Morron v. City of Middletown

• Decision Date: 04 December 2006
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 3:05-CV-1705 (JCH).
• Citation: 464 F.Supp.2d 111
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut
• Parties: Glenn MORRON and William Hertler, Plaintiffs v. CITY OF MIDDLETOWN, et al., Defendants.

464 F.Supp.2d 111

Glenn MORRON and William Hertler, Plaintiffs v. CITY OF MIDDLETOWN, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 3:05-CV-1705 (JCH).

United States District Court, D. Connecticut.

December 4, 2006.

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Craig Thomas Dickinson, Madsen, Prestley & Parenteau, LLC, Hartford, CT, for Plaintiffs.

Adrienne R. DeLucca, Trina A. Solecki-Aucaigne, Office of the City Attorney, Middletown, CT, James M. Sconzo, Michael G. Petrie, Jorden Burt LLP, Simsbury, CT, James J. Szerejko, Halloran & Sage, Hartford, CT, Mark V. Connolly, Law Offices of Mark V. Connolly, Avon, CT, John R. Williams, New Haven, CT, Nicole D. Dorman, Scott M. Karsten, Karsten & Dorman, LLC, West Hartford, CT, for Defendants.

RULING RE: DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS TO DISMISS [Doc. Nos. 66, 68, 69, 70]

HALL, District Judge.

The plaintiffs, Glenn Morron and William Heftier, bring this action against the defendants, the City of Middletown, Domenique Thornton, Edward Brymer, Philip Pessina, David Gervais, and Michael Timbro, alleging violations of their rights to free speech and equal protection secured by the First and Fourteenth Amendments and Conn. Gen.Stat. § 31-51q. The plaintiffs also allege that Thornton and Brymer defamed them, and that Timbro pursued vexatious litigation against them. The court's jurisdiction over this action allegedly arises pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1343, as the plaintiffs' constitutional claims are being brought under Title 42, Section 1983 of the United States Code. The plaintiffs further allege that this court has supplemental jurisdiction over their state law claims pursuant to Title 28, Section 1367 of the United States Code.

All of the defendants have made partial motions to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the following reasons, the defendants' motions are DENIED.

I. BACKGROUND¹

A. Parties

Morron, a resident of Colchester, Connecticut, was a duly sworn member of the Middletown Police Department ("MPD") for all times relevant to this action. In his capacity as an MPD officer, Morron was assigned to the department's Traffic Division. Heftier, a resident of Middletown, Connecticut, was also a duly sworn member of the MPD. Heftier was one of the MPD's designated D.A.R.E. Officers.

The City of Middletown is a municipal entity duly organized and existing pursuant to the laws of Connecticut. Thornton was the duly elected Mayor of Middletown during those times relevant to the Complaint. Brymer was the duly appointed Chief of the MPD. Pessina was a duly appointed Deputy Chief of the MPD. Gervais was a duly appointed Captain in the MPD, and Timbro was a Sergeant with the MPD.

B. Basic Facts

On the evening of December 5, 2003, the plaintiffs were on duty at the scene of a severe, weather related traffic incident near Timbres residence. Because of the extremely icy conditions, the road was closed to all traffic. Timbro approached the scene and was not permitted to drive to his home. He then contacted the MPD in order to circumvent this directive. When his effort failed, Timbro approached the plaintiffs and verbally and physically confronted them. Timbro then returned to his vehicle, drove around the road, made an obscene gesture to one of the emergency personnel on the scene, and drove to his home. Upon returning home, Timbro yelled obscenities and threats at the plaintiffs and again approached the plaintiffs in order to physically confront them. The plaintiffs maintained a professional manner throughout the entire incident.

Soon after the incident, the plaintiffs filed a departmental report of their confrontation with Timbro, in addition to initiating criminal charges against Timbro. While the report and criminal charge were filed on forms that the plaintiffs used during the course of their day-to-day duties, they allege that this particular report and charge were not made in connection with their regular duties. Instead, they claim that they filed these documents as citizens expressing concern over the safety of themselves, other members of the MPD, and the general public.

After the plaintiffs filed these documents, Brymer and Pessina directed that an Administrative Inquiry be performed by Gervais, despite the fact the MPD's Professional Standard's Unit normally handles such reports about an officer's conduct.

Upon learning of the plaintiffs' reports, Timbro left two messages with Brymer which disparaged the plaintiffs and requested a meeting with Brymer to discuss a course of action against the plaintiffs. Brymer forwarded these messages to Pessina and Gervais.

When Gervais completed his administrative review of the plaintiffs' complaint, he submitted his findings to Pessina. Afterwards, Brymer directed that Pessina continue the investigation. The investigation against Timbro subsequently lagged for several months in the hope that it would just go away.

Meanwhile, Timbro, Thornton, Brymer and Pessina subjected the plaintiffs to a host of unfounded disciplinary actions as a result of the plaintiffs' report regarding Timbro. Other similarly situated officers in the department faced no such disciplinary actions. The defendants also imposed selective pecuniary penalties against the plaintiffs, relating to matters such as overtime, while similarly situated officers did not receive similar treatment. In response to this treatment, the plaintiffs filed a number of reports of violations of city and/or departmental policies and procedures. They also requested assistance with what they felt to be a hostile work environment.

Based on the plaintiffs' privileged statements about Timbro made in their department reports, which were verified when Timbro was found guilty of violating multiple departmental policies, Timbro initiated a civil defamation suit against the plaintiffs. The suit was dismissed on the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment.

Around September 2005, Morron observed Thornton driving in Middletown. The nature of her driving gave Morrow reasonable suspicion that Thornton was driving under the influence of alcohol. Morron stopped Thornton and, based on his observations of her behavior and a field sobriety test, arrested Thornton for driving under the influence of alcohol. The charges against Thornton were eventually dropped when lab tests showed that Thornton's blood alcohol levels did not exceed the normal limit, but the state court judge also found that the dismissal did not prove that the arrest lacked probable cause.

After the charges against her were dropped, Thornton repeatedly, publicly, and falsely stated that her arrest was politically motivated. She further accused the plaintiffs of being "rogue cops" and failing to do their jobs.

II. MOTION TO DISMISS STANDARD

A motion to dismiss filed pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) can be granted only if "it 4 appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claim which would entitle him to relief." Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957); see also Harris v. City of New York, 186 F.3d 243, 250 (2d Cir. 1999). In considering such a motion, the court accepts the factual allegations alleged in the complaint as true and draws all inferences in the plaintiff's favor. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974), overruled on other grounds by Davis v. Scherer, 468 U.S. 183, 104 S.Ct. 3012, 82 L.Ed.2d 139 (1984). In addition, Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires only that a complaint "contain ... a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2); see also Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 512, 122 S.Ct. 992, 152 L.Ed.2d 1 (2002).

"In considering a motion to dismiss ... a district court must limit itself to facts stated in the complaint or in documents attached to the complaint as exhibits or incorporated in the complaint by reference ... [and review all allegations] in the light most favorable to the non-moving party." Newman & Schwartz v. Asplundh, Tree Expert Co., Inc., 102 F.3d 660, 662 (2d Cir.1996). "While the pleading standard is a liberal one, bald assertions and conclusions of law will not suffice." Leeds v. Meltz, 85 F.3d 51, 53 (2d Cir.1996).

III. DISCUSSION

A. Plaintiff's Defamation Claim Against Thornton in Count Four

In making her motion to dismiss the plaintiffs' claims of defamation in Count Four, Thornton argues that the statements at issue are not defamatory in nature, that she is entitled to conditional or qualified privilege for her statements, and that the plaintiffs cannot establish the actual malice needed to support their defamation claims. The court addresses these arguments in turn.

1. Defamatory Nature of Thornton's Alleged Statements

To prevail on their defamation claim, the plaintiffs must show that Thornton, "published false statements that harmed the plaintiffs, and that [Thornton was] not privileged to do so." Torosyan v Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 234 Conn. 1, 27, 662 A.2d 89 (1995). Such a charge of defamation is only actionable if the statement at issue "convey[s] an objective fact, as generally, a defendant cannot be held liable for expressing a mere opinion." Daley v. Aetna Life and Casualty Co., 249 Conn. 766, 795, 734 A.2d 112 (Conn.1999).

In asserting that this court can decide on a motion to dismiss whether Thornton's alleged statements were fact or opinion, Thornton cites to the decision in Fudge v. Penthouse Int'l, 840 F.2d 1012 (1st Cir.1988), for the proposition that the question of whether a defamatory statement is fact or opinion "is a matter of law for the court." Fudge, 840 F.2d at 1016. However, both the First Circuit and the state of Connecticut recognize that determining the nature of an alleged defamation is highly contextual. See Fudge, 840 F.2d at 1016 ("In making this determination, we examine the statement...