Opinion ID: 797053
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Fourth Amendment claim based on false arrest and false imprisonment

Text: 27 Russo's first claim relies on theories of false arrest and false imprisonment. In analyzing claims alleging the constitutional tort of false arrest, we have generally looked to the law of the state in which the arrest occurred. Davis v. Rodriguez, 364 F.3d 424, 433 (2d Cir.2004) (examining Connecticut law to assess a plaintiff's false arrest claim); see also, e.g., Jaegly v. Couch, 439 F.3d 149, 151-52 (2d Cir.2006) (considering New York law). This follows our normal practice with respect to § 1983 claims. See Davis, 364 F.3d at 433 n. 7. 28 In a false arrest action, Connecticut law places the burden of proving an unlawful arrest on the plaintiff. Beinhorn v. Saraceno, 23 Conn.App. 487, 491, 582 A.2d 208, 210 (1990); Davis, 364 F.3d at 433. And, in Connecticut, a false arrest claim cannot lie when the challenged arrest was supported by probable cause. Beinhorn, 23 Conn.App. at 491, 582 A.2d at 210. Interpreting an analogous rule under New York law in the context of federal civil rights actions, our court has uniformly rejected Fourth Amendment false arrest claims premised on lawful arrests supported by probable cause. See Escalera v. Lunn, 361 F.3d 737, 743 (2d Cir.2004); Weyant v. Okst, 101 F.3d 845, 852 (2d Cir.1996); Singer v. Fulton County Sheriff, 63 F.3d 110, 118 (2d Cir.1995). In the present case, the district court properly found that there was no disputed issue of material fact that Russo's arrest was supported by probable cause (the positive identification by the gas station cashier). 29 The more vigorous dispute between the parties—but an equally well-settled issue under Connecticut law—is whether Russo's on-going detention supported an independent § 1983 claim for false imprisonment. As in the case of false arrest, we look to Connecticut state law principles to determine the validity of Russo's federal civil rights claim based on false imprisonment. See Huang v. Johnson, 251 F.3d 65, 75 (2d Cir.2001). 30 Under Connecticut law, `[f]alse imprisonment, or false arrest, is the unlawful restraint by one person of the physical liberty of another.' Outlaw v. City of Meriden, 43 Conn.App. 387, 392, 682 A.2d 1112, 1115 (1996) (quoting Green v. Donroe, 186 Conn. 265, 267, 440 A.2d 973, 974 (1982)). In Outlaw, the Connecticut Appellate Court stated that the applicable law for false arrest and false imprisonment is identical, and therefore there is no cause of action for false imprisonment if the plaintiff was arrested pursuant to a facially valid warrant. 8 Id. at 1115 (describing the continuity of this rule across 180 years of case law); see also Lo Sacco v. Young, 20 Conn.App. 6, 20, 564 A.2d 610, 617 (1989) (stating that a claim for false imprisonment may not lie where the arrest of the plaintiff is legally authorized); Love v. Town of Granby, 2004 WL 1683159, at  (D.Conn. July 12, 2004). 31 The district court's dismissal of Russo's § 1983 claims for false arrest and false imprisonment is therefore affirmed. 9 32