Ruble v. Escola, 5:09CV02173.
| Decision Date | 28 September 2012 |
| Docket Number | No. 5:09CV02173.,5:09CV02173. |
| Citation | 898 F.Supp.2d 956 |
| Parties | Matthew D. RUBLE, Plaintiff, v. Timothy E. ESCOLA et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Ohio |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Allen Schulman, Jr., Law Office of Allen Schulman, Brian L. Zimmerman, Canton, OH, for Plaintiff.
Nick C. Tomino, Tomino & Latchney, Medina, OH, Gregory A. Beck, Baker, Dublikar, Beck, Wiley & Mathews, Jennifer L. Arnold, Robert J. Tscholl, North Canton, OH, for Defendants.
Plaintiff Matthew Ruble (“Ruble” or “Plaintiff”) filed the present action against Defendants former Chief of Police for the Perry Township Police Department Timothy Escola (“Escola”), former part-time police officer Janine England (“England”), and the Board of Trustees for Perry Township, Stark County, Ohio (“Perry Township”) (collectively “Defendants”), claiming ten causes of action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Ohio State law.1ECF No. 16. Defendants removed the case to this Court on September 18, 2009 on the basis of federal question jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1441. ECF No. 1.
Before the Court are Defendants' motions for summary judgment, pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). ECF Nos. 37, 38, 42.
For the reasons that follow, the Court denies in part Defendant England's motion for qualified immunity and state immunity. The Court grants Defendant Escola's motion for qualified immunity and remaining summary judgment motion and grants Perry Townships' motion for summary judgment.
The events giving rise to this case began when Defendant England, a newly hired part-time Perry Township police officer, was dispatched to a private home to investigate a reported burglary.2ECF No. 16 at 3. Several days after the investigation, the burglary victim reported that an unauthorized person cashed one of his personal checks. ECF No. 16 at 3. A copy of the personal check and a surveillance photograph revealed that Richard Griffin had fraudulently cashed the victim's check. ECF No. 16 at 3. Escola and England presented a photo line-up to the bank teller, Julia LeFever, who positively identified Griffin. ECF Nos. 16 at 3; 32 at 21; 36 at 19.
After obtaining a positive photograph identification, England located Griffin outside his apartment, advised him of his Miranda rights, and questioned him about the personal check and the burglary. ECF Nos. 16 at 4; 36–5. Griffin claimed that he received the personal check in exchange for the sale of a four-wheeler. ECF Nos. 16 at 4; 36–5. Immediately thereafter, Griffin revised his response by admitting that he was a heroin addict and cashed the check to purchase heroin.3ECF Nos. 16 at 4–5; 36–5. When asked about the burglary, Griffin ECF Nos. 16 at 5; 36–5. The next day, Griffin completed a written statement and, thereafter, was arrested and booked. ECF Nos. 16 at 5–6; 36–5.
Upon information and belief of his criminal involvement in the burglary, Escola and England began to investigate Plaintiff. Plaintiff's criminal history showed only traffic violations. ECF Nos. 16 at 6; 32 at 30; 36 at 29. The officers spoke with several witnesses regarding Plaintiff's alleged criminal...
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... ... existence of a local practice or custom, normally presents an issue of fact for the jury." Ruble v. Escola , 898 F.Supp.2d 956, 977 (N.D. Ohio 2012) (citing Praprotnik , 485 U.S. at 124, 108 ... ...
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M.J. v. Akron City Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ.
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