Parsons v. Pond
| Citation | 126 F.Supp.2d 205 |
| Decision Date | 24 October 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. Civ.A. 3:97CV2665JCH.,Civ.A. 3:97CV2665JCH. |
| Parties | Thomas C. PARSONS, Plaintiff, v. David W. POND, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut |
Thomas C. Parsons, New Haven, CT, pro se.
David X. Sullivan, U.S. Attorney's Office, New Haven, CT, for David W. Pond, Paul M. Visokay, Maria Rodriguez McBride.
RULING ON DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT [DKT. NO. 26]
Plaintiff Thomas C. Parsons brings this action for money damages against the defendants, David W. Pond, Paul M. Visokay, and Maria Rodriguez McBride, alleging various violations of his constitutional rights as well as several state law claims. The defendants, who are federal probation officers, move pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c) for summary judgment in their favor on Parsons's complaint on the ground of qualified immunity. For the reasons that follow, the defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment [Dkt. No. 26] is GRANTED.
At the outset, it is important to note that the Court "must construe pro se pleadings broadly, and interpret them `to raise the strongest arguments they suggest.'" Cruz v. Gomez, 202 F.3d 593, 597 (2d Cir.2000) (quoting Graham v. Henderson, 89 F.3d 75, 79 (2d Cir.1996)). "Indeed, courts may look to submissions beyond the complaint to determine what claims are presented by an uncounseled party." Boguslavsky v. Kaplan, 159 F.3d 715, 719 (2d Cir.1998) (citations omitted).
Parsons's complaint indicates that he brings this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Fed. Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971), as well as under 42 U.S.C. § 1982. See Complaint at ¶ 2. Parsons has alleged causes of action against three defendants who at all relevant times were federal probation officers. See id. at ¶ 7. "An action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 cannot lie against federal officers." Kingsley v. Bureau of Prisons, 937 F.2d 26, 30 n. 4 (1991). Bivens claims for money damages may, however, be brought against federal officers in their individual capacities. Robinson v. Overseas Military Sales Corp., 21 F.3d 502, 510 (2d Cir.1994). As such, the court will interpret Parsons's federal constitutional claims against the defendants to be alleged under Bivens only.2
The court construes Count 1 of Parsons's complaint as a Bivens claim for the violation of his Fifth Amendment procedural and substantive due process rights, through the defendants' imposition of an employment restriction as a condition of his supervised release, thereby modifying the conditions of Parsons's probation without notice or a hearing, as required under 18 U.S.C. § 3563(c) and Fed.R.Crim.P. 32.1(b). The court construes Count 2 of Parsons's complaint as a Bivens claim alleging that the defendants violated Parsons's constitutional right to due process and to privacy by forwarding testimony from a criminal trial in which witnesses testified about Parsons to the FAA. Count 3 appears to allege a Bivens claim for a violation of Parsons's due process rights through the defendants' malicious and intentional interference with Parsons's ability to secure employment by furnishing the FAA with material in order to delay the medical recertification required to renew Parsons's pilot's license, thereby disabling Parsons from accepting an offer of employment as a pilot. Count 5 alleges that the defendants imposed an illegal fine on Parsons by requiring him to attend weekly sessions with Dr. Jeremy August, a licensed psychiatrist whom Parsons was seeing pursuant to the court-ordered conditions of his supervised release. Counts 4, 6, and 7 allege state law causes of action, including intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraudulent misrepresentation, and tortious interference with employment.3
Summary judgment is only appropriate when there is no genuine issue as to a material fact, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Galabya v. N.Y. City Bd. of Educ., 202 F.3d 636, 639 (2d Cir. 2000) (citing Fagan v. N.Y. State Elec. & Gas Corp., 186 F.3d 127, 132 (2d Cir. 1999)). The burden of showing that no genuine factual dispute exists rests upon the moving party, see Carlton v. Mystic Transp., Inc., 202 F.3d 129, 133 (2d Cir. 2000) (citing Gallo v. Prudential Residential Servs., Ltd. Partnership, 22 F.3d 1219, 1223 (2d Cir.1994)), and in assessing the record to determine if such issues do exist, all ambiguities must be resolved and all inferences drawn in favor of the party against whom summary judgment is sought, see Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Heilweil v. Mount Sinai Hosp., 32 F.3d 718, 721 (2d Cir. 1994). "This remedy that precludes a trial is properly granted only when no rational finder of fact could find in favor of the nonmoving party." Carlton, 202 F.3d at 134 (citations omitted). When reasonable persons, applying the proper legal standards, could differ in their responses to the questions raised on the basis of the evidence presented, the question is best left to the jury. See Sologub v. City of N.Y., 202 F.3d 175, 178 (2d Cir.2000).
Although defendant bears the burden of showing that no genuine factual dispute exists to prevail on summary judgment, the plaintiff must make a sufficient showing on the essential elements of his case for which he bears the burden of proof at trial. Lujan v. Nat'l Wildlife Fed'n, 497 U.S. 871, 884, 110 S.Ct. 3177, 111 L.Ed.2d 695 (1990); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). As the Supreme Court stated in Lujan, "[w]here no such showing is made, `[t]he moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law because the nonmoving party has failed to make a sufficient showing on an essential element of [his] case with respect to which she has the burden of proof.'" 497 U.S. at 884, 110 S.Ct. 3177 (quoting Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548). Therefore, when, as in this case, "a defendant moving for summary judgment has pointed to the absence of evidence to support an essential element on which the plaintiff has the burden of proof, the plaintiff, in order to avoid summary judgment, must show the presence of a genuine issue by coming forward with evidence that would be sufficient, if all reasonable inferences were drawn in his favor, to establish the existence of that element at trial." Grain Traders, Inc. v. Citibank, N.A., 160 F.3d 97, 100 (2d Cir. 1998) (citations omitted).
On September 24, 1992, the plaintiff Thomas C. Parsons appeared before the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut and pled guilty to one count of violating 18 U.S.C. § 1001 by making a false statement on a Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") medical application form for a class 3 medical certificate required to obtain a pilot's license and to one count of making a false statement in connection with the purchase of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6). Both false statement charges arose from Parsons's failure to reveal a prior criminal conviction.
On December 7, 1992, the district court sentenced Parsons to, inter alia, twelve months incarceration and three years of supervised release. The conditions of Parsons's supervised release included the following provisions: "As directed by the probation officer, you shall notify third parties of risks that may be occasioned by your criminal record or personal history or characteristics, and shall permit the probation officer to make such notifications and to confirm your compliance with such notification requirement;" "Defendant shall obtain and maintain full time employment;" and "Defendant shall obtain such psychological and psychiatric counseling and therapy under the guidance and supervision of U.S. Probation Officer." Local Rule 9(c)1 Statement (Dkt. No. 28), Ex. F. Parsons's conditions of supervised release did not include a so-called "occupational restriction," as permitted at the sentencing judge's discretion pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 3563(b)(5) & § 3583(d).4
Prior to Parsons's release from the Raybrook Federal Correctional Institution, Visokay met with Parsons and Parsons expressed his desire to continue to pursue a career as a pilot. Visokay encouraged Parsons to pursue this career interest.
Parsons began his term of supervised release on November 26, 1993. Pond was assigned to supervise Parsons's release for a period from May 1994 to March 1995. Visokay was Pond's supervisor during this time, and McBride has been at all relevant times the Chief Probation Officer for the District of Connecticut.
As part of the conditions of Parsons's supervised release, Parsons was also required to attend regular meetings with Dr. Jeremy August, a licensed psychiatrist, at Parsons's own expense. Parsons was released from his term of supervised release in November 1996.
Don Wood of the FAA's Security Division was the contact person for the FAA concerning medical recertification for Parsons's pilot's license. At some time during Pond's supervision of Parsons's release, Pond spoke with Wood regarding the information the FAA possessed to consider Parsons's medical recertification. In a separate proceeding, two former associates of Parsons, Angelina DiDominico and Lisa Valentovish, testified in a criminal trial of DiDominico (Dkt. No. 3:91-cr-14 (JAC)) in October 1991. This testimony included discussions of physical and emotional abuse each received from Parsons during the course of their relationships with him. Parsons was not a party to this court proceeding and was not called to testify as a witness. On December 20, 1994, Pond spoke to Wood regarding this testimony and, on December 21 and 23, 1994, Pond faxed to Wood portions of the transcript of DiDominico's trial containing this testimony regarding Parsons.5
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