Reinhardt v. City of Buffalo

Decision Date05 July 2022
Docket Number1:21-cv-206
PartiesJAKE M. REINHARDT, TAYLOR M. SCHMIEDER, KEVIN R. HARRINGTON, CASEY E. CARMINATI, and KRYSTYNA KIMBRELL, Plaintiffs, v. THE CITY OF BUFFALO, CLAYTON REED, MELISSA KURDZIEL, JAE S. MURPHY, SPENCER T. GEORGE, ROBERTO J. TORRES, COLIN KEENAN, DEVON SALTER-BROWN, individually and in their capacities as City of Buffalo Police Officers, BAIL SHOP, LLC, ADEL MIKHEAIL, individually and in his capacity as a bail recovery agent for Bail Shop, LLC, BUFFALO BAIL BONDS AGENCY, INC., DENNIS WHITE, individually and in his capacity as a bail recovery agent for Buffalo Bail Bonds Agency, Inc., JOHN DOE, individually and in his capacity as a bail recovery agent for Buffalo Bail Bonds Agency, Inc., Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Western District of New York

ORDER ON BAIL SHOP LLC AND ADEL MIKHEAIL'S MOTION TO DISMISS (DOCS. 57)

Geoffrey W. Crawford, Judge

Plaintiffs Jake M. Reinhardt, Taylor M. Schmieder, Kevin R. Harrington Casey E. Caiminati, and Krystyna Kimbrell (Plaintiffs) have sued Defendants Bail Shop LLC (“Bail Shop”) and Adel Mikheail, a bail recovery agent for Bail Shop (collectively, Bail Shop Defendants), along with several other defendants,[1] for claims arising from searches of Plaintiffs' residences on the nights of January 9, 2021 and January 10-11, 2021. (Doc. 41.) According to the Amended Complaint, bail recovery agents employed by Bail Shop Defendants and aided by City of Buffalo police officers “engaged in a violent, terrifying, warrantless search” while tiying to locate an alleged bail jumper, Luke Reinhardt, brother of Plaintiff Jake Reinhardt. (Doc. 41 ¶1.)

On April 27, 2021, Bail Shop filed a motion to dismiss all claims under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. (Doc. 17 at 7.) In their response, Plaintiffs agreed to the dismissal of Counts I-V with respect to Bail Shop. (Doc. 31 at 2-3.) Prior to a ruling on this motion, Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint, which among other changes added Adel Mikheail as a defendant. (Doc. 41.) In response, Bail Shop and Adel Mikheail filed a motion to dismiss all claims under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(2) for lack of personal jurisdiction and 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. (Doc. 57.)

Facts

Plaintiffs have brought constitutional and tort claims against the City of Buffalo, Clayton Reed, Melissa Kurdziel, Jae S. Murphy, Spencer T. George, Roberto J. Torres, Colin Keenan, and Devon Salter-Brown (in their individual and official capacities as City of Buffalo Police Officers), Bail Shop LLC, Adel Mikheail (individually and in his capacity as a bail recovery agent for Bail Shop, LLC), Buffalo Bail Bonds Agency, Inc., Dennis White (individually and in his capacity as a bail recovery agent for Buffalo Bail Bonds Agency, Inc.), and John Doe (individually and in his capacity as a bail recovery agent for Buffalo Bail Bonds Agency, Inc.). The court reviewed many of the relevant facts in its prior orders. (See Doc. 30.) The following allegations are relevant to the pending motion.

At some point prior to January 9, 2021, the District Attorney of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania charged Luke Reinhardt, brother of Plaintiff Reinhardt, with misdemeanor simple assault, retail theft, and driving with revoked operating privileges. (Doc. 41 ¶¶ 36-37.) Luke Reinhardt did not appear in court on the scheduled date and time, and his bail was revoked. (Id. ¶ 33.) Bail Shop, LLC, a surety bail bonds company domiciled in Lebanon, Pennsylvania (id. ¶ 20), hired Pennsylvania bail recovery agent Adel Mikheail to locate and return Luke Reinhardt. (Id. ¶ 38.) After Adel Mikheail learned that Luke Reinhardt was likely traveling in Buffalo, he contacted Dermis White, an agent employed by Buffalo Bail Bonds Agency, Inc., to assist him with locating and returning Luke Reinhardt. (Id. ¶¶ 22, 39-40.)

In pursuit of Luke Reinhardt, bail recovery agents from Pennsylvania and Buffalo, accompanied by City of Buffalo police officers, entered and searched Plaintiffs' homes. (Doc. 41 ¶ 1.) During the first search on January 9, 2021, Dennis White, accompanied by John Doe and Buffalo Police Officers Clayton Reed and Melissa Kurdziel, gained access to Plaintiff Kimbrell's home at 1329 Clinton Street in Buffalo, New York and performed a search. (Id. ¶¶ 129-134.) During this search, Dennis White and John Doe earned firearms and dressed in clothing similar to that worn by law enforcement officers. (Id. ¶ 137-138.) One of these pieces of clothing was a jacket that read “United States Fugitive Task Force.” (Id. ¶ 137.) Defendants performed the search without permission or consent from Plaintiff Kimbrell. (Id. ¶ 139.) The Amended Complaint further alleges that they had neither a search warrant nor probable cause. (Id. ¶¶ 140, 142.)

On January 10, 2021, Defendants performed a similar search at 31 Oakdale Place in Buffalo, New York, where Plaintiffs Reinhardt, Schmieder, Carminati, and Harrington reside with their children. (Id. ¶¶ 26-31.) Agents Dennis White and John Doe approached the front door and, upon finding it locked, began to knock on it to be let inside. (Id. ¶¶ 32, 52, 60-63.) The Buffalo Police Department Defendants stood on the sidewalk near 31 Oakdale Place, assisting in the operation. (Id. ¶ 64.) The noise awakened Plaintiffs and they heard Agent Dennis White say, [o]pen it up or we'[11] kick it in!” (Id. ¶¶ 67-68.) Agent Dennis White saw Plaintiff Reinhardt through a window and ordered him to open the door. (Id. ¶¶ 69-74.) After seeing Buffalo police officers through his window, Plaintiff Reinhardt thought it would be safe to open the door. (Id. ¶ 75.) After he did so, Dennis White and John Doe forced Plaintiff Reinhardt out of his home, pointing their guns at him. (Id. ¶ 76-77.) Defendants then entered and searched the residence without presenting a warrant and without consent or permission. (Id. ¶ 87.)

Upon observing Defendants about to enter his home, Plaintiff Reinhardt warned them that his wife and his three-year-old daughter were sleeping inside. (Id. ¶ 90.) Dennis White ordered Plaintiff Reinhardt to “secure his family,” but after asking Plaintiff Reinhardt whether he had any weapons, Dennis White told him to stay outside. (Id. ¶¶ 91, 95.) Plaintiff Reinhardt asked Dennis White to show him his search warrant, to which White responded, “You will see it soon.” (Id. ¶ 94.) Throughout this exchange, Plaintiff Reinhardt was standing outside in the cold winter air without a shirt or shoes. (Id. ¶ 95.)

Dennis White, John Doe, Jae S. Murphy, and one other City of Buffalo police officer entered the property through both the front and back doors. (Id. ¶¶ 96-97.) They were startled to see the pregnant Plaintiff Schmieder and her three-year-old daughter. (Id. ¶¶ 102-103.) They pointed their guns at Plaintiff Schmieder and ordered her to put her daughter down. (Id. ¶ 104.) Defendants then searched the entire lower apartment for Luke Reinhardt, even though they had been told that he did not reside at this address. (Id. ¶ 106.) They also questioned Plaintiffs at gunpoint about Luke Reinhardt's whereabouts. (Id. ¶¶ 107-109.) Plaintiff Reinhardt suffered emotional distress on account of not knowing whether his family was safe. (Id. ¶ 110.)

Later in the search, Dennis White and John Doe broke the door to the upstairs apartment and entered and searched the upstairs apartment occupied by Plaintiffs Harrington and Carminati. (Id. ¶ 112.) Dennis White and John Doe pointed their guns, mounted with flashlights, directly at Harrington and Carminati's five-year-old child. (Id. ¶ 113.) During this time, Buffalo police officers continued to assist the bail agents. (Id. ¶¶ 114-116.) When Defendants exited the property, Plaintiff Reinhardt again asked to see the bail agents' warrant. (Id. ¶¶ 118-120.) Dennis White walked towards his car without showing Plaintiff Reinhardt a warrant. Plaintiff Reinhardt began to walk towards the car as well (id. ¶ 121), at which point Buffalo police officers told Plaintiff Reinhardt “not to walk up on them.” (Id. ¶ 123). Shortly afterwards, the bail agents showed Plaintiff Reinhardt a bail bond contract. (Id. ¶ 124.) After Defendants left, Plaintiffs Reinhardt, Schmieder, Harrington and Carminati tried to comfort their children, but no one could go back to sleep. (Id. ¶ 128.)

Analysis
I. Legal Standards

To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, a pleading “must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.' Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)); see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2). The court must make all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party. Lanier v. Bats Exch., Inc., 838 F.3d 139, 150 (2d Cir. 2016). Dismissal is appropriate when “it is clear from the face of the complaint, and matters of which the court may take judicial notice, that the plaintiffs claims are barred as a matter of law.” Conopco, Inc. v. Roll Int'l, 231 F.3d 82, 86 (2d Cir. 2000). The court is not required to take conclusory statements or unsupported inferences as true. See Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557.

On a Rule 12(b)(2) motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, the plaintiff bears the burden of showing that the court has jurisdiction over the defendant. Robinson v. Overseas Mil. Sales Corp., 21 F.3d 502, 507 (2d Cir. 1994). Where no evidentiary hearing has been held, “the plaintiffs prima facie showing, necessary to defeat a jurisdiction testing motion, must include an averment of facts that, if credited by [the ultimate trier of fact] would suffice to establish jurisdiction over the defendant.” Ball v. Metallurgie Hoboken-Overpelt, S.A., 902 F.2d 194, 197 (2d Cir. 1990). By requiring “fair warning” that an individual's...

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