Rush v. City of Mansfield

• Decision Date: 11 February 2011
• Docket Number: Case No. 1:07–CV–1068.
• Citation: 771 F.Supp.2d 827
• Parties: Jacob RUSH, et al., Plaintiffs,v.CITY OF MANSFIELD, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Ohio

771 F.Supp.2d 827

Jacob RUSH, et al., Plaintiffs,

v.CITY OF MANSFIELD, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 1:07–CV–1068.

United States District Court, N.D. Ohio, Eastern Division.

Feb. 11, 2011.

Alphonse A. Gerhardstein, Andrea L. Reino, Gerhardstein & Branch, Cincinnati, OH, David B. Malik, Chesterland, OH, for Plaintiffs.Colleen M. O'Neil, Maura L. Hughes, Richard P. Goddard, Zoe K. Carlisle, Calfee, Halter & Griswold, Cleveland, OH, Daniel T. Downey, Weston Hurd, George B. Limbert, Mark D. Landes, Isaac, Brant, Ledman & Teetor, Columbus, OH, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

KATHLEEN McDONALD O'MALLEY, Circuit Judge.^*

Before the Court is the Report and Recommendation (R & R) of Magistrate Judge Kenneth S. McHargh (“Judge McHargh”). (Doc. 212.) In his R & R, Judge McHargh considers the Defendants' Motions for Summary Judgment (Docs. 167–171), as well as the Plaintiffs' Motion to Exclude the Defendants' Expert Testimony (Doc. 158) and the Defendants' Motion to Strike one of the Plaintiffs' Exhibits (Doc. 203). He recommends that this Court grant in part and deny in part the Defendants' motions. The Plaintiffs have filed a timely objection to this R & R (Doc. 214), as have the Defendants (Docs. 215–220), and the Court SUSTAINS IN PART AND OVERRULES IN PART those objections (Docs. 215–220).

As explained more fully below, the Motion to Exclude Testimony (Doc. 158) is MOOT, the Motion to Strike (Doc. 203) is DENIED, the Motion for Summary Judgment brought by ASORT ¹ as to its capacity for suit (Doc. 171) is DENIED, the Motion for Summary Judgment brought by ASORT as to the substantive claims against it (Doc. 170) is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART, the City of Mansfield's and Richland County's Motions for Summary Judgment (Docs. 168, 169) are GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART, all other municipal Defendants' Motions for Summary Judgment (Docs. 167, 170) are GRANTED, and the individual Defendants' Motions for Summary Judgment are GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART (Docs. 169, 170).

I. BACKGROUND

This lawsuit arises under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 as well as state law. The gravamen of the complaint is straightforward: the Plaintiffs assert that the Defendants violated their rights under the fourth and fourteenth amendments of the constitution:

The Defendants have, under color of law, deprived Plaintiffs of clearly established rights, privileges and immunities secured by the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution of which a reasonable person would have known. These rights include, but are not limited to, the right to due process of law and the right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures and excessive force.

(Doc. 75 (“FAC”) at ¶ 90.) The particulars of this litigation, discussed below, are more complicated: they have led to hundreds of pages of briefing, thousands of pages of record evidence, and a 75–page R & R.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A. Summary Judgment

Defendants have moved for summary judgment under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Under Rule 56(c), summary judgment should be granted “if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).

In reviewing summary judgment motions, this Court must view evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party to determine whether a genuine issue of material fact exists. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970); CenTra, Inc. v. Estrin, 538 F.3d 402, 412 (6th Cir.2008). A fact is “material” only if its resolution will affect the outcome of the lawsuit. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Daugherty v. Sajar Plastics, Inc., 544 F.3d 696, 702 (6th Cir.2008). Determination of whether a factual issue is “genuine” requires consideration of the applicable evidentiary standards. Thus, in most civil cases, the Court will decide “whether reasonable jurors could find by a preponderance of the evidence that the [non-moving party] is entitled to a verdict.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

Upon filing a motion for summary judgment, the moving party has the initial burden of establishing that there are no genuine issues of material fact as to an essential element of the nonmoving party's claim. Moldowan v. City of Warren, 578 F.3d 351, 374 (6th Cir.2009) (citation omitted); Street v. J.C. Bradford & Co., 886 F.2d 1472, 1479–80 & n. 12 (6th Cir.1989). The moving party, however, is not required to file affidavits or other similar materials negating a claim on which its opponent bears the burden of proof, so long as the moving party relies upon the absence of the essential element in the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

In response, if the moving party establishes the absence of a genuine issue of material fact, to defeat summary judgment, the non-moving party “may not rely merely on allegations or denials in its own pleading; rather, its response must—by affidavits or as otherwise provided in this rule—set out specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)(2); see also Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586–87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); Alexander v. CareSource, 576 F.3d 551, 558 (6th Cir.2009) (citation omitted). In this regard, “Rule 56 does not impose upon the district court a duty to sift through the record in search of evidence to support a party's opposition to summary judgment”; rather, “Rule 56 allocates that duty to the opponent of the motion, who is required to point out the evidence, albeit evidence that is already in the record, that creates an issue of fact.” Williamson v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., 481 F.3d 369, 379–80 (6th Cir.2007) (citation omitted); see also Tucker v. Tennessee, 539 F.3d 526, 531 (6th Cir.2008) (citation omitted). Moreover, the non-moving party must show more than a scintilla of evidence to overcome summary judgment; it is not enough for the non-moving party to show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to material facts. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., 475 U.S. at 586–87, 106 S.Ct. 1348; see also Barr v. Lafon, 538 F.3d 554, 574 (6th Cir.2008).

Accordingly, the ultimate inquiry is whether the record, as a whole, and upon viewing it in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, could lead a rational trier of fact to find in favor of the non-moving party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., 475 U.S. at 586–87, 106 S.Ct. 1348; see also Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (“The judge's inquiry, therefore, unavoidably asks whether reasonable jurors could find by a preponderance of the evidence that the [non-moving party] is entitled to a verdict—whether there is [evidence] upon which a jury can properly proceed to find a verdict for the party producing it, upon whom the onus of proof is imposed.” (emphasis in original) (internal quotations omitted)).

B. Report and Recommendation

On March 17, 2008, the Court referred this case to Judge McHargh for pretrial administration, pursuant to Title 28 of the United States Code, Section 636, and Local Rule 72.1. In cases that are referred to a magistrate judge for preparation of an R & R, the district court may “accept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendations made by the magistrate judge.” McClendon v. Challenge Fin. Investors Corp., No. 08–1189, 2009 WL 589245, at *2, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17908, at *6–7 (N.D.Ohio Mar. 9, 2009) (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C)). A court is only required to conduct a de novo review of the portions of an R & R to which the parties have made an objection, and the parties have a “duty to pinpoint those portions of the magistrate's report that the district court must specially consider.” Cincinnati Ins. Co. v. Grand Pointe, LLC, 501 F.Supp.2d 1145, 1153 (E.D.Tenn.2007) (quoting Mira v. Marshall, 806 F.2d 636, 637 (6th Cir.Ohio 1986)). In the absence of specific objections, a court may adopt conclusions reached by the magistrate judge without discussion. See Thomas v. Arn, 474 U.S. 140, 149–52, 106 S.Ct. 466, 88 L.Ed.2d 435 (1985); Crum v. Sullivan, 921 F.2d 642, 645 n. 1 (6th Cir.1990). While this principle is universal, it is particularly appropriate here, given that Judge McHargh issued a thoughtful 75–page R & R in response to many thousands of pages of briefing and exhibits. ²

III. REQUIREMENTS FOR ESTABLISHING LIABILITY UNDER § 1983

All of the Plaintiffs' federal claims arise under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which requires the Plaintiff to “establish (1) the deprivation of a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States (2) caused by a person acting under color of state law.” Sigley v. City of Parma Heights, 437 F.3d 527, 533 (6th Cir.2006) (citations omitted). The Defendants in this action do not dispute that they acted under color of state law during any of the relevant events—accordingly, the question is simply whether the Plaintiffs suffered a depravation “of a right secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States” and were harmed thereby. Id. With respect to that question, not all unfair, unwise, or imprudent actions are constitutionally unreasonable. See Kostrzewa v. City of Troy, 247 F.3d 633, 639 (6th Cir.2001). Law enforcement officials are allowed “latitude for honest mistakes,” even when those mistakes are difficult to understand with the benefit of hindsight. See Maryland v. Garrison, 480 U.S. 79, 87, 107 S.Ct. 1013, 94 L.Ed.2d 72 (1987). Nevertheless, each and every citizen has meaningful constitutional rights that law enforcement officials may not violate. See Champion v. Outlook Nashville, Inc., 380 F.3d 893, 900 (6th Cir.2004). These rights are not lessened merely because law enforcement...