Torraco v. Port Authority of New York & New Jersey
| Decision Date | 17 March 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. 05 Civ. 5572(BMC).,05 Civ. 5572(BMC). |
| Citation | 539 F.Supp.2d 632 |
| Parties | John TORRACO and William Winstanley, Plaintiffs, v. PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK & NEW JERSEY, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
Louis A. Zayas, Law Office of Louis A. Zayas, Hackensack, NJ, and William M. Gustavson, Cincinnati, OH, for Plaintiffs.
Kathleen Gill Miller, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New York City, for Defendants.
The two plaintiffs in this action have alleged claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 arising from separate incidents. The unifying element is that with regard to each incident, plaintiffs assert that defendants failed to recognize plaintiffs' rights under 18 U.S.C. § 926A ("§ 926A"), a statute which, under certain circumstances, allows gun owners to transport their firearms interstate without incurring criminal liability under local gun laws.
The case is before me on defendants' motion for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, the motion is granted.
Mr. Torraco is a resident of Florida, an attorney licensed there and in the District of Columbia, and the owner of an Astra pistol. On October 15, 2004, he flew from Florida to La Guardia Airport with his then-wife. He went from LaGuardia to stay with his mother in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. He owns a different property in Franklin Lakes, which he leases to his father, and his pistol was left there while he was in Franklin Lakes. Two days later, on October 17, 2004, Mr. Torraco's mother drove him and his wife back to Queens, intending to make a stop at a friend's house in Queens before going on to LaGuardia. However, after arriving at the friend's house, they apparently decided to have Mr. Torraco's friend drive them to the airport after their brief visit, which he did, instead of Mr. Torraco's mother. The unloaded pistol was transported during the trip from New Jersey to the friend's house, and then to LaGuardia, in a carrying case.
Upon check-in at the airport, Mr. Torraco advised the airline ticket agent that he was carrying a pistol in a case and wanted to check it through with his luggage. He had previously researched the procedure for transporting firearms under federal law and believed he was in compliance. The airline ticket agent tagged the firearm with an orange firearms declaration tag and checked it through. She also advised him that it was standard operating procedure to notify the Port Authority Police when a passenger declares a weapon, which she did.
Defendant Police Officer Anthony Espinal arrived at the scene and inquired as to whether Mr. Torraco had a New York license for the firearm. Mr. Torraco, specifically identifying 18 U.S.C. § 926A, explained that federal law preempted any local licensing requirements, and allowed him to transport the firearm. Officer Espinal was unfamiliar with the statute. He therefore called his superior, defendant Sgt. Lawrence Goldberg.
Sgt. Goldberg testified at deposition that upon arriving on scene, he asked Mr. Torraco and his wife which of them possessed the gun, but that neither of them responded, which he considered to be evasive. He asked them two or three more times, finally telling them that if one of them did not acknowledge possession, he would take them both in for further investigation. Mr. Torraco then acknowledged that the firearm was his. Sgt. Goldberg asked if he had a New York permit, to which Mr. Torraco explained that under 18 U.S.C. § 926A, he didn't need one. Sgt. Goldberg asked if he had any documentation showing that he was lawfully in possession of the gun.1 Mr. Torraco continued to assert that he needed no such documentation to transport the weapon through New York under federal law.
At some point prior to or during this conversation, a Transportation Security Administration ("TSA") Supervisor, Melvin Birch, arrived at the scene. He took the position that Mr. Torraco was correct, and that under federal law, Mr. Torraco was permitted to transport the weapon without regard to local law.2 Sgt. Goldberg understood the agent to be saying that the weapon was properly packaged in accordance with federal regulations, but that was irrelevant to him. Sgt. Goldberg stated that unless Mr. Torraco could establish legal possession, the federal statute did not override New York State law prohibiting the carrying of firearms.3 Thus, notwithstanding Agent Birch's position; Sgt. Goldberg and Officer Espinal arrested Mr. Torraco and his wife for a violation of New York Penal Law § 265.01(1), Possession of a Firearm in the Fourth Degree: "A person is guilty of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree when ... [h]e possesses any firearm." When asked at deposition upon what basis he determined to make the arrest, Sgt. Goldberg testified:
Mr. Torraco had a weapon within [the] confines of the State of New York. I tried to determine that he was legally in possession of the weapon. I could not do so, based on the fact that he could not produce any kind of documentation, ownership, possession, bill of sale, any kind of licensing permits, anything else....
[The decision to arrest was] based on the evasiveness and not responding to me initially and not having any documentation.
Mr. Torraco was held until the next day, when he was arraigned in Queens County Criminal Court on the charge. (The record does not show what happened to Mr. Torraco's former wife, but since she is not a plaintiff here, it does not appear to be material.) He was apparently released on bail or recognizance. His attorney moved to dismiss on the ground of federal preemption. The motion was carried to April 6, 2005; the District Attorney failed to respond to the motion, although he cross-moved to dismiss in the interests of justice. The Court denied the District Attorney's motion and granted Mr. Torraco's motion, finding that the failure to respond to Mr. Torraco's motion was a concession on the merits.
Mr. Winstanley resides in Westchester. He owns three firearms (at least) for which he has permits. On April 1, 2005, he went to JFK Airport to board a flight for Phoenix. He declared the guns to the ticket agent, and again as per standard operating procedure, she called Port Authority Police. Defendant Officer Paulson arrived at the scene and requested, and was shown, the permits for the weapons and Mr. Winstanley's driver's license. He asked Mr. Winstanley if he had an Arizona permit. Mr. Winstanley advised Officer Paulsen that he did not need a permit to openly carry a weapon in Arizona, but that he did have a Florida permit, which permitted him to carry a concealed weapon in Arizona. Officer Paulsen disagreed, and Mr. Winstanley asked to speak to Officer Paulsen's supervisor. Officer Paulsen told Mr. Winstanley that if he persisted in asking to speak to a supervisor, he (Officer Paulsen) would place Mr. Winstanley under arrest. He said that Mr. Winstanley would not be permitted to board the aircraft with the firearms.
Mr. Winstanley changed his flight to the next day, apparently anticipating that the delay in getting approval to board with the firearms would cause him to miss his scheduled flight, and there were no other flights on his ticketed airline that day. He then made his way to the Port Authority Police Headquarters at JFK, and spoke to an unidentified Lieutenant. After some discussion and delay, the Lieutenant agreed with Mr. Winstanley that he did not need a permit in Arizona, but by that time, Mr. Winstanley had indeed missed his flight.
The next day, Mr. Winstanley returned to the airport to try to get another flight. He was told by another officer (who is unidentified) the he had the wrong type of carrying case, although it was one that Mr. Winstanley had used for years. He bought a compliant gun case from the airline without delay, and apparently would have made that flight, but the flight was canceled due to weather and there were again no other flights on his ticketed airline going out that day. The next day, after making some unsuccessful telephone calls to the Port Authority police at JFK to try to pre-clear his transport of the firearms, he returned to JFK, and was permitted to board the flight to Arizona, checking through his pistols upon producing his New York permit and driver's license.
Plaintiffs allege five claims for relief: (1) under § 1983, injunctive relief against the Port Authority and Sgt. Goldberg, enjoining them from enforcing local law in derogation of 18 U.S.C. § 926A; (2) under 28 U.S.C. § 2201, declaratory relief against these same defendants, declaring them in violation of federal law for failing to apply 18 U.S.C. § 926A; (3) under § 1983, for damages against the individual police officer defendants in favor of Mr. Torraco; (4) under § 1983, for damages against the individual police officer defendants in favor of Mr. Winstanley; (5) under § 1983, for damages against the Port Authority and its policymakers in favor of both plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs' legal theories are not entirely clear. For Mr. Winstanley, who only missed his flight, the claim appears to be that (a) his right to travel was infringed; and (b) § 926A creates an independent right to transport firearms, which was also infringed. Mr. Winstanley contends that both of these rights are enforceable by an action for damages under § 1983. For Mr. Torraco, who was arrested, the claim is either or both that Sgt. Goldberg violated: (a) his Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure; and (b) his independent right to carry firearms under § 926A. Again, Mr. Torraco seeks to enforce one or both of these rights under § 1983.
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