Civil Rights Law Archives - New York Appellate Digest

THERE ARE QUESTIONS OF FACT ABOUT WHETHER THE ROAD LEADING TO PETITIONER’S PROPERTY WAS PROPERLY CERTIFIED “ABANDONED” SUCH THAT THE MUNICIPALITY IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS MAINTENANCE; AND PETITIONER STATED AN EQUAL-PROTECTION CLAIM UNDER 42 USC 1983 (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing Supreme Court, over a two-justice dissent, determined there were questions of fact whether the road (Van Slyke Road) leading to petitioner’s property should have been certified “abandoned” such that the town did not have to maintain it. The two dissenters argued petitioner did not state an equal-protection claim alleging selective enforcement under 42 USC 1983:

Petitioners assert that there are many other roads in the Town that have no outlet — with no or few residences situated on them — that are maintained by the Town. Specifically, petitioners point to Snell Road and Hunt Road as being roughly equivalent to Van Slyke Road. Like Van Slyke Road, these roads are dead ends, are comprised of compressed dirt and gravel, and have only one residence. Unlike Van Slyke Road, the Town maintains these roads. … [V]iewing these allegations liberally, petitioners have stated an equal protection claim under 42 USC § 1983, * * *

… [W]e find that triable issues of fact exist as to the use and condition of Van Slyke Road such that neither party is entitled to summary judgment on the abandonment claim … . Matter of Fernandez v Town of Benson, 2021 NY Slip Op 04584, Third Dept 7-29-21

July 29, 2021/by Bruce Freeman

Civil Rights Law, Constitutional Law, Defamation

PLAINTIFF WAS CONVICTED OF THE MURDER OF HIS FATHER AND THE ATTEMPTED MURDER OF HIS MOTHER; THE FILM ABOUT THE CRIMES DOES NOT VIOLATE PLAINTIFF’S RIGHT TO PRIVACY UNDER CIVIL RIGHTS LAW 50 AND 51 (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing Supreme Court, in a comprehensive decision well-worth reading, determined defendant, the creator of a docudrama about Christopher Porco’s murder and attempted murder convictions, did not violate Porco’s right to privacy under Civil Rights Law sections 50 and 51. The statutes allow the depiction of newsworthy events, but the statutes could be violated by fictional material. The Third Department determined the “dramatized” or “fictional” aspects of the film did not violate the statutes, in part because the audience is notified that the film is “based on a true story” and includes dramatized and fictionalized material:

… [T]he film is a dramatization that at times departed from actual events, including by recreating dialogue and scenes, using techniques such as flashbacks and staged interviews, giving fictional names to some individuals and replacing others altogether with composite characters. The film nevertheless presents a broadly accurate depiction of the crime, the ensuing criminal investigation and the trial that are matters of public interest. More importantly, the film makes no effort to present itself as unalloyed truth or claim that its depiction of plaintiffs was entirely accurate, instead alerting the viewer at the outset that it is only “[b]ased on a true story” and reiterating at the end that it is “a dramatization” in which “some names have been changed, some characters are composites and certain other characters and events have been fictionalized.” In our view, the foregoing satisfied defendant’s initial burden of showing that the film addressed matters of public interest through a blend of fact and fiction that was readily acknowledged, did not mislead viewers into believing that its related depictions of plaintiffs was true and was not, as a result, “so infected with fiction, dramatization or embellishment that it cannot be said to fulfill the purpose of the newsworthiness exception” … . Porco v Lifetime Entertainment Servs., LLC, 2021 NY Slip Op 04072, Third Dept 6-24-21

June 24, 2021/by Bruce Freeman

Civil Rights Law, False Arrest, Municipal Law

THERE WAS PROBABLE CAUSE TO ARREST PLANTIFF FOR TRESPASS AFTER SHE WAS ASKED TO LEAVE THE RESTAURANT BY RESTAURANT STAFF; THEREFORE PLAINTIFF’S FALSE ARREST CAUSE OF ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISMISSED (FOURTH DEPT).

The Fourth Department determined plaintiff’s cause of action for false arrest should have been dismissed in this excessive-force, civil-rights-violation action against two police officers. Plaintiff got into an argument with restaurant staff and was asked to leave by the staff, who then called the police. The police broke plaintiff’s arm when attempting to handcuff her. The excessive force, civil-rights-violation causes of action properly survived defendants’ summary judgment motions. But there was probable cause to arrest plaintiff for trespass, requiring dismissal of the false arrest cause of action:

“[T]he existence of probable cause is an absolute defense to a false arrest claim” … . This is so even if probable cause exists with respect to an offense other than the one actually invoked at the time of arrest … . Here, although plaintiff lawfully entered the restaurant premises as a customer, her license to remain was revoked when she was asked to leave after she began arguing with the staff. When plaintiff refused to leave the restaurant property at the request of its staff, she committed a trespass … . Inasmuch as plaintiff committed an ongoing trespass in defendants’ presence (see CPL 140.10 [1] [a]), defendants had probable cause to arrest plaintiff for that violation … . Snow v Rochester Police Officer Christopher Schreier, 2021 NY Slip Op 02638, Fourth Dept 4-30-21

April 30, 2021/by Bruce Freeman

Battery, Civil Procedure, Civil Rights Law, False Arrest, False Imprisonment, Municipal Law, Negligence

THE NYPD IS A DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY AND CANNOT BE SEPARATELY SUED; THE 42 USC 1983 CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATION CAUSE OF ACTION WAS NOT SUPPORTED BY SUFFICIENT ALLEGATIONS OF AN UNCONSTITUTIONAL CITY CUSTOM OR POLICY; THE OTHER CAUSES OF ACTION AGAINST THE CITY FALL BECAUSE THERE WAS PROBABLE CAUSE FOR PLAINTIFF’S ARREST AND THE FORCE USED BY THE POLICE WAS NOT EXCESSIVE UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the 42 USC 1983 violation-of-civil rights, negligence, assault and battery, excessive force, false arrest and false imprisonment causes of action against the New York Police Department (NYPD) and New York City (City) should have been dismissed. Plaintiff was shot when, in the midst of a psychotic episode, she approached the police with a knife. She was indicted, tried and found not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect. The court noted that the NYPD is a department of the City and cannot be sued separately. The court also noted the 1983 action against the City failed to state a cause action because no city policy or custom was identified as violating plaintiff’s constitutional rights:

To hold a municipality liable under 42 USC § 1983 for the conduct of employees below the policymaking level, a plaintiff must show that the violation of his or her constitutional rights resulted from a municipal custom or policy … . Here, “[a]lthough the complaint alleged as a legal conclusion that the defendants engaged in conduct pursuant to a policy or custom which deprived the plaintiff of certain constitutional rights, it was wholly unsupported by any allegations of fact identifying the nature of that conduct or the policy or custom which the conduct purportedly advanced” … . * * *

The Supreme Court also should have granted that branch of the defendants’ motion which was for summary judgment dismissing the false arrest and false imprisonment causes of action insofar as asserted against the City. The existence of probable cause constitutes a complete defense to a cause of action alleging false arrest and false imprisonment … , including causes of action asserted pursuant to 42 USC § 1983 to recover damages for the deprivation of Fourth Amendment rights under color of state law … . Brown v City of New York, 2021 NY Slip Op 01743, Second Dept 3-24-21

March 24, 2021/by Bruce Freeman

Battery, Civil Rights Law, False Imprisonment, Negligence, Social Services Law

SOCIAL SERVICES LAW ARTICLE 11 DOES NOT CREATE A PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION FOR THE INAPPROPRIATE USE OF PHYSICAL RESTRAINTS (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Leventhal, determined the Social Services Law did not create a private right of action for the inappropriate use of physical restraints. The complaint alleged infant plaintiff, a person with special needs, was injured by the hospital defendants:

[The] causes of action alleged assault, battery, false imprisonment, negligent hiring, supervision, and retention, violation of a section of Social Services Law article 11, violation of Civil Rights Law § 79-n, and negligence. The two causes of action alleging violation of Social Services Law article 11 were the fifth and sixth causes of action. In these causes of action, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendants committed physical abuse and deliberate inappropriate use of physical restraints as defined in Social Services Law § 493(4)(b). * * *

A legislative intent to create a private right of action for alleged violation of article 11 of the Social Services Law is not fairly implied in these statutory provisions and their legislative history. Finding such a private right of action would be inconsistent with the legislative scheme. The Protection of People with Special Needs Act, generally, and article 11 of the Social Services Law, specifically, “already contain[ ] substantial enforcement mechanisms”… . These mechanisms in the Act include the creation of the Justice Center, the “central agency responsible for managing and overseeing the incident reporting system, and for imposing or delegating corrective action” … . These mechanisms in article 11 include the maintenance of a statewide vulnerable persons’ central register to accept, investigate, and respond to allegations of abuse or neglect; the delineation of possible findings and consequences in connection with an investigation of abuse or neglect allegations, along with procedures for amending and appealing substantiated abuse or neglect reports; and the maintenance of a register of subjects found to have a substantiated category one abuse or neglect case. The substantial enforcement mechanisms “indicat[e] that the legislature considered how best to effectuate its intent and provided the avenues for relief it deemed warranted” … . Joseph v Nyack Hosp., 2020 NY Slip Op 07042, Second Dept 11-25-20

November 25, 2020/by Bruce Freeman

Battery, Civil Rights Law, Criminal Law, Evidence, False Arrest, Immunity

UNDER THE AGUILAR-SPINELLI ANALYSIS, THERE ARE QUESTIONS OF FACT ABOUT WHETHER THERE WAS PROBABLE CAUSE FOR PLAINTIFF’S ARREST; THE CITY’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THE 42 USC 1983, FALSE ARREST, ASSAULT AND BATTERY CAUSES OF ACTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the city’s motion for summary judgment on the 42 USC 1983, false arrest, assault and battery causes of action should not have been granted. Under the Aguilar-Spinelli analysis, there were questions of fact about the existence of probable cause for plaintiff’s arrest:

“The existence of probable cause constitutes a complete defense to a cause of action alleging false arrest, including a cause of action asserted pursuant to 42 USC § 1983 to recover damages for the deprivation of Fourth Amendment rights under color of state law that is the federal-law equivalent of a state common-law false arrest cause of action” … . “However, [w]hen an arrest is made without a warrant, as here, a presumption arises that it was unlawful, and the burden of proving justification is cast upon the defendant” … . Where the arrest was made without a prior judicial determination of probable cause, and where the arresting officer’s alleged probable cause is based on hearsay, probable cause is properly evaluated under the Aguilar-Spinelli test … . Under the Aguilar-Spinelli rule, where, as here, probable cause is predicated upon the hearsay statement of an informant, the proponent of the hearsay statement “must demonstrate that the informant is reliable and that the informant had a sufficient basis for his or her knowledge” … . Here the defendants failed to eliminate triable issues of fact as to the existence of probable cause for the arrest. The existence of triable issues of fact with respect to whether the police evaluations at issue, such as the evaluation of probable cause to arrest and requisite suspicion to perform a strip search, were objectively reasonable precludes an award of summary judgment … on the ground of qualified immunity … .

“To sustain a cause of action to recover damages for assault, there must be proof of physical conduct placing the plaintiff in imminent apprehension of harmful contact” … . “To recover damages for battery, a plaintiff must prove that there was bodily contact, made with intent, and offensive in nature” … . A claim predicated on assault and battery may be based upon contact during an unlawful arrest … . Here, the defendants’ failure to establish, prima facie, that the plaintiff’s arrest was lawful precluded an award of summary judgment dismissing the sixth cause of action, which alleged assault and battery … . Cayruth v City of Mount Vernon, 2020 NY Slip Op 07027, Second Dept 11-25-20

November 25, 2020/by Bruce Freeman

Battery, Civil Rights Law, Municipal Law

THE COMPLAINT STATED CAUSES OF ACTION FOR ASSAULT, BATTERY AND VIOLATION OF 42 USC 1983 AGAINST POLICE OFFICERS (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the complaint stated causes of action against police officers for assault, battery and violation of 42 USC 1983:

The allegations in the complaint, as amplified by the notice of claim, which must be liberally construed when determining a CPLR 3211(a)(7) motion … sufficiently set forth a claim for assault and battery. Plaintiff alleged that he was assaulted and battered by police during his arrest and suffered injuries that required hospital treatment. Plaintiff specified the location of the assault and stated that defendants committed the assault and battery knowingly, that the arrest was without probable cause and that he was not ultimately charged with a crime. Moreover, in the notice of claim, plaintiff alleged that he was “grabbed, had his arms twisted and forcefully handcuffed,” that he was physically abused and that he did not resist arrest.

“To plead a cause of action to recover damages for assault, a plaintiff must allege intentional physical conduct placing the plaintiff in imminent apprehension of harmful contact” … . “A valid claim for battery exists where a person intentionally touches another without that person’s consent” … .

… [A] party may allege assault and battery as the basis for a suit under 42 USC § 1983 … . Corcoran v City of New York, 2020 NY Slip Op 05133, First Dept 9-29-20

September 29, 2020/by Bruce Freeman

Civil Rights Law, Family Law

MOTHER’S APPLICATION TO CHANGE THE CHILD’S NAME BY ADDING MOTHER’S LAST NAME TO FATHER’S LAST NAME (HYPHENATED) WAS PROPERLY GRANTED (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department determined mother’s application to add her last name to the father’s last name for the child (hyphenated) was properly granted. Mother and father are separated and mother has sole custody. Having both last names will facilitate dealing with the child’s medical care:

Pursuant to Civil Rights Law article 6, an application to change a child’s name shall be granted as long as the court is satisfied that the petition is true, there is no reasonable objection to the proposed name change by the opposing party and the child’s interests will be substantially promoted by the change (see Civil Rights Law § 63 …). The evidence at the hearing demonstrated that the mother is the primary legal and physical custodian of the child, with the father having parenting time with the child every other weekend for a four-hour time period. The mother testified that the child suffers from a medical condition that requires frequent visits with medical providers and, because she does not presently share her surname with the child, this fact regularly presents confusion and difficultly when dealing not only with the child’s medical and insurance providers, but also with the child’s school, pharmacy and the various foundations where she has applied for grants pertaining to the child’s diagnosis. Moreover, the child recently started kindergarten, is “very curious” and has asked the mother numerous questions regarding his family, indicating a preference for his name to reflect both the mother’s and father’s family names. To that end, the mother indicated that she is not seeking to eliminate the father’s surname, but simply to add her surname to create a hyphenated last name that includes both the mother’s and the father’s surnames. Matter of Noah ZZ. (Amanda YY.–Ramon ZZ.), 2020 NY Slip Op 05007, Third Dept 9-17-20

September 17, 2020/by Bruce Freeman

Civil Procedure, Civil Rights Law

PRISON INMATE’S COMPLAINT ALLEGING DENIAL OF ACCESS TO THE COURTS IN VIOLATION OF 42 USC 1983 DISMISSED FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CAUSE OF ACTION; PLAINTIFF ALLEGED THE FAILURE TO PRESERVE CERTAIN VIDEO RECORDINGS BUT DID NOT ALLEGE HOW SAID FAILURE HINDERED HIS ACCESS TO THE COURTS (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department determined plaintiff, a prison inmate, did not state a cause of action under 42 USC 1983 alleging denial of his right to access to the courts. Defendant had requested video recordings concerning the law library and the delivery of legal mail:

“In order to establish a violation of a right of access to courts, a plaintiff must demonstrate that a defendant caused ‘actual injury,’ . . . i.e., took or was responsible for actions that ‘hindered [a plaintiff’s] efforts to pursue a legal claim'” … . In his complaint, plaintiff merely alleges that defendant refused to preserve video recordings of the facility law library on May 2, 2015 and of the mail delivery on May 18, 2015. Plaintiff does not describe what the recordings would show, what legal mail was involved or how defendant’s alleged actions in preventing the preservation of the videos from those two days hindered his opportunity to pursue a legal claim. In light of defendant’s vague and conclusory allegations regarding any actual injury, he has failed to state a cause of action for being denied access to the courts and dismissal of his claim on this ground is proper … . Johnson v Bernier, 2020 NY Slip Op 04894, Third Dept 9-3-20

September 3, 2020/by Bruce Freeman

Civil Rights Law

A VIOLATION OF THE RIGHT OF PRIVACY CAUSE OF ACTION ALLEGING USE OF A PERSON’S IMAGE IN ADVERTISING IS PURELY STATUTORY (CIVIL RIGHTS LAW 50 AND 51); THERE IS NO COMMON-LAW RIGHT OF PUBLICITY IN NEW YORK (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined the complaint stated causes of action for violation of the right of privacy by the alleged use of plaintiff’s likeness in an advertising campaign. The Second Department, disagreeing with Supreme Court, held the cause of action alleging a purported common-law fight of publicity should have been dismissed because the right of privacy is exclusively statutory in New York:

We agree with the Supreme Court’s determination denying those branches of the defendant’s motion which were to dismiss the first and second causes of action, alleging violations of the plaintiff’s right of privacy and the related right of publicity, respectively, under Civil Rights Law §§ 50 and 51. Civil Rights Law § 50 prohibits “[a] person, firm or corporation” from using “for advertising purposes . . . the name, portrait or picture of any living person without having first obtained the written consent of such person.” “A name, portrait or picture is used for advertising purposes’ if it appears in a publication which, taken in its entirety, was distributed for use in, or as part of, an advertisement or solicitation for patronage of a particular product or service” … . Here, accepting the plaintiff’s allegations as true, which we must … , whether or not the subject image constituted a work of art, the first and second causes of action state cognizable causes of action under Civil Rights Law §§ 50 and 51 as they allege, inter alia, that the defendant used the plaintiff’s portrait, image, and likeness as Phantom Knoet in an advertising campaign, which included promotional merchandise to promote the defendant’s financial services and products … .

However, the Supreme Court should have granted that branch of the defendant’s motion which was to dismiss the third cause of action, alleging a violation of a purported common-law right of publicity based on the defendant’s misappropriation of the plaintiff’s property right in her image and that of her persona Phantom Knoet. As the right of publicity is encompassed under the Civil Rights Law as an aspect of the right of privacy, which is exclusively statutory, there is no common-law right of publicity … . Darden v OneUnited Bank, 2020 NY Slip Op 04291, Second Dept 6-29-20

July 29, 2020/by Bruce Freeman