Opening Statement Provided Grounds for Dismissal of False Arrest/Malicious Prosecution Action

The Second Department affirmed Supreme Court’s grant of a judgment as a matter of law to the defendant in a false arrest/malicious prosecution case based upon plaintiff’s counsel’s opening statement. In the opening, counsel stated the defendant had been arrested after the eyewitness victim made an in-person identification of the plaintiff to a police officer.  Because the eyewitness identification provided probable cause for the arrest, the false arrest and malicious prosecution causes of action were not viable:

An application for judgment as a matter of law may be made at the close of an opposing party’s case, or at any time on the basis of admissions (see CPLR 4401). The grant of such an application prior to the close of the opposing party’s case is generally disfavored … . However, judgment as a matter of law may be warranted prior to the presentation of any evidence if the plaintiff has, “by some admission or statement of fact, so completely compromised his or her case that the court was justified in awarding judgment as a matter of law to one or more defendants”… . * * *

Here, the plaintiff, through his counsel, admitted that the eyewitness victim of the alleged crimes made an in-person identification of the plaintiff to a police officer, which led to his immediate arrest by that officer. This admission by the plaintiff, through his counsel, “so completely compromised” his position that the police lacked probable cause to arrest him, that the Supreme Court was justified in awarding judgment as a matter of law to the City…. Okunubi v City of New York, 2013 NY Slip Op 05886, 2nd Dept 9-18-13