Williams v. Franzoni, 55
| Decision Date | 03 December 1954 |
| Docket Number | No. 55,Docket 23148.,55 |
| Parties | Charles R. WILLIAMS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Geno H. FRANZONI, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
Abatiell, Radigan & Delliveneri, Rutland, Vt. (David W. Kahn, William M. Kahn, New York City, of counsel), for plaintiff-appellant.
Christopher A. Webber, Rutland, Vt., for defendant-appellee.
Before CHASE, MEDINA and HARLAN, Circuit Judges.
Charles R. Williams, a citizen of New York, was arrested on January 4, 1951, within the County of Rutland, Vermont, by two deputies of the Sheriff of Rutland County on three writs in civil actions issued by the Rutland County Court. That court is one of general jurisdiction and its jurisdiction over the causes of action and each of the processes is clear. The arrest was made in all respects pursuant to the command of the writs and thereafter the defendant in the action, thus arrested, was held in custody in Rutland County jail, also pursuant to the command of the writs, for twenty-two days, being then discharged on a writ of habeas corpus.
Following that, he brought this suit to recover from the sheriff, who is legally responsible for the acts of his deputies, the damages alleged to have been suffered on account of his arrest and imprisonment. The complaint alleged that the plaintiff was, when arrested and imprisoned, an enlisted man on active service "in the United States Air Force, a component of the Army of the United States" and that the sheriff's deputies "failed to obey the provisions of law in the manner of serving said writs, but to the contrary, by making said arrests, violated the provisions of Section 610, Title 10, of the United States Code Annotated, then in full force and effect and providing that, `no enlisted man shall during his term of service be arrested on mesne process.'" There is no allegation, however, that the officers acted with malice or that the fact that the defendant named in the writs was an enlisted man was shown by any of the writs the sheriff's deputies were serving when they arrested him or that they purported to be other than writs issued by an authorized officer of the court.
Under Section 1535 of the Vermont Statutes (1947) a sheriff is bound to receive, execute and return "all writs and precepts issuing from lawful authority" and under Section 1536 he is liable to a fine and for damages if he fails so to do.
This appeal is from an order, 120 F.Supp. 444, granting the defendant's motion, before trial, to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a cause of action and, as jurisdiction is based entirely on diversity, of course the law of Vermont is controlling under Erie R. Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 58 S.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188.
The decisions of the Supreme Court of Vermont in cases raising issues as to false arrest and imprisonment on mesne process fall into two distinct classifications: those dealing with suits brought against a party at whose instance the process was issued and those brought against the officer who served the process. We need not be concerned with those in which plaintiffs in the...
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Miller v. Stinnett
...F. 776; Reilly v. United States Fidelity & Guaranty Co., 9 Cir., 15 F.2d 314; Schneider v. Kessler, 3 Cir., 97 F.2d 542; Williams v. Franzoni, 2 Cir., 217 F.2d 533; Pallett v. Thompkins, 10 Wash.2d 697, 118 P.2d 190; Vallindras v. Massachusetts Bonding & Insurance Co., 42 Cal.2d 149, 265 P.......
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Fleming v. McEnany
...which is not void on its face provides sufficient justification for the officer who serves or otherwise executes it. In Williams v. Franzoni, 217 F.2d 533 (2 Cir. 1954), aff'g 120 F.Supp. 444 (D.Vt.1954), we affirmed an order dismissing before trial a complaint which sought to recover damag......
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Horton v. Chamberlain, 86-539
...officer's liability depends on whether there is a defect discoverable by an examination of the process itself. See Williams v. Franzoni, 217 F.2d 533, 534 (2d Cir.1954). His inquiry as to the validity of the process is limited to an examination of the instrument itself. Fleming v. McEnany, ......
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Morrill v. Hamel
...325 Mass. 109, 112, 89 N.E.2d 260, 14 A.L.R.2d 377. Our conclusion finds support in Williams v. Franzoni, D.C.Vt., 120 F.Supp. 444; Id., 2 Cir., 217 F.2d 533. There the plaintiff, an enlisted member 2 of the United States Air Force, was arrested by the defendant deputy sheriffs of Rutland C......