Ricciuti v. N.Y.C. Transit Authority, No. 1558
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit) |
| Writing for the Court | KEARSE |
| Citation | 941 F.2d 119 |
| Parties | Alfred RICCIUTI and Daniel Ricciuti, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. N.Y.C. TRANSIT AUTHORITY, N.Y.C. Transit Police Dept., N.Y.C. Transit Police Chief Vincent Del Castillo, N.Y.C. T.A. Police Lieutenant R.L. Wheeler, N.Y.C. T.A. Police Officer Henry Lopez, the City of New York, N.Y.C. Dept. of Corrections, Corrections Commissioner Richard Koehler, N.Y.C. Corrections Officer Harlice Watson, Defendants, N.Y.C. Transit Authority, N.Y.C. Transit Police Dept., N.Y.C. Transit Police Chief Vincent Del Castillo, Defendants-Appellees. ocket 91-7138. |
| Docket Number | D,No. 1558 |
| Decision Date | 05 August 1991 |
Page 119
v.
N.Y.C. TRANSIT AUTHORITY, N.Y.C. Transit Police Dept.,
N.Y.C. Transit Police Chief Vincent Del Castillo, N.Y.C.
T.A. Police Lieutenant R.L. Wheeler, N.Y.C. T.A. Police
Officer Henry Lopez, the City of New York, N.Y.C. Dept. of
Corrections, Corrections Commissioner Richard Koehler,
N.Y.C. Corrections Officer Harlice Watson, Defendants,
N.Y.C. Transit Authority, N.Y.C. Transit Police Dept.,
N.Y.C. Transit Police Chief Vincent Del Castillo,
Defendants-Appellees.
Second Circuit.
Decided Aug. 5, 1991.
Page 120
Kathleen M. O'Connell (Murphy & O'Connell, New York City, on the brief), for plaintiffs-appellants.
Steve S. Efron, New York City (Albert C. Cosenza, Larry Hecht, Brooklyn, N.Y., on the brief), for defendants-appellees.
Before KEARSE, MAHONEY, and SNEED, * Circuit Judges.
KEARSE, Circuit Judge:
Plaintiffs Alfred and Daniel Ricciuti appeal from a final judgment entered pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Charles S. Haight, Jr., Judge, dismissing their complaint against defendants-appellees N.Y.C. Transit Authority ("TA"), N.Y.C. Transit Police Dept. ("TAPD"), and N.Y.C. Transit Police Chief Vincent del Castillo for damages principally under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1988) in connection with plaintiffs' arrest and treatment by defendants R.L. Wheeler, Henry Lopez, and Harlice Watson. The district court dismissed the complaint against appellees for failure to state a claim, ruling that it did not adequately plead facts showing that any violation of plaintiffs' civil rights resulted from a municipal policy. The court denied plaintiffs leave to amend, ruling that alleged past incidents were insufficient to establish the basis for inferring the existence of such a policy and noting that certain reports, incorporated by reference into the proposed amended complaint, would be inadmissible at a trial. On appeal, plaintiffs contend that the court erred in not permitting them to file their proposed amended complaint against appellees and in dismissing their state-law claims against appellees. We agree and vacate the judgment.
I. BACKGROUND
A. The Events According to the Complaints
According to the initial and proposed complaints, Alfred Ricciuti ("Alfred") and his nephew Daniel Ricciuti ("Daniel") are New Jersey residents who, on the afternoon of April 30, 1989, went to a ball game at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. As the Ricciutis walked along the crowded street after leaving the stadium, Watson, a New York City Corrections Officer who was not in uniform, and Alfred accidentally bumped into one another. Plaintiffs stepped aside to allow Watson to pass, which he did. A few steps later, Watson ran back and proceeded to assault Alfred, striking him in the face, knocking him to the ground, and menacing him with a handgun. After this beating, Watson departed, leaving Alfred dazed, and Daniel went to retrieve plaintiffs' car. Watson soon returned with Lopez, a TA Police Officer. Lopez, without inquiry, threw Alfred against a wall, searched him, and arrested him. Watson and Lopez took Alfred to a nearby TA police station, followed by Daniel. During that trip, Lopez turned and kicked Daniel, without provocation, accusing him of following too closely.
At the police station, where Wheeler, a TA Police Lieutenant, was in charge,
Page 121
Alfred attempted to file a complaint for assault against Watson. Wheeler refused to allow him to do so. While Daniel was waiting, Watson threw him against a wall in the station and placed him under arrest as well. Wheeler and Lopez witnessed Watson's conduct and did nothing to impede, correct, or criticize it. Both plaintiffs were charged with felonious assault in the second degree and the misdemeanor of aggravated harassment. They were jailed overnight until their arraignments on May 1. Thereafter, all of the charges against them were dismissed by the court.B. The Motions To Dismiss and To Amend, and the Decision Below
In April 1990, plaintiffs commenced the present action, asserting claims under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983, 1985, and 1986 (1988), various provisions of the Constitution, and state law, charging, inter alia, that they were the victims of assault, that their arrests were without provocation or probable cause, and that they were denied equal protection by the refusals of Wheeler and Lopez to process plaintiffs' charges against Watson. They alleged that appellees TA, TAPD, and del Castillo had failed adequately to train, supervise, control, or discipline Lopez and Wheeler.
To the extent pertinent here, TA, TAPD, and del Castillo promptly moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state claims against them on which relief can be granted, arguing principally that the complaint failed to allege any facts to support the assertion that the conduct complained of was the result of a government policy or practice. In opposition to appellees' motion, plaintiffs cross-moved for leave to amend their complaint and submitted a proposed amended complaint ("amended complaint" or "AC") designed to meet appellees' challenge.
The amended complaint summarized three reports relating to the arrest practices of TA police. It alleged that in a 1985 report evaluating a possible merger between TAPD and the New York City Police Department ("1985 report"), "both the general and specialized legal training offered to Transit Police were found inadequate," TAPD arrests "were said to be vulnerable to legal attack and routinely 'trivialized by prosecutors and judges,' " and TAPD was found to have established no clear line of authority with respect to discipline. (AC p 36.) The amended complaint alleged that a 1987 report dealing with the well-publicized death of one Michael Stewart in TAPD custody ("1987 report") faulted TAPD's apprehension and investigative procedures in connection with that case. It alleged that a 1988 report studying illegal arrests by transit officers ("1988 report") found that "it was 'no secret that the current training in the N.Y.C. Police Academy has serious...
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Durkin v. Shea, No. 95 Civ. 1932(CSH).
...might be offered in support thereof." Geisler v. Petrocelli, 616 F.2d 636, 639 (2d Cir.1980); see Ricciuti v. N.Y.C. Transit Authority, 941 F.2d 119, 124 (2d Cir.1991). "[T]he issue is not whether a plaintiff will ultimately prevail but whether the claimant is entitled to offer evidence to ......
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Faryniarz v. Jose E. Ramirez, JR Chem, LLC, 3:13-CV-01064 (CSH)
...she has inadequately or inartfully pleaded and that she should therefore be given a chance to reframe"); Ricciuti v. N.Y.C. Transit Auth., 941 F.2d 119, 123 (2d Cir.1991) ("When the plaintiff has submitted a proposed amended complaint, the district judge may review that pleading for adequac......
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Petrie v. City of Grapevine, No. 3–11–CV–0715–M.
...liability. See Jeanty v. County of Orange, 379 F.Supp.2d 533, 545 (S.D.N.Y.2005) (citing Ricciuti v. New York City Transit Auth., 941 F.2d 119, 122 (2d Cir.1991) (“for a plaintiff's claim of custom or policy to survive summary judgment review, there necessarily must be evidence of the compl......
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Bracci v. Becker, 1:11-cv-1473
...would not withstand a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Ricciuti v. N.Y.C. Transit Auth., 941 F.2d 119, 123 (2d Cir. 1991); see also Vasile v. Dean Witter Reynolds Inc., 20 F. Supp. 2d 465, 468 (E.D.N.Y. 1998), aff'd, 205 F.3d 1327 (2d Cir. 2......
-
Durkin v. Shea, No. 95 Civ. 1932(CSH).
...might be offered in support thereof." Geisler v. Petrocelli, 616 F.2d 636, 639 (2d Cir.1980); see Ricciuti v. N.Y.C. Transit Authority, 941 F.2d 119, 124 (2d Cir.1991). "[T]he issue is not whether a plaintiff will ultimately prevail but whether the claimant is entitled to offer evidence to ......
-
Faryniarz v. Jose E. Ramirez, JR Chem, LLC, 3:13-CV-01064 (CSH)
...she has inadequately or inartfully pleaded and that she should therefore be given a chance to reframe"); Ricciuti v. N.Y.C. Transit Auth., 941 F.2d 119, 123 (2d Cir.1991) ("When the plaintiff has submitted a proposed amended complaint, the district judge may review that pleading for adequac......
-
Petrie v. City of Grapevine, No. 3–11–CV–0715–M.
...liability. See Jeanty v. County of Orange, 379 F.Supp.2d 533, 545 (S.D.N.Y.2005) (citing Ricciuti v. New York City Transit Auth., 941 F.2d 119, 122 (2d Cir.1991) (“for a plaintiff's claim of custom or policy to survive summary judgment review, there necessarily must be evidence of the compl......
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Bracci v. Becker, 1:11-cv-1473
...would not withstand a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Ricciuti v. N.Y.C. Transit Auth., 941 F.2d 119, 123 (2d Cir. 1991); see also Vasile v. Dean Witter Reynolds Inc., 20 F. Supp. 2d 465, 468 (E.D.N.Y. 1998), aff'd, 205 F.3d 1327 (2d Cir. 2......