INDIRA TALWANI, District Judge.
Plaintiff Marie Winfield brings this civil rights action against Defendants Neil Perocchi, a detective with the Lawrence Police Department ("Det. Perocchi"), Lawrence General Hospital ("Hospital"), and Michael Fornesi, a security guard employed by the Hospital, for alleged damages arising from her June 2012 arrest at the hospital. Specifically, she alleges that, at Fornesi's direction, Det. Perocchi arrested her to prevent her from filing a complaint against Fornesi and two other security guards, and that the Hospital is vicariously liable for Fornesi's actions. Presently before the court are Fornesi and the Hospital's
On the evening of June 30, 2012, Plaintiff visited her husband, who was staying at the hospital as an inpatient. Def. Fornesi & Lawrence Gen. Hosp.'s Mot. Summ. J ["Fornesi Mot. Summ. J."] Ex. D ["Winfield Dep."] 19:3-21; 30:13-16 [#68-4] (Transcript of Deposition of Marie Winfield);
Plaintiff found the security guards "very threatening, really very aggressive" while in the elevator.
Fornesi, who was one of the security guards outside, avers that he again asked Plaintiff to leave the premises. Fornesi Mot. Summ. J. Ex. F ["Fornesi Aff."] ¶ 11 [#68-6] (Affidavit of Michael Fornesi). Recalling the exchange at her deposition, Plaintiff testified, "I really don't remember what [the guards] said. It seemed they were all talking at the same time. I don't remember anything they said." Winfield Dep. 38:6-9. Plaintiff remained on the premises and continued to talk to the security guards. Winfield Dep. 39:14-22.
Fornesi reentered the hospital and informed Det. Perocchi, who was working paid detail on site that night, that "there was a problem at the emergency entrance of the hospital with a visitor that would not leave the property." Fornesi Mot. Summ. J Ex. B ["Perocchi Aff."] ¶¶ 5-7 [#68-2] (Affidavit of Neil Perocchi). Det. Perocchi located Plaintiff outside and directed her to leave.
A movant is entitled to summary judgment if "there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). A genuine dispute of fact exists if an issue can be resolved in favor of either party.
To defeat a motion for summary judgment, the non-moving party must identify facts— either uncontested or disputed—that demonstrate the existence of a trialworthy issue.
Plaintiff raises the following causes of action against Det. Perocchi, all of which are rooted in the decision to arrest her: false and malicious arrest in violation of the Fourth Amendment (Count I); wrongful imprisonment and confinement in violation of the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments (Count II); violation of her First Amendment rights (Count III); and conspiracy to violate her First, Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights (Count IV). These constitutional claims arise under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 ("Section 1983"), which provides a vehicle for redressing constitutional violations caused by municipal or state actors.
Relief is barred under Section 1983 if an officer had probable cause to arrest the plaintiff.
Here, Defendants assert that Det. Perocchi had probable cause to arrest Plaintiff for criminal trespass. Under Massachusetts law, criminal trespass occurs when a person "without right enters or remains in . . . [a private building] . . . after having been forbidden so to do by the person who has lawful control of said premises." Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 266, § 120. A person in lawful control of property may "summarily revoke a licensee's right to enter the premises."
Defendants contend that such notice was given to Plaintiff to leave the property before the arrest. According to Fornesi's affidavit, he asked Plaintiff to leave while they were outside. In her memoranda in opposition to the motions, Plaintiff denies that any security guards told her to leave. Pl.'s Opp. to Defs.' Michael Fornesi & Lawrence Gen. Hosp.'s Mot. Summ. J. & Mem. L in Supp. ["Pl.'s Opp. to Fornesi's Mot."] 14 [#75]. However, in her sworn deposition testimony, she stated that she could not recall what the security guards said to her. Winfield Dep. 38:6-7 [#68-4]. Plaintiff's denials in her memoranda thus are unsupported by the record.
Defendants further have presented evidence that Fornesi advised Det. Perocchi that Plaintiff refused to leave the hospital. Perocchi Aff. ¶¶ 5-7 [#68-2]. In disputing this evidence, Plaintiff asserts that Fornesi did not tell Det. Perocchi this in her presence and that Det. Perocchi never told her that he knew the security guards had asked her to leave. Pl.'s Opp. to Fornesi's Mot. 16. However, she acknowledges that Det. Perocchi did tell her, "I already know what happened. I already know everything . . . so you just need to leave." Winfield Dep. 40:20-22. Furthermore, Plaintiff testified at her deposition that she was unsure as to what Det. Perocchi knew had before arresting her.
Having spoken with Fornesi, Det. Perocchi "had reasonably trustworthy information . . . sufficient to warrant a prudent [person] in believing that [Plaintiff] had committed or was committing" criminal trespass.
Plaintiff alleges that Fornesi conspired with Det. Perocchi to arrest her so as to deprive her of her First Amendment right to file a complaint against Fornesi and the other security guards. A civil rights conspiracy claim requires the plaintiff to prove by a preponderance of evidence that "(1) a conspiracy existed, (2) the defendants had a conspiratorial purpose to deprive the plaintiff of the equal protection of the laws, (3) the defendants committed an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy, and (4) the plaintiff suffered injury to person or property, or a deprivation of a constitutionally protected right."
As discussed above, because Det. Perocchi had probable cause to arrest Plaintiff, the arrest was lawful and inflicted no constitutional injury. Further, the summary judgment record is void of evidence that Fornesi engaged in any wrongdoing. While it is undisputed that Fornesi and Det. Perocchi conversed before the arrest, Plaintiff relies on speculation alone as to what was said. She claims that Fornesi did not tell Det. Perocchi that he had asked her to leave and instead suggests that Fornesi directed Det. Perocchi to arrest her to prevent her for complaining about him and his fellow security guards. This amounts to "unsupported speculation,"
Plaintiff alleges that the Hospital is vicariously liable for Fornesi's actions.
In light of the foregoing, Fornesi and Hospital's
IT IS SO ORDERED.