Weg v. Macchiarola
| Decision Date | 02 March 1987 |
| Docket Number | No. 84 CIV. 4430 (PKL).,84 CIV. 4430 (PKL). |
| Citation | 654 F. Supp. 1189 |
| Parties | Theodore WEG, Plaintiff, v. Frank J. MACCHIAROLA, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Hyman & Rubin, New York City (Ernest L. Mathews, Jr., of counsel), for plaintiff.
Frederick A.O. Schwartz, Jr., Corp. Counsel, New York City (David Drueding, Thomas C. Crane, of counsel), for defendants.
Plaintiff, Theodore Weg ("Weg"), an employee of the Board of Education of the City of New York ("Board"), has brought this suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985, claiming that defendants 1— officials of the Board, the Department of Investigation of the City of New York ("Department"), and the District Attorney's Office — deprived him of his civil rights as secured by the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. Specifically, plaintiff alleges that defendants, under color of law, formed a conspiracy whereby plaintiff was imprisoned without probable cause, subjected to criminal proceedings, denied advancement opportunities in his job and career, as well as the chance to practice his profession, and denied the opportunity to seek employment outside the Board. Weg further alleges that defendants destroyed his reputation, invaded his privacy, disrupted his family life, and damaged his mental and physical well being.
The action is now before the Court upon defendant Landes' motion for summary judgment and dismissal. Landes argues that (1) he is absolutely immune from liability to Weg for his actions in prosecuting the criminal proceeding against Weg; and (2) the complaint otherwise fails to state a cause of action against him.2 For the reasons set forth below, the Court grants Landes' motion for summary judgment.
The following facts are developed from the affidavit of Theodore Weg, sworn to on October 2, 1986 ("Weg Aff."), and defendant's Rule 3(g) statement ( )3, as specifically indicated below.
Until his arrest in June of 1981, Weg was computer systems manager for the Board. He designed and developed computer systems on a computer reserved for research and development. Weg Aff., ¶ 5.
On June 24, 1981, Weg was arrested and issued a Desk Appearance Ticket. He was arraigned before a Judge of the Criminal Court of the City of New York for Kings County on July 2, 1981. D. Statement, ¶¶ 2-3.
Landes was an Assistant District Attorney in the Office of the District Attorney for Kings County from April, 1977 through June, 1982. Id. at ¶ 1. Landes was not involved in the initial decision to arrest and prosecute Weg, and did not participate in the case until he was assigned, on or around October 22, 1971, the responsibility for prosecuting the action against Weg. Id. at ¶¶ 4-6.
Pursuant to this assignment, Landes made several Court appearances, prepared two superseding informations, one on December 15, 1982 and one on January 5, 1982, and responded to various motions made in the case. The action was dismissed on April 14, 1981, by the Criminal Court of the City of New York for Kings County, on the grounds that it failed to state a crime, and failed to allege facts supporting each element of a crime. Id. at ¶¶ 7-8.
Landes participated in discussions within the District Attorney's office concerning whether or not to appeal, but was not responsible for the subsequent appeal. Apart from his prosecution of Weg, Landes had no other involvement with plaintiff. Landes left the District Attorney's office in June, 1982. Id. at ¶¶ 9-11.
Landes did not communicate, regarding Weg, with any fellow defendant in this case, except David Wolowick, Director of the Bureau of Supplies for the Board, Rolf Moulton, Director of the Computer Security Services Unit of the Department, Frank Nevins, a Police Officer with the N.Y.P.D., and E. Gordon Haesloop, Deputy Commissioner of the Department. All of these discussions took place within the scope of his duties as Assistant District Attorney and concerned the prosecution of Weg. Id. at ¶¶ 12-13.
Weg claims that Landes and the other defendants, acting under color of law, joined together in a conspiracy in violation of his civil rights and performed a series of discrete and specific acts in furtherance of this conspiracy. Landes allegedly joined this conspiracy, after it had already commenced, by assisting in these acts. Weg Aff. at ¶ 3. The only overt act Landes allegedly performed in furtherance of this conspiracy was the material alteration of a previously sworn complaint of Nevins and the presentation of this to the Criminal Court as if it were the sworn complaint of Nevins. Id. at ¶¶ 2, 4(a).
Landes's purported co-conspirators allegedly committed a number of other acts related to the conspiracy. Included among these are Weg's arrest, subsequent suspension, and the issuing of false and misleading publicity about Weg to the media and to many of Weg's business associates and professional contacts. Id. at ¶ 8. As a result of this alleged conspiracy, Weg suffered personal and professional injuries. Id. at ¶ 11.
Summary judgment shall be granted only if "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact" and the "moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). On a motion for summary judgment, the Court is mindful of the rule that it "cannot try issues of fact; it can only determine whether there are issues to be tried." Heyman v. Commerce and Indus. Ins. Co., 524 F.2d 1317, 1319-20 (2d Cir.1975) (citations omitted). Yet "it must be remembered that the mere existence of factual issues — where those issues are not material to the claims before the court — will not suffice to defeat a motion for summary judgment." Quarles v. Gen. Motors Corp., 758 F.2d 839, 840 (2d Cir.1985). Furthermore, a party "must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (citations omitted). While the Court "must resolve all ambiguities and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the party against whom summary judgment is sought," Heyman, supra, 524 F.2d at 1320 (citation omitted), if the evidence proffered to support plaintiff's theory and to rebut the motion for summary judgment "consists largely of conclusory statements ... such testimony, unsupported by documentary or other concrete evidence ... is simply not enough to create a genuine issue of fact...." Argus Inc. v. Eastman Kodak Co., 801 F.2d 38, 45 (2d Cir.1986). "Where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party, there is no `genuine issue for trial.'" Matsushita, supra, 106 S.Ct. at 1356 (citation omitted). Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, ___ U.S. ___, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (citations omitted); see also Ackerman v. Oryx Communications, Inc., 810 F.2d 336 (2d Cir.1987).
Landes' motion seeking summary judgment is based on his claim of absolute immunity for prosecutorial officers. The chief consideration for the Court is whether the doctrine of absolute prosecutorial immunity is applicable to the activities allegedly undertaken by Landes.
"In Imbler v. Pachtman, 424 U.S. 409, 96 S.Ct. 984, 47 L.Ed.2d 128 (1976), the Supreme Court held that there is absolute immunity from § 1983 liability for those prosecutorial activities `intimately associated with the judicial phase of the criminal process.'" Barr v. Abrams, Mihaly, Tepper, Mullane, Bottiglieri, and O'Connor, 810 F.2d 358, 360-61 (2d Cir.1987) (Kaufman, J.) (quoting Imbler, supra, 424 U.S. at 430, 96 S.Ct. at 994). In Taylor v. Kavanagh, 640 F.2d 450, 452 (2d Cir.1981), the Second Circuit held that the protected "`quasi-judicial activities' ... include the initiation of a prosecution and the presentation of the Government's case." (Citation omitted). "On the other hand, the Second Circuit pointed out where the prosecutors act in an `investigative' or `administrative' capacity, only qualified immunity operates." Barr, supra, 810 F.2d at 361 (citing Kavanagh, supra, 640 F.2d at 452; Powers v. Coe, 728 F.2d 97, 103 (2d Cir.1984)).
The doctrine of immunity for prosecutorial officials against claims arising from the performance of their duties serves an important policy goal. "The purpose of the immunity rule is to give to public officials entrusted with sensitive tasks a protected area of discretion within which to carry out their responsibilities." Barr, supra, at 361. It has long been felt that, without such immunity, government officials would be less vigilant and aggressive in the performance of their duties due to their concern over possible liability. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 239-40, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 1687-88, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974). This fear is especially profound in the context of the judicial system which requires the vigorous prosecution of cases by an attorney for the government and the fair and impartial supervision and decision making of a judge or magistrate. Imbler, supra, 424 U.S. at 426-7, 96 S.Ct. at 993; Taylor, supra, 640 F.2d at 453. Consequently, prosecutors and judges have been found to be absolutely immune under the common law from suits arising from acts pursuant to the performance of their official duties. Imbler, supra, 424 U.S. at 420, 96 S.Ct. at 990. That same absolute immunity has been extended to actions brought under § 1983. Imbler, supra, 424 U.S. at 427, 96 S.Ct. at 993.
As previously noted, not all the acts of a prosecuting attorney carry absolute immunity. In Imbler, the Supreme Court stressed the...
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