Opinion ID: 791971
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Amended Complaint's Allegations Against the ADAs

Text: 6 Shmueli commenced the present action in February 2003; represented by counsel, she filed an amended complaint in May 2003. The amended complaint, asserting claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state law, alleges that Fairstein, Mitchell, Lieberman, the City of New York (the City), and others conspired to prosecute her for crimes of which they knew she was innocent, subjecting her to, inter alia, false arrest, false imprisonment, assault and battery, and malicious prosecution. Shmueli alleges that the motivation for her arrest and prosecution was a personal relationship between Fairstein and Lieberman. The allegations of the amended complaint include the following. 7 Shmueli and Lieberman had lived together in Shmueli's apartment for some two years until May 1997, when Shmueli asked Lieberman to move out. ( See Amended Complaint ¶¶ 14-15.) The amended complaint alleges that after Lieberman moved, he threatened Shmueli that he and his `friend ADA Fairstein' ( id. ¶¶ 15, 16) would make her life miserable if Plaintiff did not continue the relationship ( id. ¶ 15) and would `destroy her life' if Shmueli did not reimburse Lieberman for contributions he had made towards rent while they lived together ( id. ¶ 16). 8 The amended complaint alleges that in November 1997, Shmueli received numerous telephone calls from Fairstein and Mitchell, threatening to arrest Shmueli if she did not come to the District Attorney's office for a meeting ( see id. ¶ 22); that in mid-November Shmueli, accompanied by counsel, attended a meeting with the ADAs, during which Shmueli was falsely accused of sending letters and making telephone calls to Lieberman ( see id. ¶ 23); and that on or about May 5, 1998, on the instruction of the ADAs, City police officers falsely arrested and falsely imprisoned Shmueli ( see id. ¶ 25). 9 The amended complaint alleges that Lieberman had bragged to Shmueli that Fairstein had instructed him as to what types of harassment would fall under her personal jurisdiction as an assistant district attorney ( id. ¶ 24), and that all of the defendants acted in conspiracy to maliciously prosecute Plaintiff SHMUELI for crimes that they knew she was innocent of ( id. ¶ 19): 10 In spite of knowing that the charges against Plaintiff SHMUELI were false, in consideration of her personal relationship with Defendant LIEBERMAN, Defendant FAIRSTEIN, along with Defendant MITCHELL, wrongfully, knowingly and maliciously prosecuted Plaintiff SHMUELI for various crimes, all of which they knew she was innocent of committing. 11 ( Id. ¶ 31.) The amended complaint alleges that, following Shmueli's arrest, Fairstein, Mitchell, and others contrived to prolong the period during which Shmueli would remain in custody without being able to post bail and to prolong the criminal proceedings with the intent of harassing Shmueli and increasing the cost of defending herself against the false criminal allegations. ( See id. ¶¶ 26, 32.) The criminal charges against Shmueli were dismissed on March 22, 2002. 12 The amended complaint requested $100,000,000 in compensatory damages and $100,000,000 in punitive damages, as well as unspecified injunctive and declaratory relief. 13