Rebolar v. City of Chi.

• Decision Date: 21 September 2012
• Docket Number: No. 10 C 5787.,10 C 5787.
• Parties: David REBOLAR, a minor, by and through his father and legal guardian, Alejandro REBOLAR, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, and Chicago Police Officer Johnson, Chicago Police Officer Stack, Chicago Police Officer Hawkins, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

897 F.Supp.2d 723

David REBOLAR, a minor, by and through his father and legal guardian, Alejandro REBOLAR, Plaintiff,

v.CITY OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, and Chicago Police Officer Johnson, Chicago Police Officer Stack, Chicago Police Officer Hawkins, Defendants.

No. 10 C 5787.

United States District Court,

N.D. Illinois,

Eastern Division.

Sept. 21, 2012.

Jeffrey Brooks Granich, Katie Z. Ehrmin, Law Office of Jeffrey Granich, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff.

Paul A. Farahvar, Francis P. Cuisinier, Victoria Rose Benson, Cuisinier, Farahvar & Benson, Ltd., Chicago, IL, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

JEFFREY T. GILBERT, United States Magistrate Judge.

Plaintiff David Rebolar, a minor, by and through his father and legal guardian Alejandro Rebolar, has sued the City of Chicago and Chicago Police Officers Jeremiah Johnson, Tim Hawkins and Tom Stack for violations of federal and state laws claiming, among other things, that the defendant officers arrested him without probable cause and used excessive force in placing him under arrest.¹ All of plaintiff's claims arise out of events that occurred on September 13, 2009 when plaintiff was taken into custody for at most ten to fifteen minutes as a suspect in an auto burglary but immediately was released after the defendant officers investigated and determined that plaintiff had not committed any crime.

Plaintiff's nine-count complaint asserts federal claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for false arrest, unlawful search, excessive force, failure to intervene, and conspiracy and state law claims for battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and respondeat superior and indemnification. This matter is before the Court on defendants' motion for summary judgment [Dkt. # 70]. For the following reasons, the motion is granted as to all of plaintiff's claims.²

I. BACKGROUND

A. Standard of Review

Summary judgment is proper when “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories,and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). A genuine issue of material fact exists if “the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). When resolving a motion for summary judgment, the Court construes all facts favorably to the non-moving party and makes reasonable inferences in that party's favor. Eaton v. Ind. Dep't of Corr., 657 F.3d 551, 552 (7th Cir.2011).

Further, as the United States Supreme Court has recognized, “[w]hen the moving party has carried its burden under Rule 56(c), its opponent must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.... Where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party, there is no ‘genuine issue for trial.’ ” Matsushita Elec. Industrial Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586–87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (internal citations and footnote omitted), quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). The Court's role “is not to evaluate the weight of the evidence, to judge the credibility of witnesses, or to determine the truth of the matter, but instead to determine whether there is a genuine issue of triable fact.” National Athletic Sportswear, Inc. v. Westfield Ins. Co., 528 F.3d 508, 512 (7th Cir.2008). “[T]he mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 247–48, 106 S.Ct. 2505. “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. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

B. Northern District of Illinois Local Rule 56.1

The relevant background facts are derived from the parties' submissions pursuant to Local Rule 56.1, which governs summary judgment briefing in the Northern District of Illinois, and assists the Court in “organizing the evidence, identifying undisputed facts, and demonstrating precisely how each side propose[s] to prove a disputed fact with admissible evidence.” Bordelon v. Chicago Sch. Reform Bd. of Trs., 233 F.3d 524, 527 (7th Cir.2000); see alsoNorthern District of Illinois Local Rule (“L.R.”) 56.1. “For litigants appearing in the Northern District of Illinois, the Rule 56.1 statement is a critical, and required, component of a litigant's response to a motion for summary judgment. The purpose of the local rule is to make the summary judgment process less burdensome on district courts, by requiring the parties to nail down the relevant facts and the way they propose to support them.” Sojka v. Bovis Lend Lease, Inc., 686 F.3d 394, 398 (7th Cir.2012).

Local Rule 56.1(a)(3) requires the moving party to provide a “statement of material facts as to which the moving party contends there is no genuine issue and that entitle the moving party to a judgment as a matter of law.” L.R. 56.1(a)(3). The opposing party then must file “a concise response to the movant's statement,” in which the nonmoving party must “admit or deny each factual statement proffered by the defendant ..., and designate with specificity and particularity those material facts believed to establish a genuine dispute for trial.” Greer v. Board of Educ. of the City of Chicago, 267 F.3d 723, 727 (7th Cir.2001); L.R. 56.1(b)(3)(A). The nonmovingparty also may file a statement of additional facts that require the denial of summary judgment. L.R. 56.1(b)(3)(B). The moving party may respond to each additional fact. L.R. 56.1(a) “All material facts set forth in the statement filed pursuant to section (b)(3)(B) will be deemed admitted unless controverted by the [response] statement of the moving party.” Id.; see also Dimmitt & Owens Fin., Inc. v. Superior Sports Prods., Inc., 196 F.Supp.2d 731, 737 (N.D.Ill.2002).

C. Plaintiff Failed To Comply With Local Rule 56.1

The Seventh Circuit repeatedly has held that a district court is within its discretion to strictly enforce compliance with its local rules regarding summary judgment motions. See Patterson v. Indiana Newspapers, Inc., 589 F.3d 357, 359 (7th Cir.2009); Bordelon, 233 F.3d at 527. Plaintiff failed to comply with the requirements of Local Rule 56.1, and those failures have consequences as discussed herein.

In some instances, plaintiff's Local Rule 56.1(b)(3) responses contain significant problems. The following example illustrates a typical problem. Paragraph 13 in defendants' Local Rule 56.1(a)(3) statement of facts states: “At or around that time, a helicopter unit from the City of Chicago dispatched over the radio to all patrol officers that a group of people were breaking into vehicles, directing the patrolling officers first to Tripp street, then East.” Defs' L.R. 56.1(a)(3) Statement of Facts (hereinafter referred to as “Defs' SOF”) [Dkt. # 71], at ¶ 13. Plaintiff responds without admitting or denying directly many of the facts put forth by defendants. Instead, plaintiff states as follows: “Plaintiff admits that Officer Johnson states in his deposition testimony that sometime on September 13, 2009, he received a call from a helicopter unit that a group of kids were breaking into vehicles. Plaintiff further admits that according to Officer Johnson's testimony, he did not know who was in the helicopter unit and he received no description as to age, race, and gender of the suspects or types of vehicles. Plaintiff admits Officer Johnson regarded the location as ‘tricky’ and he did not remember the exact location the unit specified, but that they ran south on Tripp and could not find any kids. Plaintiff further admits that according to the Affidavit of Officer Tim Hawkins, he received a report over a Chicago Police Helicopter of an auto burglary in progress and the initial location that was provided by the helicopter was later modified.” Pl's L.R. 56.1(b)(3) Response to Defendants' Statement of Facts (hereinafter referred to as “Pl's Resp. to Defs' SOF”) [Dkt. # 80], at ¶ 13 (internal citations omitted and emphasis added).

Local Rule 56.1 gives the opposing party the opportunity to either admit or deny each statement of fact put forward by the movant and to provide record support for either assertion. In this case, it often is impossible to tell from plaintiff's Local Rule 56.1(b)(3)(A) submission the facts plaintiff admits, denies or believes are in dispute. Plaintiff sometimes does unequivocally admit or deny a fact. In many other instances, however, plaintiff's responses do not specifically admit or dispute the statements of fact set forth by defendants. Instead of admitting or denying defendants' asserted facts, plaintiff repeatedly limits his responses to an admission or statement as what the underlying testimony of a witness may be rather than admitting or denying the substance of the fact itself. Other times, plaintiff admits only that a witness has testified to a fact. See e.g., Pl's Resp. to Defs' SOF [Dkt. # 86], at ¶ 13 (“Plaintiff admits that Officer Johnson states in his deposition testimony that sometime on September 13, 2009, he received a call from a helicopter unit ....”).

Plaintiff's ambiguous responses in this vein are insufficient to create a material issue of fact, or to allow the Court to determine whether a fact truly is disputed, and therefore must be taken as admissions under Local Rule 56.1(b)(3)(C) that defendants' proposed facts are true. Local Rule 56.1 statements that evade or improperly deny or otherwise respond to facts asserted by the opposing party defeat the point of Local Rule 56.1, which is to identify precisely which facts are actually in dispute. Bordelon, 233 F.3d at 528 (holding that the...