L.Ed.2d 791 (1985).
Defendants assert that there is no evidence that Mt. Morris has a policy which requires the use of excessive force. Defendants attached as Exhibit E, the Township's policy against use of excessive force. Defendants also contend that the evidence does not support that the Defendant officers were inadequately trained. Exhibit C of Defendants' Brief contains the training records of both of the Defendant officers.
Plaintiffs contend that Defendants were sufficiently put on notice that they were being sued in their individual capacities. Plaintiffs note that Count 1 of the Complaint states that "Defendants Iski and Gagliardi used excessive force which was clearly excessive in light of the circumstances existing at the time of the arrest." (See Plaintiffs' Ex. G, ¶ 11). Plaintiffs also state in the Complaint that "Defendants Iski and Gagliardi used excessive force with the intent to inflict unnecessary harm upon the Plaintiffs and such use of force caused physical and mental injuries to the Plaintiff." (See Plaintiffs' Ex. G, ¶ 12). Plaintiffs complained that Defendants Iski and Gagliardi were acting under color of the authority of the Mt. Morris Township Police Department in violation in 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (Exhibit G, ¶¶ 13, 14 and 17).
Plaintiffs argue that the Defendant Officers acknowledged that they were being sued in their individual capacities as verified by Defendants' Affirmative Defenses which state:
1. That the individual defendants herein were at all times acting in the belief that their actions were lawful and within the bounds of the Constitution and objectively reasonable. Therefore, these defendants are entitled to qualified immunity.
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4. That the actions of the individual defendants were based on probable cause and therefore privileged.
Plaintiffs state that if this Court finds that the Defendants were not named individually, Plaintiffs seek leave to amend their complaint to name Defendants Iski and Gagliardi in their individual capacities.
Defendants state that Plaintiffs' Complaint is clearly defective. Defendants argue that the words "individual" or "individually" never appear in the Complaint. It is Defendants' contention that the Sixth Circuit requires a clear indication that § 1983 defendants are being sued in their individual capacities. Defendants state that Plaintiffs' Complaint is ambiguous. Defendants state that Plaintiffs have the burden of properly naming the Defendants, and the pleading of an affirmative defendant do not cure Plaintiffs' pleading error. The pleading of an affirmative defense merely precludes its waiver. Defendants argue that Plaintiffs should not be permitted to file an amended complaint where they have not filed a motion for leave to amend.
It is Defendants' position that they believed that they were being sued in their official capacities only and therefore have not disposed of assets, placed any properties in the names of their spouses, or hired additional legal counsel. Defendants assert that they will be prejudiced by the exposure to an entirely new and greater liability.
The United States Supreme Court in Leatherman v. Tarrant County Narcotics Intelligence and Coordination Unit, 507 U.S. 163, 113 S.Ct. 1160, 122 L.Ed.2d 517 (1993), reviewed whether a federal court could apply a heightened pleading standard than the usual pleading requirements of Rule 8(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in civil rights cases alleging municipal liability under section 1983. The court determined that "[p]erhaps if Rules 8 and 9 were rewritten today, claims against municipalities under § 1983 might be subjected to the added specificity requirement of Rule 9(b)." Id. However, "[i]n the absence of such an amendment federal courts and litigants must rely on summary judgment and control of discovery to weed out unmeritorious claims sooner rather than later." Id. at 168-69, 113 S.Ct. 1160.
When Plaintiffs filed this cause of action, they failed to specify under which capacity, individual or official, Officers Iski and Gagliardi were sued. The Complaint merely identifies the officers as "Defendant, Jeff Iski, upon information and belief, is a resident of Genessee County, Michigan, and is employed as a police officer by the Defendant, Mt. Morris Township." (See Complaint, ¶ 3). Plaintiffs identify Officer Gagliardi in a similar manner in Paragraph 4 of the Complaint. Plaintiffs later stated that "Plaintiff's arrest was made under color of the authority of Defendants Iski and Gagliardi, as police officers for Mt. Morris Township." (See Complaint, ¶ 17).
The Complaint seemingly refers to the Officers in their official capacity. Plaintiffs, however, have requested an opportunity to amend their Complaint if this Court finds that the Officers were named in their official capacity only. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 15 governs amendments and supplemental pleadings. "A party may amend the party's pleading once as a matter of course at any time before a responsive pleading is served, ..." otherwise, a party may amend the party's pleading only by leave of court or by written consent of the adverse party; and leave shall be freely given when justice so requires. Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a). Leave to amend may be denied when it would result in undue delay, prejudice to the opposing party, or the repeated failure to cure deficiencies in the complaint. Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182, 83 S.Ct. 227, 9 L.Ed.2d 222 (1962); Duchon v. Cajon Co., 791 F.2d 43, 48 (6th Cir.1986). Delay by itself is not sufficient reason to deny a motion to amend. Coe v. Bell, 161 F.3d 320, 341 (6th Cir.1998). Notice and substantial prejudice to the opposing party are critical factors in determining whether an amendment should be granted. Brooks v. Celeste, 39 F.3d 125, 130 (6th Cir.1994). Whether a proposed amendment is futile rests on whether it could withstand a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. Rose v. Hartford Underwriters Ins. Co., 203 F.3d 417, 420 (6th Cir.2000). The granting or denial of leave to amend rests within the discretion of the district court. Duchon, 791 F.2d at 48.
Section 15(c) governs amendments which relate back to the original proceeding. An amendment of a pleading relates back to the date of the...
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Brady v. City of Westland
...immunity against § 1983 liability. (Defendant Lorenzetti's Motion, Br. in Support at 16–17 (quoting Hall v. Township of Mount Morris, 198 F.Supp.2d 906, 920 (E.D.Mich.2002)).) Under 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3), a court may decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over state-law claims where......