Plaintiff-appellant August F. Cornell ("Cornell") appeals from the January 11, 2011 judgment of the District Court granting summary judgment to defendants-appellees, Sergeant Scott Kapral ("Kapral") and the Town of DeWitt (the "Town"), and dismissing Cornell's malicious prosecution, malicious abuse of process, false arrest, and Monell claims brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
We assume the parties' familiarity with the underlying facts, the procedural history of the case, and the issues on appeal. Briefly, Cornell was the owner of Erie Gem and Watch, a consignment retail shop located in DeWitt, New York. In or around March 2006, a former customer of Erie Gem and Watch, Michael Hughes, contacted the Town of DeWitt Police Department regarding a transaction he had entered with Cornell. Kapral, an investigator employed by the Town of DeWitt Police Department, gathered voluntary sworn affidavits from former customers and employees of Erie Gem and Watch. Cornell was arrested on April 5, 2006, and charged with two counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree and a Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree. The Onondaga County Grand Jury returned an indictment in September 2006, charging Cornell in eight counts of Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree and a Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree. The indictment was subsequently dismissed on the ground that Cornell was not properly afforded the opportunity to testify before the grand jury.
We review an order granting summary judgment de novo, drawing all factual inferences in favor of the non-moving party. See, e.g., Paneccasio v. Unisource Worldwide, Inc., 532 F.3d 101, 107 (2d Cir. 2008). "Summary judgment is proper only when, construing the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-movant, `there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.'" Doninger v. Niehoff, 642 F.3d 334, 344 (2d Cir. 2011) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a)). We review for abuse of discretion the denial of leave for discovery under Rule 56(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Miller v. Wolpoff & Abramson, L.L.P., 321 F.3d 292, 300 (2d Cir. 2003).
On appeal, Cornell principally contends that summary judgment was premature because he was "deprived of the opportunity to prove his claims" by engaging in discovery. Pl.'s Br. 9. This argument is without merit. The record makes clear that in the six months that elapsed between the parties' initial disclosures in November 2009 and the defendants' motion for summary judgment in May 2010, neither party served a discovery demand or noticed a deposition.
Cornell further argues that the District Court erred by holding that the grand jury indictment of Cornell established the existence of probable cause and therefore barred Cornell's claim for malicious prosecution. Under New York law, a grand jury indictment "creates a presumption of probable cause that may only be rebutted by evidence that the indictment was procured by `fraud, perjury, the suppression of evidence or other police conduct undertaken in bad faith.'" Savino v. City of New York, 331 F.3d 63, 72 (2d Cir. 2003) (quoting Colon v. City of New York, 60 N.Y.2d 78, 83 (1983)).
Cornell has failed to allege facts or adduce evidence demonstrating that the indictment was procured by "`fraud, perjury, the suppression of evidence,'" or other police misconduct. Id. And the fact that the indictment was subsequently dismissed on procedural grounds does not vitiate the presumption of probable cause that arises from the issuance of the indictment. For that reason, the District Court correctly held that the prosecution against Cornell was supported by probable cause, and therefore dismissed Cornell's claim for malicious prosecution.
Upon a review of the record and the arguments of counsel, we reject Cornell's remaining arguments, including his argument in the alternative that Kapral is not entitled to qualified immunity, as lacking in merit. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment below substantially for the reasons stated by the District Court.
We reject all of Cornell's claims on appeal. Accordingly, the judgment of the District Court is