Price v. City of N.Y.
53
15 Civ. 5871 (KPF) (S.D.N.Y. Jun. 25, 2018)
New York, 985 F.2d 94, 98-99 (2d Cir. 1993),
overruled on other grounds by Leatherman v.
Tarrant Cty. Narc. Intelligence & Coordination
Unit, 507 U.S. 163 (1993); Estate of M.D. by
DeCosmo, 241 F. Supp. 3d at 426-28 (surveying
Second Circuit cases concerning the contours of
the exception). This exception arises when
governmental officials provide "a prearranged
official sanction of privately inflicted injury,"
Dwares, 985 F.2d at 99, or where a "state actor
aids and abets a private party in subjecting a
[person] to unwanted physical harm," Hemphill v.
Schott, 141 F.3d 412, 418 (2d Cir. 1998); see also
Okin v. Vill. of Cornwall-on-Hudson Police Dep't,
577 F.3d 415, 429 (2d Cir. 2009) ("The affirmative
conduct of a government official may give rise to
an actionable due process violation if it
communicates, explicitly or implicitly, official
sanction of private violence."); Pena, 432 F.3d at
111 ("[W]hen ... state officials communicate to a
private person that he or she will not be arrested,
punished, or otherwise interfered with while
engaging in misconduct that is likely to endanger
the life, liberty or property of others, those
officials can be held liable under [§] 1983 for
injury caused by the misconduct under Dwares.").
But "an allegation simply that police officers had
failed to act upon reports of past violence would
not implicate the victim's *53 rights under the Due
Process Clause[.]" Dwares, 985 F.2d at 99; see
also Pena, 432 F.3d at 109 ("A failure to interfere
when misconduct takes place, and no more, is not
sufficient to amount to state created danger.").
In this action, "any theory of state-created danger
is fatally undermined by the absence of any
allegation that [the City Defendants] affirmatively
communicated, even implicitly [to Plaintiff's
unidentified assailant] that abuse against
[Plaintiff] was permissible." Estate of M.D. by
DeCosmo, 241 F. Supp. 3d at 427. Plaintiff does
not allege, for instance, that any of the City
Defendants communicated to the unidentified
assailant, "explicitly or implicitly, official sanction
of private violence," Okin, 577 F.3d at 429, or
affirmatively aided and abetted the assault of
Plaintiff, see Hemphill, 141 F.3d at 418. While the
City Defendants "may have been aware of the
dangers that [Plaintiff] faced in the free world,
[they] played no part in their creation, nor did
[they] do anything to render [Plaintiff] any more
vulnerable to them." DeShaney, 489 U.S. at 201.
Plaintiff's allegations — although profoundly
troubling to the Court — do not rise to the level of
a violation of Plaintiff's substantive due process
rights. The Court therefore must grant the City
Defendants' motion to dismiss the substantive due
process claims against them.
4. Monell Claims Against the City for Acts of
MTA Officers
54
Plaintiff also appears to assert a § 1983 claim
against the City of New York related to her arrest
by MTA Police Officers John and Jane Doe. (FAC
¶ 189). The Court must grant the City's motion to
dismiss this claim. *54
The MTA and the City of New York are separate
and distinct municipal entities for § 1983
purposes. See Lloyd v. City of New York, No. 12
Civ. 4303 (BMC), 2012 WL 3878116, at *1 n.1
(E.D.N.Y. Sept. 6, 2012) (collecting cases); Altro
v. Conrail, 130 A.D.2d 612 (2d Dep't 1987) ("The
MTA is a public benefit corporation created to
continue and improve railroad commuter
transportation
throughout
a
commuter
transportation district including Westchester
County and the City of New York." (citations
omitted)). In this action, Plaintiff does not sue the
MTA. Rather, she attempts to hold the City of
New York liable for the conduct of the MTA's
police officers. But she does not allege any facts
suggesting that the City of New York was a
moving force behind her arrest by MTA officers.
She does not, for instance, allege that the MTA
police officers were ever trained or employed by
the City of New York or that the City had any
control whatsoever over these officers. See
Breitkopf v. Gentile, 41 F. Supp. 3d 220, 259-61
(E.D.N.Y. 2014); cf. N.Y. Magazine, 136 F.3d at
25
Sélectionner le paragraphe cible3
Se connecter à un paragraphe
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Ajouter à la table des matières