Murawski v. Reid

• Decision Date: 12 April 2019
• Docket Number: Case No. 16 C 9006
• Parties: William MURAWSKI, Plaintiff, v. Officer REID and Officer Wollgast, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

375 F.Supp.3d 998

William MURAWSKI, Plaintiff,

v.Officer REID and Officer Wollgast, Defendants.

Case No. 16 C 9006

United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division.

Signed April 12, 2019

Blake Wolfe Horwitz, Jeffrey Christian Grossich, The Blake Horwitz Law Firm, Ltd., Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff.

Brian Franklin Kolp, Sarah Hughes Newman, Office of the Illinois Attorney General, Chicago, IL, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Harry D. Leinenweber, Judge

Defendants, Conservation Police Officers Nicholas Reid and David Wollgast (collectively the "Defendants" or "Defendant Officers"), move for summary judgment. For the reasons stated herein, Defendants' Motion (Dkt. No. 34) is granted.

I. BACKGROUND

The following facts are undisputed unless designated otherwise. Plaintiff William Murawski ("Murawski") is a detective with the Chicago Police Department (Pl.'s Resp. to Defs.' Stmt. of Facts ("SOF") ¶ 1, Dkt. No. 44.) He is also a member of the Wilmington Recreation Club (the "WRC")—a not-for-profit organization that owns and manages recreational property in Wilmington, Illinois. (SOF ¶ 2.) The WRC and John Weitendorf ("Weitendorf") own all the land adjacent to an artificial lake at issue in this case. (Defs.' Resp. to Pl.'s Stmt. of Additional Facts ("SOAF") ¶ 1, Dkt. No. 52.) The lake was created over 50 years ago after strip mining operations ceased and the strip-mining pit was filled in with water. (SOAF ¶ 3; SOF ¶ 4.) The lake is part of a water channel that is at least 4.7 miles long. (SOAF ¶ 4.) Water flows into and out of the lake through drainage culverts. (SOAF ¶ 5.) Defendants contend, however, that such water flow does not occur consistently, only at times; for example, after heavy rain. (Id. )

The WRC owns at least a portion of this lake. (SOF ¶ 4.) Pursuant to his WRC membership, Murawski maintained a dock on the lake and had permission to boat and fish on at least this portion of the lake. (SOAF ¶ 2.) The parties dispute, however, whether Weitendorf also owns a portion of the lake, and, if so, whether Murawski had permission to boat and fish on that portion of the lake. (SOF ¶ 4.) Weitendorf's property is surrounded by a six-foot-high fence, which continues across the water of the lake on an overhead cable. (SOF ¶ 5.) This fence separated the lake into two parts for over 40 years. (Id. ) Sometime during the summer of 2015, a tornado damaged the fence, creating a hole large enough for a boat to pass through. (Id. ) Despite acknowledging the existence of such a fence, Murawski disputes that the fence delineated a portion of the lake as belonging solely to Weitendorf. (Id. ) With this backdrop in mind, the Court proceeds with an overview of the incident and subsequent investigation leading up to Murawski's arrest and criminal prosecution, all of which form the basis of this civil lawsuit.

A. Incident and Investigation

On September 17, 2015, Murawski and a male companion went boating and fishing out on the lake. (SOF ¶ 7.) Weitendorf observed the two, got on a boat, and approached them. (Id. ) He informed the men that they were trespassing on his private property and asked them to leave. (SOF ¶ 8.) Murawski refused, responding that he had a right to fish on that portion of the lake. (Id. ) The following day, Weitendorf called Defendant Officer Reid of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation Police to report the alleged trespass. (SOF ¶ 11.) Weitendorf then followed up by sending Officer Reid a letter summarizing his statement of the incident and attaching a photograph of Murawski in the boat on what Weitendorf purports was his portion of the lake. (SOF ¶ 12.) His lawyer also sent a letter to Officer Reid, which stated that Weitendorf was the legal owner of that portion of the lake and included a copy of the deed and legal description for Weitendorf's property. (SOF ¶ 13.) Thereafter, Officer Reid began his investigation into the incident.

On September 19, 2015, Officer Reid met with Weitendorf and WRC's manager, Brad Southall ("Southall"). (SOF ¶ 14.) In that meeting, Southall identified Murawski as one of the occupants of the boat in the photograph Weitendorf took, and informed Officer Reid that the WRC's rules prohibit members from crossing through the fence to fish on Weitendorf's side of the lake. (SOF ¶ 15.) Later in his deposition, however, Southall admitted that his latter statement was probably an "unwritten rule," and to insinuate the rule as anything more than that was "an incorrect statement" and "an assumption that [he] should not have made." (Brad Southall Dep. 91:20-24; 92:1-14, Ex. 4 to Defs.' Mot. for Summ. J., Dkt. No. 31-4.)

On September 29, 2019, Weitendorf called Defendant Officer Wollgast, also of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation Police, to report that someone had cut the fence marking the boundary between his side of the lake and that of the WRC's. (SOF ¶ 16.) Officer Wollgast's investigation of the incident was inconclusive, though he did discover that someone had used channel locks to cut the fence down entirely. (SOF ¶ 17.)

Officer Wollgast later reached out to and interviewed Murawski, who confirmed that he had been on Weitendorf's side of the lake on September 17, 2015. (SOF ¶¶ 18-19.) In the interview, Murawski asserted that the lake was part of a watercourse since there was drainage into and out of the lake through a culvert. (SOF ¶ 20.) As such, Murawski believed he had riparian rights to boat and fish on any portion of the lake. (SOF ¶¶ 20-21.) He later sent Officer Wollgast two Illinois state court opinions addressing riparian rights: Beacham v. Lake Zurich Prop. Owners Ass'n , 123 Ill.2d 227, 122 Ill.Dec. 14, 526 N.E.2d 154 (1988), and LWL Land Trust v. Werner , 2011 IL App (5th) 100100-U, 2011 WL 10500890 . (SOF ¶ 21.) Both Officer Wollgast and Officer Reid reviewed some aspect of these opinions, in addition to a more recent Illinois Supreme Court case addressing riparian rights: Alderson v. Fatlan , 372 Ill.App.3d 300, 311 Ill.Dec. 95, 867 N.E.2d 1081 (2007). (SOF ¶ 23; SOAF ¶¶ 16-18.) Officer Reid also consulted with a tax assessor to ascertain that Weitendorf owned the portion of the lake in dispute. (SOF ¶ 24.) Based on the foregoing, Officers Reid and Wollgast reported to the Will County State's Attorney's Office and recommended that the Office file charges against Murawski for trespassing. (SOF ¶ 25; SOAF ¶ 32.)

B. Arrest and Criminal Prosecution

Defendant Officers' report to the State's Attorney's Office included Weitendorf's signed statement; the legal deed and description of Weitendorf's property; a summary or copy of the aforementioned cases pertaining to riparian rights; and various photographs and other materials. (SOF ¶ 26.) Assistant State's Attorney Frank Byers ("Byers") reviewed the report and prepared a complaint, charging Murawski with one count of Criminal Trespass to Real Property, in violation of 720 ILCS 5/21-3. (SOF ¶ 27.) Officer Reid signed that complaint. (Id. ) Byers also requested and received authorization for an arrest warrant, which led to Murawski presenting himself to the Joliet Police Department. (SOF ¶¶ 28-29.)

Assistant State's Attorney Jaclyn Hilderbrand ("Hilderbrand") was assigned to prosecute Murawski, with a trial date set for April 14, 2016. (SOF ¶ 30.) Hilderbrand issued subpoenas to both Defendant Officers and Weitendorf, to no avail. (SOAF ¶¶ 38-39; SOF ¶ 31.) For personal reasons, each of the witnesses was unable to appear on April 14, 2016. (Id. ) The court presiding over that prosecution denied Hilderbrand's motion to continue the trial, which resulted in Hildebrand dismissing the case nolle prosequi . (SOAF ¶ 40; SOF ¶¶31-32.) Hilderbrand later testified that she intended to refile the trespass charges against Murawski, but ultimately decided not to after Murawski's defense lawyer allegedly apologized on Murawski's behalf and informed her that Murawski would not go onto Weitendorf's land. (SOF ¶¶ 34-35.) Murawski denies that his lawyer ever apologized or made any such representation. (SOAF ¶ 42; SOF ¶ 35.)

C. Instant Litigation

Because of the foregoing, Murawski brought the instant suit, alleging three claims against Officers Reid and Wollgast: (1) a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 false arrest claim (Count I); (2) an Illinois false arrest claim (Count II); and (3) an Illinois malicious prosecution claim (Count III). Defendants now move for summary judgment on all claims, arguing that they had probable cause for the arrest, and, in the alternative, have immunity from suit.

II. ANALYSIS

Summary judgment is appropriate when there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. FED. R. CIV. P. 56(a) ; see also Liu v. T & H Mach., Inc. , 191 F.3d 790, 794 (7th Cir. 1999) (citation omitted). A genuine issue of material fact exists only if "the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Pugh v. City of Attica , 259 F.3d 619, 625 (7th Cir. 2001) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) ). The Court must construe all facts and reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Abdullahi v. City of Madison , 423 F.3d 763, 773 (7th Cir. 2005) (citing Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505 ).

A. Section 1983 False Arrest Claim

Defendants argue that Murawski's § 1983 claim fails as a matter of law on two grounds: (1) Defendants had probable cause to arrest Murawski for trespass; and (2) Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity. The first ground is dispositive; thus, the second ground need not be considered.

1. Probable Cause

Courts look to the totality of the facts and circumstances known to the officer at the time of the arrest to determine whether the officer had probable cause to make an arrest. Abbott v. Sangamon Cnty., III. , 705 F.3d 706, 714 (7th Cir. 2013). A probable cause determination is an objective...