Stillwagon v. City of Del.

• Decision Date: 31 March 2016
• Docket Number: Case No. 2:14–cv–807
• Parties: James R. Stillwagon, Plaintiff, v. The City of Delaware, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Ohio

175 F.Supp.3d 874

James R. Stillwagon, Plaintiff,

v.The City of Delaware, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 2:14–cv–807

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

Signed March 31, 2016

James Donald McNamara, Columbus, OH, for Plaintiff.

Robert Henry Stoffers, Mazanec Raskin & Ryder Co. LPA, Columbus, OH, for Defendants.

Richard O. Mattingly, Burton, OH, pro se.

OPINION AND ORDER

EDMUND A. SARGUS, JR., CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This matter is before the Court on the Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings [ECF No. 29] filed by Defendants City of Delaware, Detective Benjamin Segaard, Former Detective Patrick Gerke, Officer Adam Willauer, and Detective Sergeant Jonathan Radabaugh (collectively, the “Municipal Defendants”).¹ Plaintiff James R. Stillwagon's (“Plaintiff” or “Stillwagon”) Motion to Strike [ECF No. 48] is also before the Court. For the following reasons, the Court DENIES the Motion to Strike [ECF No. 48] and GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART the Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings [ECF No. 29].

I. BACKGROUND

This case stems from a series of widely publicized events that occurred in Delaware, Ohio, and the surrounding highways on September 30, 2012. Given that the Court accepts all of Plaintiff's well-pleaded material allegations as true for purposes of a motion for judgment on the pleadings, the Court will outline the facts of this case as Plaintiff alleges them in his Complaint.

The Court begins with some biographical information. This information is relevant, Stillwagon claims, because it was “the subject of discussion by the defendants, including critical or insulting comments, at the time when the decision was made to prosecute [him].” (Compl. ¶¶ 10-11 [ECF No. 2].) Stillwagon played football at The Ohio State University in the late 1960s. (Id. ¶ 10.) He excelled as a lineman. (See id. ) After college, Stillwagon played professionally in the Canadian Football League. (Id. ) Stillwagon has since retired from professional football. (Id. ¶ 11.) He and his wife now own and operate two businesses based out of Dublin, Ohio. (Id. )

A. Events on Route 42

On September 30, 2012, Stillwagon was driving northeast on Route 42 toward Delaware, Ohio. Stillwagon was riding his motorcycle. (See Compl. ¶ 19.) He was also carrying a handgun. (Id. ¶ 20.) He carried the weapon legally, as he had obtained a concealed carry permit several years earlier. (Id. ) The pistol was stored in the tank bag of his motorcycle. (Id. ¶ 21.)

Defendant Mattingly was also driving on Route 42 on September 30. (Id. ¶ 22.) Mattingly had consumed “a large amount of alcohol at home.” (Id. ) He then continued drinking as he drove his pickup truck. (Id. )

Stillwagon and Mattingly first came into contact at a Marathon station located at the intersection of Routes 42 and 33. (Id. ¶ 23.) Stillwagon had stopped to buy gas; Mattingly had stopped for beer. (Id. ¶¶ 23-24.) Both Stillwagon and Mattingly were parked at pumps. (Id. ¶ 24.) Mattingly was parked behind Stillwagon. (Id. ) As Stillwagon pulled out of the station, Mattingly followed. (Id. ¶ 25.)

Just northeast of the Marathon station, Route 42 narrows from four lanes to two lanes. (Id. ¶ 26.) As Stillwagon approached this merger, Mattingly “sped past him on the left, cutting off [Stillwagon] and nearly hitting him. The truck came within six inches of [Stillwagon's] motorcycle, startling [Stillwagon].” (Id. ) As he made the pass, Mattingly was “looking directly at [Stillwagon], laughing and grinning.” (Id. ) Mattingly then sped off out of Stillwagon's sight. (Id. ¶ 27.)

Less than two miles down the highway, Mattingly stopped his truck in the middle of the lane. “Mattingly was waving a blue metal baseball bat out of the driver's side window, and signaling for the motorcycle to go around him.” (Id. ) Stillwagon did not drive around the truck; instead, he stopped and waited 40 to 50 yards behind the truck. (Id. ¶ 28.) Eventually Mattingly started moving again. (Id. ) He fell in behind a slower moving car. (Id. ) Stillwagon took this opportunity to distance himself from Mattingly. Stillwagon passed Mattingly and the slower moving car. (Id. )

Moments later, Mattingly also passed the car. (Id. ¶ 29.) After passing, Mattingly continued driving in the left lane of the two-lane highway. (Id. ) Several vehicles traveling in that lane (the southbound lane) had to swerve off the road to avoid a head-on collision with Mattingly's truck. (Id. ¶ 31.) Mattingly pulled up next to Stillwagon and shook the baseball bat at him. (Id. ¶ 29.) Mattingly then “made several cut-in moves into [Stillwagon's] bike, attempting to hit it.” (Id. ) On the third cut-in, Stillwagon braked. (Id. ) Mattingly responded by making a sharp right turn immediately in front of Stillwagon and slamming on his brakes. (Id. ) Stillwagon braked again, just in time to avoid colliding with the back of Mattingly's truck. (Id. )

Mattingly and Stillwagon were approaching a traffic light by this point. (Id. ¶ 32.) The light was red. (Id. ) Mattingly drove through the red light and continued toward Delaware. (Id. ) Stillwagon stopped at the light and then, after the light turned green, pulled into a gravel parking area. (Id. ) Stillwagon wanted to distance himself from Mattingly. (Id. ) While Stillwagon waited in the parking area, two motorists who had witnessed Mattingly's maneuvers stopped to ask if Stillwagon was alright. (Id. ) One of the motorists called the police at Stillwagon's request. (Id. ¶ 33.) The police indicated that there was nothing that they could do other than take a report. (Id. ) Stillwagon and the other motorists “felt that this would be pointless” and decided against filing a report. (Id. ) Stillwagon waited for approximately ten minutes and then continued on his way. (Id. ¶ 34.) Stillwagon did not expect to see Mattingly again. (Id. ) “As a precaution, however, [Stillwagon] removed his firearm from the tank bag and secured it on his person” before leaving the parking area. (Id. )

Mattingly, meanwhile, had circled his truck behind a building four miles down the road; he was waiting for Stillwagon. (Id. ¶ 35.) Stillwagon passed the building and Mattingly pulled onto the road behind him. (Id. ¶ 36.) There were several cars between the two of them. (Id. ) To catch up to Stillwagon, Mattingly entered the southbound lane and passed approximately eight cars. (Id. ¶ 37.) At least three cars in that lane had to pull off the road to avoid a head-on collision with Mattingly's truck. (Id. ) “Mattingly then pulled back into the right lane and accelerated his truck in an attempt to strike [Stillwagon] from behind.” (Id. ) The truck came within inches of Stillwagon's motorcycle. (Id. ) To avoid being rammed by Mattingly, Stillwagon sped up to almost 85 miles per hour. (Id. )

Mattingly slowed down and backed away from the bike. (Id. ¶ 38.) However, he soon accelerated into the southbound lane and “started his cut-in moves again.” (Id. ) Stillwagon braked. (Id. ) Mattingly then cut in front of Stillwagon and slammed on his brakes, “causing [Stillwagon] to nearly crash into the back of Mattingly's truck for the second time.” (Id. ) Stillwagon narrowly avoided a collision by swerving and braking hard. (Id. )

Stillwagon attempted to distance himself from Mattingly, once again, by slowing down. (Id. ) And once again, Mattingly continued down the road until he was out of Stillwagon's sight. (Id. )

B. Events on the Exit Ramp and in the AutoZone Parking Lot

Route 42 turns into a four-lane divided highway as it approaches Delaware. (Compl. ¶ 39 [ECF No. 2].) An exit ramp to the right leads to William Street. (Id. ) As Still wagon came to this portion of Route 42, he kept to the right to take the William Street exit. (Id. ¶¶ 40-41.) Mattingly, at this point, was ahead of Stillwagon and driving in the far left lane. (Id. ¶ 41.) Mattingly was traveling slowly—10 to 20 miles per hour. (Id. ) Mattingly had almost passed the William Street exit. (Id. ¶ 42.) But when Mattingly noticed that Stillwagon was exiting the highway, he made a sudden right turn, crossing two lanes of traffic to merge onto the ramp. (Id. )

When Mattingly got to the bottom of the exit ramp, the traffic light was green. (Id. ¶ 43.) Mattingly, however, stopped his truck in the middle of the exit lanes and looked back toward Stillwagon, (Id. ) The ramp is enclosed to the left by a concrete wall and to the right by a heavily wooded hill and a guardrail. (Id. ¶ 44.) Rather than drive past Mattingly, Stillwagon decided to wait on the right side of the exit ramp. (Id. )

Seeing that Stillwagon had stopped, Mattingly put his truck in reverse and started backing up. (Id. ¶ 45.) Stillwagon “retrieved his pistol and pointed it at the oncoming truck. He did not intend or wish to shoot the driver, only to make the truck stop, so he aimed for an area on the rear of the truck bed by the tailgate latch, to the right of the driver's position. [Stillwagon] fired three times.” (Id. ) Responding to the shots, Mattingly took his truck out of reverse, drove through a red light, and turned right onto William Street. (Id. )

After waiting at the light, Stillwagon turned right onto William Street. (Id. ¶ 46.) Once again, Mattingly was waiting. (Id. ) Mattingly was stopped in the right lane of the street. (Id. ) Stillwagon again attempted to avoid Mattingly. (Id. ¶ 47.) Stillwagon began to turn left into an AutoZone parking lot. (Id. ¶ 48.)

Mattingly preempted Stillwagon's escape though. Mattingly “turned sharply to the left across William Street, and cut in front of the motorcycle, into the parking lot.” (Id. ) Mattingly started to loop around toward Stillwagon. (Id. ¶ 49.) To protect himself from the truck, Stillwagon quickly parked next to a 2-foot high concrete light pole stand near the lot's entrance. (Id. ) Stillwagon retrieved his pistol and held it visibly in his hand. (Id. )

Mattingly finished his loop and drove by Stillwagon and the concrete pillar at a distance of only a few feet. (Id. ¶ 50.) The...