Opinion ID: 779429
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Nitchman's Entitlement to Qualified Immunity

Text: 67 The district court, again without independent analysis, also denied qualified immunity to Nitchman from both Loria's Fourth Amendment claims and his state and federal claims of false arrest and false imprisonment. We reverse the denial of summary judgment on the false arrest and false imprisonment claims based on our holding that, for purposes of this appeal, probable cause existed at the time of the arrest. See Singer v. Fulton County Sheriff, 63 F.3d 110, 118-19 (2d Cir.1995). Because there was probable cause, Nitchman is entitled to summary judgment on Loria's claims to the extent they are based on his issuance to Loria of an appearance ticket for OGA. See id. The question remains, however, whether Nitchman was entitled to summary judgment on Loria's Fourth Amendment claims arising out of his arrest by Gorman on April 10. 68 We conclude that he was. Nitchman testified that he did not enter the house and did not see Gorman enter the house. He stated that he only witnessed Loria attempting to close the door on Gorman and Cruz and saw Gorman leading Loria out of the house moments later. Loria does not dispute this, and apparently bases his claims against Nitchman on his actions after Gorman transferred Loria to Nitchman following the arrest. 69 We see no basis for liability on these facts. We accept Nitchman's uncontradicted testimony that he did not witness any unlawful activity and simply accepted Loria from Gorman. See Provost v. City of Newburgh, 262 F.3d 146, 155 (2d Cir. 2001) (noting that the direct physical participation of the defendant in the constitutional violation is not alone a sufficient basis for holding the defendant liable if the defendant had no awareness or notice of the facts that rendered the action illegal). Absent significant indications to the contrary, an officer is entitled to rely on his fellow officer's determination that an arrest was lawful. See Martinez v. Simonetti, 202 F.3d 625, 634 (2d Cir.2000). Therefore, Nitchman is entitled to summary judgment on all of Loria's claims arising out of the OGA arrest. 70 B. Nitchman's Entitlement to Qualified Immunity from Claims Arising out of the April 12, 1998 Application for and Issuance of a Warrant for Noise Violations 71 Loria's tenth and eleventh causes of action sound in malicious prosecution under state and federal law. According to Loria, Nitchman maliciously filed a warrant application that falsely indicated that he had personal knowledge that Loria was present at 15 Weaver Street on the night of April 12, 1998 and that music being played there was audible beyond the property line. 6 Nitchman sought qualified immunity from Loria's claims and moved for summary judgment, asserting that he was entitled to rely on the statements of witnesses and his fellow officers to support a finding of probable cause. The district court denied the motion, holding that even though Nitchman arguably had probable cause to believe Loria was guilty of violating the City anti-noise ordinance despite any inaccurate statements, he was not entitled to summary judgment because a question of fact exists as to whether [Loria] was present... such that Officer Wiater could have heard him through the door and relayed that information to Defendant Nitchman. 72 Nitchman's motion should have been granted. As an initial matter, we note that the issue of fact on which the district court relied is immaterial to the disposition of Loria's claims against Nitchman. See Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Whether or not Loria was in fact present is irrelevant to the determination of whether Nitchman had probable cause; probable cause is an assessment of probabilities, not an ascertainment of truths. See, e. g., Lee, 136 F.3d at 103 (noting that an officer may rely on a complaint to establish probable cause and cannot be held liable for a constitutional violation simply because the complaint turns out to have been false); cf. Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 232, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983). Therefore, the district court erred in holding that the dispute regarding whether Loria was at 15 Weaver Street precluded the granting of summary judgment in Nitchman's favor. 73 Loria's malicious prosecution claim falters on the first step of the qualified immunity analysis because he has failed to demonstrate that construing the facts most favorably to the plaintiff, `the facts alleged show the officer's conduct violated a constitutional right.' Poe, 282 F.3d at 132 (quoting Saucier, 533 U.S. at 201, 121 S.Ct. 2151). The right Loria alleges was violated can be particularized as the right to be free from an arrest based on a warrant that would not have been issued if the officer seeking the warrant had disclosed to the issuing magistrate information within the officer's knowledge that negated probable cause. Smith v. Edwards, 175 F.3d 99, 105 (2d Cir.1999) (quotation marks omitted). To allege a violation of that clearly established right, Loria must demonstrate both that Nitchman intentionally or recklessly made false statements in the warrant application and that those statements were necessary to a finding of probable cause. See id. 7 74 Even if Nitchman falsely stated that the allegations in the warrant application were based on his personal knowledge, Loria's claim fails because those statements were not necessary to a finding of probable cause. See id. We assess the materiality of alleged misstatements in a warrant application by put[ting] aside allegedly false material, supply[ing] any omitted information, and then determin[ing] whether the contents of the `corrected affidavit' would have supported a finding of probable cause. Martinez v. City of Schenectady, 115 F.3d 111, 115 (2d Cir.1997) (quotation marks omitted). If the corrected affidavit would be sufficient to support probable cause as a matter of law, no constitutional right was violated and the defendant officer is entitled to summary judgment. See id.; see also Smith, 175 F.3d at 105. 75 Taking Loria's allegations as true, the sole misstatement in the warrant application was Nitchman's assertion that he had personal knowledge of the allegations in the application. Therefore, the corrected affidavit would state that Nitchman had been informed by Irvine, an identified citizen witness, that music had come from Loria's property during the early morning hours that was audible beyond Loria's property line and that he had been informed by a fellow officer that Loria was present on the property. See Martinez, 115 F.3d at 115. 76 That corrected affidavit would be sufficient as a matter of law to support probable cause. The noise ordinance at issue provides, inter alia, that [n]o person shall use or operate or permit to be used or operated any ... device for the producing... of sound with louder volume than is necessary for convenient hearing and that if the sound is [a]udible beyond the property line ... between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. that is prima facie evidence of a violation. Rochester City Code, § 75-12. For purposes of the probable cause determination, Nitchman was entitled to rely on Irvine's deposition in which she states that the music — played during the early morning hours — was so loud that she could feel the vibrations while in her own home. See Curley v. Vill. of Suffern, 268 F.3d 65, 70 (2d Cir.2001) (When information is received from a putative victim or an eyewitness, probable cause exists, unless the circumstances raise doubt as to the person's veracity. (citation omitted)). Furthermore, Nitchman could rely on Wiater's statement that Loria was present that evening. See Simonetti, 202 F.3d at 634 (noting that officers are entitled to rely on the statements of other officers in determining whether probable cause is present); see also United States v. Ventresca, 380 U.S. 102, 111, 85 S.Ct. 741, 13 L.Ed.2d 684 (1965) (Observations of fellow officers of the Government engaged in a common investigation are plainly a reliable basis for a warrant applied for by one of their number.). 77 Loria has not alleged that Nitchman was aware of any information that would cast doubt on the veracity of either of the statements. See Curley, 268 F.3d at 70. Thus, the statements by Irvine and Wiater supplied Nitchman with reasonably trustworthy information sufficient to support a finding of probable cause to believe that Loria violated the noise ordinance. Therefore, the alleged misstatements in the warrant application are immaterial and no constitutional right was violated. We hold that Nitchman is entitled to qualified immunity and reverse that part of the order of the district court. 78 C. Feor's Entitlement to Qualified Immunity from Claims Arising out of His April 18, 1997 Arrest of Loria 79 Loria's complaint against Feor alleged state and federal claims of false arrest, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution arising out of Feor's April 18, 1997 arrest of Loria. In response, Feor asserted that his actions were supported by probable cause and, alternatively, that he was entitled to qualified immunity. Feor subsequently sought summary judgment on those bases. The district court granted his motion in part but ultimately denied it with regard to a number of Loria's claims. 8 80 This appeal addresses the district court's denial of qualified immunity to Feor from Loria's claims arising out of the arrest for reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. The district court held that the factual dispute as to what information was available to Feor at the time of the arrest precluded summary judgment on those claims. In the court's view, if Feor had only the version of Hernandez's report that did not contain a description of the suspect vehicle or a narrative relative to the manner in which Loria allegedly used his car to intentionally strike Mosley's, he would have to rely on Mosley's statements to reasonably find probable cause to arrest. Because the content of those statements is disputed, the court held that a material issue of fact exists and summary judgment could not be granted. We agree with the district court's conclusion, but arrive there by different reasoning. 81 As noted, [t]he threshold inquiry a court must undertake in a qualified immunity analysis is whether plaintiff's allegations, if true, establish a constitutional violation. Hope, 122 S.Ct. at 2513. But see Coons, 284 F.3d at 442 (declining to decide if actual probable cause was present where officer was entitled to qualified immunity based on arguable probable cause). It is firmly established that, if proven, Loria's claims of arrest and prosecution without probable cause implicate constitutional rights. See Golino v. City of New Haven, 950 F.2d 864, 870 (2d Cir.1991) (The right not to be arrested or prosecuted without probable cause has, of course, long been a clearly established constitutional right.). Thus, the dispositive issue for purposes of the first part of the qualified immunity inquiry is whether, based on the facts as alleged by Loria, Feor's actions were based on probable cause. 82 We hold that they were not. [P]robable cause is a fluid concept and the assessment of whether it exists is shaped by the factual context of the case. See Gates, 462 U.S. at 232, 103 S.Ct. 2317. Under the circumstances presented in this case, we believe that to have probable cause to arrest or prosecute Loria for reckless endangerment in the second degree or criminal mischief in the third degree, Feor would have to possess sufficient information to support a reasonable belief that Loria recklessly or intentionally collided with Mosley's car. See N.Y. Penal Law §§ 120.20 (A person is guilty of reckless endangerment in the second degree when he recklessly engages in conduct which creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury to another person.), 145.05 (A person is guilty of criminal mischief in the third degree when, with intent to damage property of another person, ... he damages property of another person in an amount exceeding two hundred fifty dollars.). We conclude as a matter of law that the information Feor had was insufficient to establish probable cause. 83 At the time of the arrest, Feor's sole sources of information were Mosley's statements, a visual inspection of the vehicles at the scene and the copy of Hernandez's report regarding the previous night's collision. These sources, taken together, do not provide sufficient information to support a reasonable conclusion that the collision was more than a simple traffic accident. Cf. United States v. Bonds, 422 F.2d 660, 665 (8th Cir.1970) (The mere fact that a person is shot does not support an inference that the shooting was intentional and unlawful.). Therefore, Feor lacked probable cause to charge Loria with either reckless endangerment in the second degree or criminal mischief in the third degree. 84 Mosley claims that she told Feor only that her car was damaged by Loria's Jeep. There is no indication in her affidavit or deposition testimony that she told Feor prior to the arrest that Loria had recklessly or intentionally hit her car. Indeed, Feor does not argue to the contrary. In his affidavit, Feor asserts only that Mosley told him that Loria hit her vehicle. Thus, Mosley's verbal statements prior to the arrest provided Feor with insufficient information to find probable cause to arrest for either reckless endangerment or criminal mischief. 85 Nor can Feor rely on the supporting deposition that Mosley signed stating, inter alia, that [a]t no time did I give [Loria] permission to damage my car or threaten me or try to hurt me while I was in my car. The source of that statement is in dispute. Mosley's affidavit casts doubt on whether that sentence was in the supporting deposition when she signed it or was subsequently added by Feor. Because we are bound to construe the facts in the light most favorable to Loria, we assume the latter. Furthermore, even if the sentence was present when Mosley signed the deposition, Feor testified that the deposition was obtained after Loria's arrest. Therefore, its contents are irrelevant to the determination of whether Feor had probable cause to arrest. See Lowth v. Town of Cheektowaga, 82 F.3d 563, 567 (2d Cir.1996) ([F]or the purposes of the qualified immunity analysis, we consider only those facts that were actually available to the police officers, or could reasonably have been perceived by them, at the moment they engaged in the challenged conduct.). 9 86 Given the lack of any support for an inference of intent from the information supplied by Mosley, Feor must rely on Hernandez's classification, in the crime investigation report completed the night before the arrest, of the offenses alleged by Mosley as Crim Mis and Reckless Endanger. According to Feor, those notations provided sufficient evidence of intent to support a finding of probable cause to arrest Loria for reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. 87 An officer may arrest an individual based on a report by another officer only if reliance on that report is objectively reasonable. See United States v. Hensley, 469 U.S. 221, 232-33, 105 S.Ct. 675, 83 L.Ed.2d 604 (1985). According to Feor, only the offense classification, victim information and suspect information were completed on the signed copy of Hernandez's report. There was no narrative of events. Nor was there a specification of what degrees of criminal mischief and reckless endangerment Hernandez found that Mosley had alleged. Indeed, the report gave no indication that Hernandez himself believed he had probable cause to arrest Loria; it simply indicated that Mosley alleged facts that fell within a certain category of offenses. 88 Feor's reliance on Hernandez's report to arrest Loria for criminal mischief in the third degree was objectively unreasonable. As noted, Feor alleges that the copy of the report he had seen at the time of the arrest included the notations Crim Mis and Reckless Endanger and did not include Hernandez's estimate of the amount of damage to Mosley's car. That information provides no indication that Loria struck Mosley's car with [the] intent to damage property of another person necessary to render him liable for criminal mischief in the third degree. N.Y. Penal Law § 145.05. Hernandez's report did not indicate the degree of criminal mischief alleged, and an individual can be liable for criminal mischief in the fourth degree if he [r]ecklessly damages the property of another person in an amount exceeding two hundred fifty dollars. N.Y. Penal Law § 145.00. Thus, Feor's decision to arrest Loria for criminal mischief in the third degree, which requires intent, could not properly be based on the broad classification of Crim Mis in Hernandez's report. 89 By contrast, Hernandez's notation of Reckless Endanger necessarily implies that the conduct alleged by Mosley could be classified as reckless. Even so, we do not believe that Feor's reliance on the copy of Hernandez's report to arrest Loria for reckless endangerment in the second degree was objectively reasonable. The copy of the report Feor had was incomplete. It gave no indication that Hernandez believed he had probable cause to arrest or instructions that Loria be arrested. The portion of the report indicating the decision made by Hernandez was blank. From Feor's perspective, it was possible that Hernandez had concluded that Mosley's claims were unfounded and warranted no further action. The report gave Feor no basis to believe otherwise. 90 Furthermore, Mosley, the putative victim of the alleged crimes at issue, was readily available for questioning. Feor questioned her at length about Loria's conduct, but not about whether Mosley believed Loria intentionally caused the collision and, if so, her basis for that belief. See BeVier v. Hucal, 806 F.2d 123, 127 (7th Cir.1986) (finding that officer lacked probable cause to arrest where he unreasonably failed to question individuals at the scene and noting that probable cause is a function of information and exigency). Indeed, Feor failed to ask Mosley if she was in the car when the April 17 collision occurred. Thus, Feor lacked probable cause, arguable or otherwise, to arrest Loria for either criminal mischief in the third degree or reckless endangerment in the second degree and the district court properly denied him qualified immunity.