Ruffins v. The Dep't Of Corr. Serv.

• Decision Date: 31 March 2010
• Docket Number: No. 08-CV-5240 (JFB)(ARL).,08-CV-5240 (JFB)(ARL).
• Citation: 701 F.Supp.2d 385
• Parties: Nashaun RUFFINS, Plaintiff,v.The DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES, The New York State Division of Parole, Brian Fischer, individually and in his official capacity, George B. Alexander, individually and in his official capacity, John Does 1-5, individually and in their official capacities, and John Does 6-10, individually and in their official capacities, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York

701 F.Supp.2d 385

Nashaun RUFFINS, Plaintiff,v.The DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES, The New York State Division of Parole, Brian Fischer, individually and in his official capacity, George B. Alexander, individually and in his official capacity, John Does 1-5, individually and in their official capacities, and John Does 6-10, individually and in their official capacities, Defendants.

No. 08-CV-5240 (JFB)(ARL).

United States District Court E.D. New York.

March 31, 2010.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

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Scott Lockwood, Esq., Deer Park, NY, for Plaintiff.

Andrew Hodge Meier, Office of the New York State Attorney General, New York, NY, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

JOSEPH F. BIANCO, District Judge:

Plaintiff Nashaun Ruffins (“Ruffins”) brings this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (“§ 1983”), seeking money damages against defendants George B. Alexander, as Chairman of the New York State Division of Parole, the New York State Division of Parole (“NYS Parole”), and John Does 1-5, as yet unnamed employees thereof (collectively, the “NYS Parole defendants”), as well as Brian Fischer, as the Commissioner of the Department of Correctional Services for the State of New York, the Department of Correctional Services for the State of New York (“DOCS”), and John Does 6-10, as yet unnamed employees thereof (collectively, the “DOCS defendants”), alleging that defendants wrongfully detained plaintiff on two occasions for violations of a term of post-release supervision (“PRS”) that was unlawfully imposed by DOCS, in violation of his constitutional rights. Plaintiff also asserts claims of false arrest and imprisonment, negligence, and gross negligence under New York state law for the same alleged conduct by defendants. In particular, plaintiff contends that his PRS term was administratively imposed in 1999 by DOCS in violation of the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution. Plaintiff was subsequently arrested for violations while serving his PRS sentence-once in 2007 and once in 2008-and was incarcerated several months for each violation. Plaintiff asserts Section 1983 claims for these periods of incarceration and contends that he should not have been sentenced to any term of PRS, since the judge did not impose PRS at plaintiff's sentencing in 1999.

Defendants now move to dismiss the § 1983 claims against them. In his opposition papers and at oral argument, plaintiff conceded that the § 1983 claims against DOCS and NYS Parole, as well as those against the individual defendants in their official capacities, are barred by the Eleventh Amendment. Thus, the only remaining federal claims are those against the individual defendants in their individual capacities pursuant to § 1983.

For the reasons set forth below, defendants' motion to dismiss, pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, is granted on grounds of qualified immunity with respect to claims regarding plaintiff's arrest and incarceration in 2007 for violation of the terms of his PRS, and the Court seeks additional briefing on the qualified immunity issue for plaintiffs' arrest and incarceration in 2008 for a separate violation of the terms of his PRS.

In Earley v. Murray, 451 F.3d 71 (2d Cir.2006) reh'g denied, 462 F.3d 147 (2d Cir.2006) writ of habeas corpus granted by No. 03-CV-3104 (ERK), 2007 WL 1288031, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 31942 (E.D.N.Y. May 1, 2007) cert. denied Burhlre v. Earley, 551 U.S. 1159, 127 S.Ct. 3014, 168 L.Ed.2d 752 (2007), which involved a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, the Second Circuit held that the administrative imposition of a five-year PRS term by DOCS, pursuant to New York Penal Law § 70.45, was unconstitutional. However, prior to the Earley decision in 2006, it was not clearly established that the administrative imposition of plaintiff's PRS term violated plaintiff's constitutional rights, and it was objectively reasonable for the defendants to believe that their conduct did not violate plaintiff's rights. Moreover, even after Earley, state courts continued to disagree as to the precise application of Earley to Section 70.45, and some state courts held that PRS was automatic under state law such that it was not administratively imposed in violation of Earley. Similarly, Earley did not address the effect of its decision on those currently incarcerated due to violations of administratively imposed PRS terms or those currently under supervision for administratively imposed PRS terms. In other words, it was unclear whether (1) the jail house doors had to be opened for those in custody on violations of administratively imposed PRS terms, and supervision immediately terminated for those individuals with administratively imposed PRS terms, or (2) enforcement of the PRS terms could continue under state law until there was a re-sentencing which either eliminated the term or corrected the procedural error in the imposition of the PRS term. In fact, on remand in the Earley case, the federal judge concluded that Earley should not be released from incarceration on his PRS violation pending his re-sentencing in state court. Given this critical ambiguity regarding the implications of the Earley decision on those currently under PRS supervision and the disagreement among state courts about Earley 's application to interpretations of state law, this Court concludes that the defendants are entitled to qualified immunity for any conduct with respect to the arrest and incarceration of plaintiff in 2007 for violation of the terms of his PRS. It was objectively reasonable for the defendants to believe, given the murky legal landscape that followed Earley, that they were not violating plaintiff's rights in 2007 by continuing to enforce his PRS.

The arrest and incarceration in 2008 for another PRS violation, however, requires additional briefing by the parties on the issue of qualified immunity. In particular, in 2008, two New York Court of Appeals decisions resolved the disagreement among lower state courts in the wake of Earley and made clear that, under state law, the mandatory PRS term had to be imposed at the time of sentencing to be valid. See People v. Sparber, 10 N.Y.3d 457, 859 N.Y.S.2d 582, 889 N.E.2d 459 (2008); Garner v. N.Y. State Dep't of Corr. Servs., 10 N.Y.3d 358, 859 N.Y.S.2d 590, 889 N.E.2d 467 (N.Y.2008). Shortly thereafter, the New York legislature passed Correction Law § 601-d, which created a procedure by which individuals who had been improperly sentenced could be identified and resentenced. From the complaint in this case, it appears that plaintiff was incarcerated on a PRS violation after the decisions in Sparber and Garner but before the effective date of Section 601-d. As discussed more fully below, this period was not the focus of the briefing by the parties and the Court believes that additional briefing is warranted to address the qualified immunity issue within that time frame. ¹

I. Background

A. Facts

The following facts are taken from the complaint (“Compl.”), as well as several exhibits attached to the defendants' moving papers.² These facts are not findings of fact by the Court, but rather are assumed to be true for the purpose of deciding this motion and are construed in a light most favorable to plaintiff, the non-moving party.

Plaintiff was sentenced on October 27, 1999 in the Supreme Court, Suffolk County, to two concurrent determinate prison terms of eight years, pursuant to Penal Law § 70.02. (Meier Decl., Ex. B.) He was received into the custody of DOCS on December 9, 1999. (Meier Decl., Ex. C.) On March 27, 2007, plaintiff was released from custody and began serving his five-year term of PRS. (Meier Decl., Ex. D.)

Plaintiff claims that he was never sentenced by any judge to any term of PRS. (Compl. ¶¶ 18, 25.) Instead, plaintiff alleges that unknown employees of DOCS, namely John Does 6-10, imposed the PRS term. (Compl. ¶¶ 19, 26.)

Subsequent to his release from DOCS' custody in March 2007, plaintiff was incarcerated in April 2007 for a violation of the terms of his PRS. (Compl. ¶ 16.) The incarceration was based upon a violation petition allegedly filed by an unknown agent or agents of NYS Parole, namely John Does 1-5. (Compl. ¶ 17.) Plaintiff was released from the custody of DOCS in July 2007. (Compl. ¶ 20.)

Plaintiff was again confined by DOCS in April 2008 for a violation of the terms of his PRS. (Compl. ¶ 23.) A violation petition was allegedly filed by John Does 1-5 of NYS Parole. (Compl. ¶ 24.) Pursuant to New York Correction Law § 601-d, DOCS referred plaintiff back to the sentencing court and on September 17, 2008, pursuant to Penal Law § 70.85, the court re-sentenced plaintiff to his original sentence without any term of PRS. (Meier Decl., Exh. E.) Plaintiff was released by DOCS on September 26, 2008. (Compl. ¶ 27.)

B. Procedural History

Plaintiff filed this action on December 29, 2008. Defendants filed the instant motion on April 10, 2009. Plaintiff submitted his opposition on May 13, 2009. Defendants submitted their reply on May 29, 2009. Oral argument was held on June 19, 2009. This matter is fully submitted.

II. Standard of Review

In reviewing a motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6),³ the court must accept the factual allegations set forth in the complaint as true and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff. See Cleveland v. Caplaw Enters., 448 F.3d 518, 521 (2d Cir.2006); Nechis v. Oxford Health Plans, Inc., 421 F.3d 96, 100 (2d Cir.2005). The plaintiff must satisfy “a flexible ‘plausibility standard.’ ” Iqbal v. Hasty, 490 F.3d 143, 157 (2d Cir.2007) rev'd on other grounds sub nom. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, --- U.S. ----, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). “[O]nce a claim has been stated adequately, it may be supported by showing any set of facts consistent with the allegations in the complaint.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 563, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929...