ERIC N. VITALIANO, District Judge.
Pro se plaintiff David Hayward brings this action against Police Officer Jeffrey Hill pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
For the purposes of this motion, the facts alleged in Hayward's complaint are accepted as true, and all reasonable inferences are construed in plaintiff's favor.
On August 16, 2011, Officer Hill responded to a 911 call indicating that a man, identified as "W.D.," who was currently at a firehouse, had been assaulted by a black male named David in a nearby rooming house. (Def.'s Ex. B (NYPD Sprint Report) at 1). When Officer Hill arrived, W.D. informed him that he had been cut in the face with a sharp object and punched in the stomach. (Def.'s Ex. C (NYPD Compl. Report) at 1). Officer Hill subsequently arrested Hayward at 565 Chauncey Street in Brooklyn, where Hayward and W.D. lived together, and transported him to the 73
The following day, Hayward was arraigned and charged with assault in the second degree, menacing in the second degree, harassment in the second degree, and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree. (
Hayward filed this claim on June 15, 2012, seeking $100,000 in compensatory damages against Officer Hill. (Com pl. at 10). This Rule 12(b)(6) motion was filed on January 18, 2013.
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2), a complaint need only contain "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed. R Civ. P. 8(a)(2). This rule does not compel a litigant to supply "detailed factual allegations" in support of his claims, Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007), "but it demands more than an unadorned, thedefendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 667 (2009). "A pleading that offers `labels and conclusions' ... will not do." Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555); see also In re NYSE Specialists Sec. Litig., 503 F.3d 89, 95 (2d Cir. 2007). "Nor does a complaint suffice if it tenders `naked assertions' devoid of `further factual enhancement.'" Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557).
A complaint must be dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6) if it does not "contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to `state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.'" Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570). "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Id. Determining plausibility is "a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense." Id. at 1950. That said, the factual allegations are paramount—"a complaint need not pin plaintiff's claim for relief to a precise legal theory" nor provide "an exposition of his legal argument." Skinner v. Switzer, 131 S.Ct. 1289, 1296 (2011). In analyzing well-pled facts, a court will draw all reasonable inferences in favor of plaintiff. See Gorman v. Consol. Edison Corp., 488 F.3d 586, 591-92 (2d Cir. 2007). In addition, because Hayward appears here unrepresented, the Court must construe his pleadings and briefs liberally and read them to raise the strongest arguments they suggest.
In deciding a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, a court may consider only the contents of the pleadings themselves, documents attached to the pleadings as exhibits or incorporated by reference, and items of which judicial notice may be taken.
A false arrest is an intentional, non-privileged confinement.
State law governs the determination of whether probable cause exists.
Even if Hayward had challenged W.D.'s truthfulness, "[t]he actual accuracy or veracity of [a witness's) statement is irrelevant to a determination of whether [an officer] had arguable probable cause. Rather, the question is whether [the officer] could have reasonably relied on it."
Had Hayward pleaded facts sufficient to support an inference that Officer Hill should not have believed W.D.'s accusation, Hayward's false arrest claim might survive, but Hayward has not done so. However, Hayward is a pro se litigant and might be able to correct this pleading shortfall in an amended complaint that alleges such facts (uot couclusious). While on the basis of the pleading before the Court, this seems remote, he will be granted the chance to replead once. See Cuoco, 222 F.3d at 112. The false arrest claim is dismissed with leave to amend.
A claim for malicious prosecution under§ 1983 or New York law requires a plaintiff to show "(1) that the defendant commenced a criminal proceeding against the plaintiff; (2) that the proceeding was terminated in plaintiff's favor; (3) that there was no probable cause; and (4) that the defendant acted with malice."
Hayward focuses on the collateral aftermath of his arrest. He first alleges that he was illegally strip searched. A lawful strip search requires an officer's reasonable suspicion that an arrestee charged with a misdemeanor or lesser offense is concealing a weapon.
Hayward also asserts claims that he was denied due process of law under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Though his complaint is unclear as to which events correspond to which claims, Hayward appears to allege that his due process rights were violated by his arrest, as well as through the revocation of his parole, which, he contends, resulted either directly or indirectly from his arrest. "The Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause protects citizens against only federal government actors, not State officials."
As for his Fourteenth Amendment claim, that amendment prohibits "State [actors] ... [from] depriv[ing] any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." U.S. Const. amend. XIV. The Court has already determined that, on the facts pleaded, Hayward's arrest was properly supported by probable cause, and he has no alternative basis for asserting that any due process violation occurred. Indeed, the claim merely restates his false arrest claim and, at best, points to other compensable injuries that may have flowed from the same allegedly unlawful act by Officer Hill. However, Hayward has been granted leave to amend his complaint as to his false arrest claim. Hayward's mirror-image due process claim under the Fourteenth Amendment meets the same fate—it, too, is dismissed with leave to amend.
Finally, Hayward pleads "intentional emotional and mental anguish," which the Court construes with solicitude as a tort claim under New York law for the intentional infliction of emotional distress. Though, through its power of supplemental jurisdiction, the Court has the authority to entertain the state law claim, as all of Hayward's federal claims have been dismissed, the Court declines to exercise it. 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(3),
Hayward's federal malicious prosecution claim is dismissed with prejudice. All other claims are dismissed without prejudice. Leave to replead the surviving federal claims in an amended complaint in this action is granted to the extent that Hayward can do so in good faith. Leave is also granted to replead Hayward's state claim in a state court of appropriate jurisdiction. The further pleadings for which leave has been granted must be filed within 30 days of the entry of this Memorandum and Order on the Court's docket. If plaintiff fails to timely file the amended complaint in this action, the case will be dismissed with prejudice and judgment entered against plaintiff.
The Court certifies pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and therefore in forma pauperis status is denied for the purpose of any appeal.
SO ORDERED.