NICHOLAS G. GARAUFIS, District Judge.
On July 7, 2017, this court issued a Memorandum and Order (the "M&O") granting in part and denying in part Defendant's motions for summary judgment and denying Plaintiff's cross-motions for summary judgment. (July 7, 2017, Mem. & Order ("M&O") (Dkt. 67).) On May 8, 2018, Plaintiff moved for reconsideration of the court's conclusion in the M&O that there remained a genuine issue of fact as to whether Plaintiff's deprivation of liberty came "as a result" of Defendant Civil's actions. (Mot. for Recons. ("P1. Mot.") (Dkt. 81); Mem. in Supp. of Mot. ("Pl. Mem.") (Dkt. 82).) The court has reviewed Plaintiff's motion for reconsideration and concludes that it lacks merit. Accordingly, the motion is DENIED.
The court provides a short summary of the facts pertinent to the motion for reconsideration.
On September 22, 2014, Plaintiff commenced this action. (Compl. (Dkt. 1).) Plaintiff brings multiple claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, stemming from his April 19, 2013 arrest and subsequent prosecution for criminal possession of marijuana. Plaintiff was previously arrested twice inside of 125 East 18th Street, Apartment 51, Brooklyn, New York (the "Apartment") for criminal possession of marijuana. (Defs. R. 56.1 Statement ("Defs. 56.1") (Dkt. 40) ¶¶ 6, 13-14.). Defendant Civil was present for both prior arrests, and in both cases the criminal complaint indicated that Plaintiff lived or resided at the Apartment. (
On April 19, 2013, Defendant Civil executed a search warrant at the Apartment. (
During his search, Defendant Civil found 18 small plastic bags of marijuana in the living room of the Apartment.
Plaintiff was not present at the Apartment when the search was conducted but he arrived shortly thereafter while officers were still in the Apartment and was placed under arrest. (Defs. 56.1 ¶¶ 27-28, 32-33.) Plaintiff was then transported to the police precinct where he alleges he was subjected to a strip search. (
"This is what happens when you let strange people into our apartment." (
On July 18, 2014, the charges stemming from Plaintiff's April 19, 2013 arrest were dismissed by the state court. (Defs. 56.1 ¶ 45.) Plaintiff subsequently brought this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Defendants the City of New York (the "City"), Sergeant Luke Denesopolis, Detectives Mike Civil and Jason Jones, and Police Officers Jane/John Doe(s) #1-10. (Am. Compl. (Dkt. 14).) He asserted the following causes of action against Defendants: (1) false arrest; (2) malicious prosecution; (3) failure to intervene; (4) illegal strip search; (5) excessive pre-arraignment detention; and (6) denial of a fair trial. (
Defendants moved for summary judgment on all claims. (Defs. Mot. for Summ. J. (Dkt. 39).) Plaintiff opposed Defendants' motion and cross-moved for partial summary judgment on his false arrest and denial of a fair trial claims. (Pl. Cross-Mot. for Summ. J. (Dkt. 43).) The court referred Defendants' motion for summary judgment and Plaintiff's cross-motion for partial summary judgment (together, the "Cross-Motions") to Magistrate Judge Steven L. Gold for a Report and Recommendation ("R&R") pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72(b)(1). (Nov. 28, 2016, Order Referring Mot.) On April 17, 2017, Judge Gold issued an R&R, recommending that Defendants' Motion be granted in part and denied in part and that Plaintiff's Motion be denied. (R&R at 2.) Plaintiff and Defendants each filed timely objections to the R&R. (Defs. Objs. to R&R ("Defs. Objs.") (Dkt. 64); Pl. Objs. to R&R ("Pl. Objs.") (Dkt. 65).) The court ultimately dismissed these objections and adopted the R&R in full. (M&O at 2.) On May 8, 2018, Plaintiff moved for reconsideration of the court's conclusion in the M&O that there remained a genuine issue of fact as to whether Plaintiff's deprivation of liberty came "as a result" of Defendant Civil's actions. (Pl. Mem.)
Local Civil Rule 6.3 provides that, within 14 days of the entry of an order, a party may move for reconsideration by filing a notice of motion and memorandum identifying "the matters or controlling decisions which counsel believes the Court has overlooked." Local Civ. R. 6.3. However, reconsideration of a previous order is an "extraordinary remedy to be employed sparingly in the interests of finality and conservation of scarce judicial resources."
The primary grounds justifying reconsideration are "an intervening change of controlling law, the availability of new evidence, or the need to correct a clear error or prevent manifest injustice."
Plaintiff argues that the court erred in denying partial summary judgment on his claim for denial of a fair trial "by misapply[ying] or misapprehend[ing] controlling precedent on this issue." (Pl. Mem. at 3.) In an argument also pressed in his objection to the R&R, Plaintiff contends that two discrete acts by Defendant Civil result in denial of fair trial claims: (1) the false statement in the Original Complaint, and (2) the disputed claim in the Superseding Complaint that Plaintiff said, "this is what happens when you let strange people into our apartment." (
Plaintiff suggests that the court "overlooked" both factual matters and the controlling precedent of
However, as discussed in the M&O, a genuine issue of fact remains as to whether Plaintiff's deprivation of liberty came "as a result" of Defendant Civil's actions. Denial of a fair trial claims based on fabrication of information arise in cases where: "(1) [an] investigating official (2) fabricates information (3) that is likely to influence a jury's verdict, (4) forwards that information to prosecutors, and (5) the plaintiff suffers a deprivation of life, liberty, or property as a result." Garnett 838 F.3d at 279 (describing the standard established in
As the court discussed in the M&O,
Because Plaintiff must still show his deprivation of liberty came "as a result" of the false statement, the court concluded that a question of fact remained regarding whether, without the false statements by Defendant Civil, the charges against Plaintiff would have been dropped or dismissed for insufficient evidence of Plaintiff's dominion and control over the marijuana. (M&O at 16.) Plaintiff's contentions do not establish that the court "overlooked" any matters relevant to the motion for summary judgment, and this court rejects the invitation to reconsider Plaintiff's argument from the previous hearing.
Plaintiff further argues that the question of whether the false statement caused a deprivation of liberty is inappropriate for jury determination in this case. He claims consideration of whether other factors "caused" his deprivation is inappropriate for trial because "[f]undamentally, trials are focused on what actually transpired and not what would have transpired had other actions been taken or not." (Pl. Mem. at 10.) However, other courts have followed
Plaintiff further raises concerns about the possibility of prejudicial hearsay testimony at trial. (Pl. Mem. at 9-10.) However, this concern is best addressed at the trial stage, in accordance with the court's power under Federal Rule of Evidence 403. Cf.
For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff's motion for reconsideration (Dkt. 81) is DENIED.
SO ORDERED.