Sivard v. Pulaski County, S89-204 (RLM).

• Decision Date: 30 November 1992
• Docket Number: No. S89-204 (RLM).,S89-204 (RLM).
• Citation: 809 F. Supp. 631
• Parties: Harold E. SIVARD, Jr., Plaintiff, v. PULASKI COUNTY, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Indiana

809 F. Supp. 631

Harold E. SIVARD, Jr., Plaintiff, v. PULASKI COUNTY, et al., Defendants.

No. S89-204 (RLM).

United States District Court, N.D. Indiana, South Bend Division.

November 30, 1992.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Grace H. Han, Indianapolis, IN, for plaintiff.

Frank E. Tolbert, Logansport, IN, for defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

MILLER, District Judge.

This cause is before the court on the defendants' motion for summary judgment. For the reasons that follow, the court finds that the defendant are entitled to summary judgment on all remaining claims.

I.

Mr. Sivard originally brought a diversity suit, under state law only, against Pulaski County, Indiana, the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department, Pulaski County Sheriff Charlotte Ward-Tillett (both individually and in her official capacity), and Dr. Rex Allman, M.D.¹ Mr. Sivard sought relief for wrongful detention, negligent and willful failure to provide him with timely medical care, and Dr. Allman's misdiagnosis of his back injury. This court dismissed Mr. Sivard's action because he failed to provide the defendants with timely notice as required by the Indiana Tort Claims Act, but allowed Mr. Sivard to amend his pleadings. Without altering the wording of the wrongful acts, Mr. Sivard amended his complaint to allege a violation under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

Thereafter, the defendants moved for summary judgment and Mr. Sivard failed to respond to the motion. This court granted the defendants summary judgment on all claims and Mr. Sivard appealed. The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the judgment on Mr. Sivard's claims for delayed medical treatment and Dr. Allman's alleged malpractice, but reversed and remanded this case on the issue of wrongful detention. Sivard v. Pulaski County, 959 F.2d 662 (7th Cir.1992).

On remand, the defendants² again move for summary judgment. Mr. Sivard filed no written response, but presented argument at the hearing on the motion.

II.

The standards for summary judgment were set forth in detail in the earlier opinions of this court and the court of appeals, and need not be repeated. The court assumes familiarity with the case's facts and sets forth only those facts relevant to the issue of wrongful detention. All dates refer to 1987 unless otherwise indicated.

On February 2, at 5:15 p.m., the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department received a call that a man was out of control and violent. Deputy Sheriff John Duhnovsky answered the call and arrested Mr. Sivard for the crime of battery at approximately 6:47 p.m. Shortly after arresting Mr. Sivard, Officer Duhnovsky radioed the Indiana State Police Post at Lowell, Indiana, to initiate a records search. At 7:07 p.m., Officer Duhnovsky called Mrs. Ruth Duke, Mr. Sivard's former wife, and learned that Mr. Sivard might have been involved in a kidnapping that took place in Massachusetts.

At 7:19 p.m., Officer Duhnovsky called the West Springfield, Massachusetts Police Department ("WSPD"), which confirmed Mrs. Duke's report of Mr. Sivard's involvement in a kidnapping. The WSPD also informed Officer Duhnovsky that a grand jury in Massachusetts had indicted Mr. Sivard for the crime of kidnapping and that Mr. Sivard was wanted for that felony. The WSPD requested that the Pulaski County Police Department detain Mr. Sivard for extradition by Massachusetts.

On February 3, Officer Duhnovsky informed Daniel P. Murphy, Pulaski County's Prosecuting Attorney, of Mr. Sivard's arrest the previous night and also that Mr. Sivard was wanted for kidnapping in Massachusetts. Mr. Murphy advised Officer Duhnovsky that because the crime of kidnapping was substantially more serious than the arrest for battery, Pulaski County would hold Mr. Sivard pursuant to Massachusetts' oral request for extradition. Mr. Murphy instructed Officer Duhnovsky to notify the Massachusetts authorities that Pulaski County was holding Mr. Sivard, and determine whether Massachusetts was willing to extradite Mr. Sivard.

On February 4, Mr. Murphy was notified that the Massachusetts authorities wanted to extradite Mr. Sivard and would provide the necessary documentation as quickly as possible to substantiate Pulaski County's hold on Mr. Sivard. The documentation was to include the certified copy of the warrant of indictment. Because Massachusetts wanted Mr. Sivard for a major felony, Mr. Murphy decided that Pulaski County would not proceed on the misdemeanor battery charges; instead, Pulaski County would hold Mr. Sivard for extradition to Massachusetts. Mr. Murphy requested that the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department hold Mr. Sivard for extradition.

About two weeks later, Mr. Murphy learned that the Massachusetts authorities had not yet provided any documentation to substantiate the kidnapping charge. Therefore, on February 19, Mr. Murphy filed the battery charges against Mr. Sivard, who appeared in person for an initial hearing. Between February 2 (the date of Mr. Sivard's arrest) and February 19 (the date that battery charges were filed), the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Lisa Traylor-Wolff contacted the Massachusetts authorities a number of times regarding the extradition of Mr. Sivard. At the February 19 hearing, bond was set at $2,500.00. Because Mr. Sivard apparently was unable to post the bond, Pulaski County continued to detain him.

On March 24, Mr. Sivard waived extradition to Massachusetts on the charges of kidnapping, assault and battery with a deadly weapon, and assault with a deadly weapon. Mr. Sivard was released from the Pulaski County jail for extradition to Massachusetts on March 27. Indiana dismissed the battery charge on April 2.

As stated above, the defendants have moved for summary judgment on the remaining issue of wrongful detention.

III.

In granting the defendants' previous summary judgment motion, this court found that there was no wrongful detention because the defendants detained Mr. Sivard pursuant to Indiana's Uniform Criminal Extradition Act ("Indiana's Extradition Act"). The Seventh Circuit reversed, finding a question of fact existed regarding exactly when the defendants knew of the charges pending against Mr. Sivard in Massachusetts, and when the defendants knew that the Massachusetts authorities wished to extradite Mr. Sivard. Specifically, the court of appeals stated that:

It is possible that such a lengthy detention, unjustified by Sivard's arrest for battery, might have been justified if carried out in response to a request from Massachusetts for Sivard's extradition. It is undisputed that Massachusetts had indicted Sivard two months before his arrest in Indiana, and that Massachusetts issued an arrest warrant one month after his arrest in Indiana. What remain unknown is when Pulaski County and its officials learned of the charges against Sivard in Massachusetts. A detention while awaiting extradition cannot be justified as such until the detaining state is aware of the other state's desire to try the detainee for another crime. If the defendants explain, and defend, their lengthy detention of Sivard as pre-extradition detention, they must show that they actually held him with the knowledge that he was wanted in another state. They have not done this.

* * * * * * The officials who detained Sivard have not explained at what point they detained him pursuant to the extradition request of Massachusetts; we cannot say when the procedural requirements of the Extradition Act would begin to apply.

Sivard v. Pulaski County, 959 F.2d at 665-66 (emphasis in original).

In their renewed summary judgment motion, the defendants have established that they knew of the charges in Massachusetts against Mr. Sivard within two hours after his arrest. The Pulaski County Sheriff's Department received the call about Mr. Sivard at 5:15 p.m. on February 2 and arrested him shortly thereafter. At 7:19 p.m., the WSPD informed Officer Duhnovsky that a grand jury in Massachusetts had indicted Mr. Sivard for the crime of kidnapping and that Mr. Sivard was wanted for that felony. The WSPD also requested that the Pulaski County Police Department detain Mr. Sivard for extradition by Massachusetts. Thus, two hours after Mr. Sivard's arrest, Officer Duhnovsky knew of the Massachusetts charges pending against Mr. Sivard and also knew that Massachusetts wanted Mr. Sivard detained for extradition.

The defendants also have shown that they knew on February 4, at the very latest, that Massachusetts wanted to extradite Mr. Sivard. On February 3, Officer Duhnovsky informed Mr. Murphy that Mr. Sivard was wanted for kidnapping in Massachusetts. Mr. Murphy advised Officer Duhnovsky that Pulaski County would hold Mr. Sivard pursuant to Massachusetts' oral request for extradition. Mr. Murphy instructed Officer Duhnovsky to notify Massachusetts authorities that Pulaski County was holding Mr. Sivard, and to determine whether Massachusetts was willing to extradite Mr. Sivard.

On February 4, Mr. Murphy was notified that Massachusetts authorities wanted to extradite Mr. Sivard and that they would be providing the necessary documentation as quickly as possible to substantiate Pulaski County's hold on Mr. Sivard. Because Massachusetts wanted Mr. Sivard for a major felony, Mr. Murphy decided that Pulaski County would not proceed on the misdemeanor battery charges; instead, Pulaski County would hold Mr. Sivard for extradition to Massachusetts.

On February 4, Mr. Murphy told the Sheriff's Department to hold Mr. Sivard for extradition. Thus, at some time between February 2 and February 4, all the defendants had learned of the Massachusetts charges pending against Mr. Sivard and that Massachusetts wanted to extradite Mr. Sivard. The defendants were merely waiting for the documentation necessary to extradite Mr. Sivard to arrive from the Massachusetts' authorities. From February 4 (at the very latest) until his extradition, the defendants were holding Mr. Sivard at the...