Navarro v. City of Riviera Beach

• Decision Date: 28 June 2016
• Docket Number: Case No. 16-cv-80577-BLOOM/Valle
• Citation: 192 F.Supp.3d 1353
• Parties: Piero NAVARRO, a/k/a Peter Navarro, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF RIVIERA BEACH, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Florida

192 F.Supp.3d 1353

Piero NAVARRO, a/k/a Peter Navarro, Plaintiff,

v.CITY OF RIVIERA BEACH, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 16-cv-80577-BLOOM/Valle

United States District Court, S.D. Florida.

Signed June 28, 2016

Filed June 29, 2016

Piero Navarro, Riviera Beach, FL, pro se.

Victoria Leonora Olds, Olds & Stephens, P.A., Benjamin Lawrence Bedard, Danna Paige Clement, Roberts Reynolds Bedard & Tuzzio, West Palm Beach, FL, for Defendants.

ORDER

BETH BLOOM, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

THIS CAUSE is before the Court upon nine Motions to Dismiss, ECF Nos. [4], [5], [7], [8], [10], [11], [12], [13], [26] (the "Motions"), filed by Defendants City of Riviera Beach (ECF No. [13] ), City of West Palm Beach (ECF No. [7] ), Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office (ECF No. [4] ), Sheriff Ric Bradshaw (ECF No. [4] ), Chief Clarence O. Williams, III (ECF No. [11] ), Detective Russell Paine (ECF No. [12] ), Claudia Hutchinson (ECF No. [10] ), Angela Miller (ECF No. [5] ), and Christina Abbie Navarro (ECF No. [26] ) (together, "Defendants"), with respect to Plaintiff Piero Navarro's ("Plaintiff" or "Mr. Navarro") Verified Complaint, ECF No. [1-2] (the "Complaint"). The City of West Palm Beach has also filed a Motion for Sanctions, ECF No. [34] ("Motion for Sanctions"), pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 11. The Court has carefully reviewed the Motions, all supporting and opposing submissions, the record, and applicable law. For the reasons set forth below, the Motions are granted.

I. Background

Plaintiff initiated this action on March 16, 2016, in the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in and for Palm Beach County, Florida, alleging claims for violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, libel, slander, tortious interference with contract, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The Defendants removed the action to this Court on April 14, 2016. ECF No. [1] (Notice of Removal).

According to the Complaint, this controversy arises from a shipment of "at least seven vehicles" to the Plaintiff's repair establishment, Motorcars of Distinction ("MOD"), by the owner of the vehicles, Gustan Cho. Compl. ¶¶ 17-18. These vehicles began to accrue storage and repair bills, for which the owner refused to pay—leading, according to Mr. Navarro, to the imposition of valid mechanics liens. Id. Mr. Navarro was awarded possession of the vehicles on May 24, 2010. Id. ¶¶ 19-20. Now-retired Detective Russell Paine ("Detective Paine"), on the same date, began targeting the Plaintiff with the help of a former "disgruntled" employee of MOD, Claas Hendrik Honer ("Mr. Honer"), and under the direction of Clarence O. Williams, III, Chief of the City of Riviera Beach Police Department ("Chief Williams" of the "RBPD"). Id. ¶ 21. Plaintiff submits that the RBPD motivated Mr. Honer to give false information through its assistance with a U-5 visa application for the employee, which would allow him to extend his stay in the United States. Id. ¶ 22. The testimony from Mr. Honer, at first, centered on a CLK GTR Mercedes valued at over 1.5 million dollars. Id. ¶ 23. Mr. Honer and Detective Paine, together with other members of the RBPD "went out of their way to falsify evidence concerning the sale of the vehicle and made it look like the vehicle was being sold by [Mr.] Navarro to multiple buyers in some form of Ponzi scheme concocted by [him] with intent to defraud the public." Id. ¶¶ 24, 27-28. Mr. Navarro was eventually absolved of any wrongdoing. Id. ¶ 26. Due to the actions of the RBPD, however, Plaintiff was forced to back out of the CLK GTR deal, which would have resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in commission. Id. ¶ 30.

Mr. Navarro submits that the RBPD's witch hunt did not end there. Instead, Detective Paine and Mr. Honer, with the knowledge of the other Defendants, then began "another attempt to discredit and falsely accuse Plaintiff of wrong doing by collaborating with Gustan Cho ..., who disliked the Plaintiff for placing valid liens against his vehicles." Id. ¶ 31. This "attempt" involved contacting past and present clients of Mr. Navarro, including NFL Miami Dolphins player, Calvin "CJ" Mosley—in both written and verbal communications—to inquire as to whether any of them could corroborate that Mr. Navarro was "engaged in a scheme to sell stolen vehicles along with a litany of other false charges against the Plaintiff ranging from child pornography, to domestic violence, to ties with organized crime." Id. ¶¶ 32, 38, 103-105. Toward this end, Detective Paine "doctored evidence," which damaged Plaintiff's reputation and caused him to lose several present and future clients. Id. ¶¶ 33-38. The actions of Detective Paine and the RBPD also resulted in Plaintiff "losing his family," as he was unable to reconcile with his ex-wife, Christina Abbie Navarro ("Ms. Navarro"), and otherwise caused severe mental anguish and distress for the Plaintiff and his children. Id. ¶¶ 36, 37, 129. At all times relevant to this action, Plaintiff maintains that the RBPD knew or should have known that the information "that was being supplied from [Mr. Honer] was not reliable and was proffered solely to assist [him] to stay in the country." Id. ¶ 39.

Detective Paine eventually sent the case to William Minton in the Palm Beach County District Attorney's Office for permission to initiate prosecution; however, Mr. Minton refused to sign off on initiation of the case. Id. ¶¶ 40-41. After this refusal, Detective Paine handed the case over to then Assistant State Attorney Angela Miller ("ASA Miller") for probable cause review. Id. ¶ 42. The RBPD did in fact obtain a warrant to search MOD, on or about November 23, 2010—one that, as alleged, was based on lies, false evidence, and testimony of coerced witnesses. Id. ¶¶ 48-50. The Complaint claims that, upon arrival at MOD, despite being offered keys to the business, RBPD officers smashed the glass doors to both entryways of the business, id. ¶ 52—an action that Plaintiff maintains was taken in a clear attempt to intimidate him and to "further disrupt and defame his car sales business," id. ¶ 53. In the search, the police collected computers and file cabinets from the property as well as personal property belonging to one of the Plaintiff's clients, a famous athlete—property that, to this date, has not been returned. Id. ¶¶ 54-55.¹ On or about June 3, 2011, officers from both the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office ("PBSO") and RBPD, under the direction of Sheriff Ric Bradshaw ("Sheriff Bradshaw") and with the assistance of John and Jane Doe and Entity Does (1-20), "ransacked [Mr.] Navarro's home, entering with assault guns, and removed and damaged several items in the home. ... This search was conducted without permission of the Plaintiff and without proper warrant." Id. ¶¶ 56-59 ("The raid caused such a spectacle ...."). The Complaint further indicates that, at some point, the Plaintiff was temporarily imprisoned, and he had to tender $2,000.00 for his release. Id. ¶ 95. Although the case against Mr. Navarro was dismissed and all charges were dropped on August 22, 2011, id. ¶ 60, RBPD "continued its attempts to defame and maliciously prosecute the Plaintiff," id. ¶ 61. These attempts, Plaintiff claims, motivated the judge presiding over the Navarros' divorce proceedings to allow their children to relocate to Georgia. Id. ¶¶ 130-31. Furthermore, in November of 2013, Detective Paine assisted Ms. Navarro in attempting to obtain an order of protection against the Plaintiff in the same proceedings. Id. ¶ 66.

Pursuant to these facts, Mr. Navarro brings seven claims for relief, including: (Count I) violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the City of Riviera Beach (or, "the City"), the City of West Palm Beach, PBSD, Sheriff Bradshaw, Chief Williams, Detective Paine, Entity Does (1-20), and Jane and John Does (1-150); (Count II) malicious prosecution against the City of Riviera Beach, Detective Paine, Chief Williams, Mr. Honer, Ms. Navarro, and Jane and John Doe; (Count III) false imprisonment against the City of Riviera Beach, Detective Paine, Mr. Honer, and ASA Miller; (Count IV) libel against the City of Riviera Beach, Detective Paine, and Mr. Honer; (Count V) slander against the City of Riviera Beach, Detective Paine, and Mr. Honer; (Count VI) tortious interference with contract against the City; and (Count VII) intentional infliction of emotional distress against the City of Riviera Beach, the City of West Palm Beach, Detective Paine, Mr. Honer, Entity Does (1-20), and Jane and John Doe.

II. Legal Standard

A pleading in a civil action must contain "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Although a complaint "does not need detailed factual allegations," it must provide "more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ; see Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (explaining that Rule 8(a)(2)'s pleading standard "demands more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation"). Nor can a complaint rest on " ‘naked assertion[s]’ devoid of ‘further factual enhancement.’ " Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (quoting Twombly , 550 U.S. at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (alteration in original)). "To survive a motion to dismiss a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ " Id . (quoting Twombly , 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ).

When reviewing a motion to dismiss, a court, as a general rule, must accept the plaintiff's allegations as true and evaluate all plausible inferences derived from those facts in favor of the plaintiff. See Chaparro v. Carnival Corp. , 693 F.3d 1333, 1337 (11th Cir.2012) ; Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Fla. v. S. Everglades Restoration...