House v. New Castle County

• Decision Date: 27 May 1993
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 92-03-LON.
• Citation: 824 F. Supp. 477
• Parties: April Evans HOUSE, et al., Plaintiffs, v. NEW CASTLE COUNTY, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Delaware

824 F. Supp. 477

April Evans HOUSE, et al., Plaintiffs, v. NEW CASTLE COUNTY, et al., Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 92-03-LON.

United States District Court, D. Delaware.

May 27, 1993.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Scott A. Stanley, Law Offices of Sylvia E. Hall, Wilmington, DE, for plaintiffs.

Barry M. Willoughby, and Bhavana Sontakay, of Young, Conaway, Stargatt & Taylor, Wilmington, DE, Julie M.S. Sebring, New Castle County Law Dept., Wilmington, DE, for defendants.

OPINION

LONGOBARDI, Chief Judge.

I. NATURE AND STAGE OF THE PROCEEDINGS

On January 2, 1992, the Plaintiffs in this action, April Evans House ("Mrs. House") and Keven A. House ("Mr. House"), individually, and April Evans House as next friend of Ameera Evans ("Ameera"), a minor, filed suit against numerous Defendants for the alleged deprivation of Plaintiffs' constitutional and common law rights. Docket Item ("D.I.") 1. Specifically, the Plaintiffs seek compensatory and punitive damages from Defendants New Castle County Government ("Government"), New Castle County Police Department ("Police Department"), Colonel Thomas P. Gordon ("Gordon") individually and in his official capacity as Colonel of the New Castle County Police Department and Patrolman Anthony Scelsi ("Scelsi"), individually and in his official capacity as a police officer for New Castle County.¹

Plaintiffs' suit stems from a confrontation with the New Castle Police Department occurring on December 31, 1989, in which the police were summoned to the residence of the Plaintiffs in response to a disturbance involving loud radio playing. Plaintiff April House was detained and subsequently arrested for disorderly conduct, assault, resisting arrest, menacing, offensive touching and terroristic threatening. D.I. 1, ¶ 23.² In the first instance, Plaintiffs' fundamental claim is that during the course of Mrs. House's arrest, Defendant Scelsi employed excessive force causing her to suffer severe physical and emotional damages.

Plaintiffs contend that Mrs. House willingly complied with the request from the Patrolmen to lower the radio.³ Despite her cooperation, she alleges Defendant Scelsi was dissatisfied with the Plaintiffs' attitude and violently forced his way back into the Plaintiffs' apartment threatening to arrest Plaintiff Mrs. House. D.I. 1 at ¶¶ 8-10.⁴ More significantly, Plaintiffs contend that Patrolman Scelsi became physically abusive as to both her and her daughter, Ameera, when Mrs. House questioned why Defendant Scelsi had forced open the door and why he would arrest her. Id., ¶ 10.

In particular, Plaintiffs allege that Officer Scelsi forcibly placed Mrs House's arm behind her back and that her seven year old daughter, Ameera, scared that this man was grabbing her mother, began to cry and approached the officer. Id., ¶¶ 11, 12. According to the Plaintiffs, it was at this point that Defendant Scelsi viciously shoved Plaintiff Ameera backwards into a table and then, without determining whether she was injured, forcibly directed Mrs. House to the patrol car despite the fact that she was not fully clothed. Id., ¶¶ 13, 14. Plaintiffs contend that in directing Mrs. House, Officer Scelsi repeatedly struck her with his knee in the buttocks causing her to scream out in pain and fear. Id., ¶ 16. Plaintiffs allege that in response to her mother's cries, Plaintiff Ameera ran towards Officer Scelsi and that he once again violently shoved her backwards causing her to crash into the railing in the hallway. Id., ¶ 17. Further, Plaintiffs allege that at this point, Officer Scelsi violently pushed Mrs. House towards a corner of the landing and when she struggled to avoid being pushed into the concrete block on the landing, Defendant Scelsi fired his stun gun at her three times. Id., ¶ 18.⁵

In total, the Plaintiffs have raised (1) civil rights violations under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985 and 1988 claiming that the Defendants violated their constitutional rights under the fourth, fifth and fourteenth amendments to the constitution; and (2) violations under Delaware state law for assault, battery, infliction of emotional distress and loss of consortium. See generally, D.I. 1. The federal claims are generally encompassed by Counts I, II and IV of the Complaint. Fundamental to each of those Counts is the underlying allegation that Defendant Officer Scelsi violated the Plaintiffs' constitutional and civil rights by his physical abuse of Mrs. House.

Count I of the Complaint indicates that the procedures used by the New Castle Police Department in some way violated the due process and equal protection rights of the Plaintiffs. Particularly, the Plaintiffs allege that their rights were violated because the force used against Mrs. House was excessive, the use of force against Ameera was excessive and that the institution of charges by an Officer to justify the use of force was improper. Id., ¶¶ 26-29 (Count I). Count II alleges that the unlawful acts of which they complain reflect the customs, policies and procedures of the Defendants.⁶ Additionally, Counts II and IV allege that the Defendants affirmatively engaged in a conspiracy (1) to deprive the Plaintiffs their due process rights and other civil rights guaranteed by the Constitution and (2) to impede the due course of justice in violation of the fifth and fourteenth amendments and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and § 1985. Id., ¶ 32 (Count II); Id., ¶¶ 42-44 (Count IV).⁷

Counts III, V, VI, VII and VIII of the Complaint all fall liberally under the umbrella of the state law of Delaware. The Court recognizes that the Defendants do not raise a pure jurisdictional challenge to this Court's ability to resolve these state law claims.⁸ A review of the total record leads this Court to agree with the Plaintiffs' contention that all of the various state law claims here arise out of the same nucleus of operative facts as the federal claims such that judicial economy necessitates that all the claims be tried in one proceeding. These state law claims are therefore properly tried before this Court in accordance with the federal provision for supplemental jurisdiction authorizing federal courts to preside over state law claims otherwise lacking an independent jurisdictional basis. 28 U.S.C. § 1367.⁹

Presently before this Court is a Motion for Summary Judgment filed collectively by all the Defendants in this matter. D.I. 49.

II. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARDS

Summary judgment is appropriate under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c) when the moving party establishes that there is no genuine issue of material fact that can be resolved at trial and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Materiality is determined by the substantive law that governs the case. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). In this inquiry, "only disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment." Id. A dispute is "genuine" only if a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Id. Following a determination that no genuine dispute of material facts exists, the moving party must demonstrate that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

Once the moving party has made and supported its motion, the "adverse party may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of the adverse party's pleading, but ... must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). Summary judgment must be granted "against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. at 2552. Additionally, "a non-moving party must adduce more than a mere scintilla of evidence in its favor, . . . and cannot simply reassert factually unsupported allegations contained in its pleadings." Williams v. Borough of West Chester, 891 F.2d 458, 460 (3rd Cir.1989) (citing Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. at 2510 and Celotex, 477 U.S. at 325, 106 S.Ct. at 2553).

Any doubts as to the existence of genuine issues of fact will be resolved against the moving party and all inferences to be drawn from the material it submits will be viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Norfolk Southern Corp. v. Oberly, 632 F.Supp. 1225, 1231 (D.Del.1986) (citing Adickes v. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 1608, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970)), aff'd, 822 F.2d 388 (3rd Cir.1987). If the evidentiary record supports a reasonable inference that the ultimate facts may be drawn in favor of the responding party, then the moving party cannot obtain summary judgment. In re Japanese Electronic Products Antitrust Litigation, 723 F.2d 238, 258 (3rd Cir.1983), rev'd on other grounds, 475 U.S. 574, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

III. DISCUSSION

A. Dismissal of Plaintiffs' Section 1983 Claim of Excessive Force Against Supervisory Defendant Gordon in His Individual Capacity

A section 1983 action requires that (1) the conduct complained of must be committed by a person acting under color of state law and (2) it must have deprived the plaintiff of a right or privilege secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States. Riley v. Jeffes, 777 F.2d 143, 145 (3rd Cir.1985) (citing Parratt v. Taylor, 451 U.S. 527, 535, 101 S.Ct. 1908, 1912, 68 L.Ed.2d 420 (1981), overruled on other grounds by Daniels v. Williams, 474 U.S. 327, 106 S.Ct. 662, 88 L.Ed.2d 662 (1986)). There is no dispute that Defendant Gordon is a state actor and neither he nor any of the other Defendants have complained that the Plaintiffs are without a liberty interest in freedom from unjustified bodily harm. Accord, Ingrahm v. Wright, 430 U.S. 651, 673, 97 S.Ct. 1401, 1413, 51 L.Ed.2d 711...