Yeksigian v. Nappi, No. 89-1601
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit) |
| Writing for the Court | Before POSNER, RIPPLE and KANNE; RIPPLE |
| Citation | 900 F.2d 101 |
| Parties | Charles YEKSIGIAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Ralph NAPPI, Howard Nicholas, and City of Chicago, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Docket Number | No. 89-1601 |
| Decision Date | 16 April 1990 |
Page 101
v.
Ralph NAPPI, Howard Nicholas, and City of Chicago,
Defendants-Appellees.
Seventh Circuit.
Decided April 16, 1990.
Page 102
William T. Huyck, Chicago, Ill., for plaintiff-appellant.
Frederick S. Rhine, Asst. Corp. Counsel, Office of the Corp. Counsel and Mary L. Mikva, Office of Corp. Counsel, Appeals Div., Chicago, Ill., for defendants-appellees.
Before POSNER, RIPPLE and KANNE, Circuit Judges.
RIPPLE, Circuit Judge.
Charles Yeksigian appeals the dismissal of his federal civil rights claim and pendent state claims against defendants Ralph Nappi, Howard Nicholas, and the City of Chicago. For the following reasons, we reverse the judgment of dismissal and remand the case to the district court.
A. Facts
On appeal from the dismissal of a complaint under Rule 12(b)(6), we must accept as true all the plaintiff's well-pleaded factual allegations and the inferences reasonably drawn from them. Zinser v. Rose, 868 F.2d 938, 939 (7th Cir.1989); Gillman v. Burlington N. R.R., 878 F.2d 1020, 1022 (7th Cir.1989). We shall affirm the dismissal only if the plaintiff has failed to allege any set of facts upon which relief may be granted. Zinser, 868 F.2d at 939.
According to the complaint, plaintiff Charles Yeksigian is a journeyman electrician who has been a career service employee of the City of Chicago since 1962. Defendant Ralph Nappi is employed by the City of Chicago as an electrical mechanics foreman for the Chicago Department of Aviation. Since August 1987, Mr. Nappi has been Mr. Yeksigian's supervisor. Defendant Howard Nicholas is employed by the City of Chicago as the Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Aviation. On December 14, 1987, plaintiff reported to work for his regular shift from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the H & R Building at O'Hare Airport. At approximately 12:00 noon, Mr. Yeksigian was working at the RB40 Building at O'Hare when he decided to go to lunch at one of the main terminal buildings, where the employees in Mr. Yeksigian's unit had express permission to eat lunch. Mr. Yeksigian drove his car to the main terminals via the only possible route, which required him to leave the airport on an access road, cross over at the first exit, and re-enter the airport. When Mr. Yeksigian returned to the H & R Building at approximately 1:00 p.m., he was confronted by defendant Nappi, who accused him of violating a work rule that forbade leaving the airport. Mr. Nappi then ordered Mr. Yeksigian to sign out and go home; Mr. Yeksigian refused to obey the order and returned to work.
When Yeksigian refused to sign out, Nappi called the Chicago police and asked them to arrest Yeksigian for disorderly conduct. According to the complaint, in attempting to procure the arrest of Yeksigian, Nappi knowingly made false statements to the police and signed a criminal complaint stating that Yeksigian had been suspended from his job, that his presence
Page 103
on the job was causing a safety hazard, that Yeksigian was acting to alarm and disturb others, and that he was inciting a breach of the peace. Moreover, in an effort to secure Yeksigian's arrest, Nappi arranged to have one of the Chicago police officers speak to defendant Nicholas, who also requested that the plaintiff be arrested.At approximately 1:30 p.m. that afternoon, Yeksigian was arrested on the charge of disorderly conduct and was held in the lockup at O'Hare until approximately 3:00 p.m. At that time, plaintiff was taken in handcuffs to the Jefferson Park Police Station, placed in that station's lockup, photographed, and fingerprinted. At approximately 5:30 p.m., he was released on bond.
As a result of these actions, Yeksigian sued Nappi, Nicholas, and the City of Chicago under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983. 1 He claimed that defendants Nappi and Nicholas were "at all times relevant ... acting in their official capacities and under color of law." R.1 at 4. Thus, Yeksigian alleged that Nappi and Nicholas willfully and maliciously violated his constitutional rights by procuring his arrest. He further alleged that defendant Nicholas' policymaking authority regarding the decision to have him arrested subjected the City of Chicago to municipal liability under Sec. 1983.
B. District Court Order
In a brief memorandum opinion and order, the district court granted all three defendants' motions to dismiss. Mem.Op. No. 88 C 5875, 1989 WL 10865 (Feb. 2, 1989) [hereinafter Mem.Op.]. The district court based its decision to dismiss on the conclusion that Mr....
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