Another false arrest case bites the dust

For the second time this month, the Court of Appeals has reversed the trial court in finding that false arrest plaintiff cannot sue law enforcement due to qualified immunity -- even though charges against the plaintiff were dropped.

The case is Sarcaza v. City of New York, issued on March 11. Plaintiff was arrested for allegedly assaulting a teenage girl on a New York City bus. While video footage of the encounter was inconclusive, the girl was in distress at the time and later identified the plaintiff from a photo array. The case against plaintiff was dismissed on speedy trial grounds; hence this false arrest lawsuit.While the district court allowed this case to proceed to trial on the basis that the video footage did not show physical contact between plaintiff and the girl, as well as some inconsistencies in the girl's account, the Court of Appeals (Chin and Perez) reverses, on grounds familiar to Section 1983 lawyers who handle these cases.

The police can prove they had probable cause to arrest if the evidence was reasonably trustworthy that the guy committed a crime. If so, then no false arrest lawsuit. The low probable cause standard kills off many such lawsuits. But we also have to consider qualified immunity, which also lets the police off the hook if they had "arguable probable cause," which means that even probable cause did not exist, reasonable jurors might find the officers had a good faith basis to make the arrest anyway.

Here is the takeaway quote: "Unless exculpatory evidence or circumstances that raise doubts as to the alleged victim's veracity arise, probable cause is present where a police officer relies on such victim's identification of the suspect and statement of the alleged crime." In other words, to win a false arrest case against the police, the plaintiff has to essentially show the police had nothing on him, a lack of evidence that makes it clear they were setting up the plaintiff for arrest or just did not know what they were doing. You don't need "hard certainties" or a belief that, more likely than not, a crime has been committed.

Under these principles, plaintiff loses the case even before trial. The Court of Appeals writes:

Based on the undisputed facts in the record, a reasonable police officer in [Detective] Friedman’s position could have found probable cause that Sacaza had touched the Complainant inappropriately. While the Complainant's statements and identifications of Sacaza served as Friedman's principal basis for finding probable cause, the MTA Footage and other information provided objective evidence for a reasonable police officer to arrest and charge Sacaza.

The record contains the following undisputed evidence to support the conclusion that Sacaza sexually assaulted the Complainant: (1) the Complainant reported the alleged assault to her school and the police almost immediately; (2) the Complainant identified Sacaza as her assailant on two separate occasions, including once in-person; (3) Friedman learned that Sacaza was a person of interest in other public lewdness incidents; (4) the MTA Footage shows the Complainant being uncomfortable and looking back several times while Sacaza is positioned directly behind her for more than a minute; (5) the MTA Footage shows that the Complainant felt the need to and did take videos of Sacaza, which she later shared with Friedman; and (6) the MTA Footage shows that the Complainant was so visibly disturbed by Sacaza that a nearby passenger felt the need to console her. Based on this evidence, a reasonable police officer could have believed that Sacaza committed a crime justifying arrest.

 

False arrest case is dismissed on qualified immunity grounds

False arrest cases are often dismissed prior to trial because the police are able to prove they had probable cause to arrest the plaintiff. Even if the charges against the plaintiff are ultimately dismissed and the criminal process reaches that endpoint, the police can still avoid liability if they had arguable probable cause, a qualified immunity concept warrants dismissal of the case when the police reasonably believed, even if mistakenly, that the plaintiff had committed a crime. In this case, the federal trial court said the jury may rule in the plaintiff's favor on the false arrest claim, but the Court of Appeals nixes the case entirely on qualified immunity grounds.

The case is Jin v. City of New York, issue don March 12. It took the Court of Appeals nearly two years to decide this case, owing to complexity of the issues and the lengthy dissent from Judge Kearse.

It all started when the police arrived at the plaintiff's home after a 911 call reported a domestic violence dispute. The plaintiff was arrested for assault and harassment, but the charges were dropped. Upon arriving at the house, the police arrested plaintiff after her son reported that she had assaulted a family member, who pointed out his injuries to the police and simulated how the plaintiff had assaulted him. Plaintiff denied any wrongdoing and said that she was the assault victim. The police never interviewed the neighbors even though plaintiff said they would exonerate her. 

After the charges against plaintiff were dropped, she sued the police for false arrest. The trial court said plaintiff had enough evidence to win the case, but the Court of Appeals reverses, and the case is over. The Second Circuit (Bianco, Perez and Kearse [dissenting])  notes that the police can make an arrest upon "reasonably trustworthy information" that the plaintiff had committed a crime, and "an identified citizen informant is presumed to be reliable" in this context. So, even if the son was not present for the alleged assault, and had merely reported what the victim had told him, that was enough for probable cause, as the victim did show the police his injuries and explained how the plaintiff had allegedly attacked him. "Reasonable officers could disagree as to whether there was probable cause to arrest based on the reasonably trustworthy information relayed to the Officers," "which was simultaneously corroborated [by the victim] demonstrating the attack and displaying his injuries."

The case is significant for the Court of Appeals' holding that domestic violence cases are held to the same false arrest standards as every other case, and there is no special rule that the police need to be more skeptical when a domestic violence victim reports a crime. The district court said the inherent "relational dynamics" of alleged domestic disputes require additional inquiry by the police. But "the mere fact that a victim, eyewitness, or informant is reporting criminal activity arising from a domestic dispute does not, by itself, raise a doubt as to the witness's veracity sufficient to undermine the presumption of reliability that officers are permitted to attach to such witnesses." 

District court abused its discretion in resolving summary judgment motion under Rule 12 standard

The Court of Appeals has reinstated an employment discrimination lawsuit because, although the defendants moved for summary judgment under Rule 56, the trial court instead dismissed the case under the rules guiding a motion to dismiss under Rule 12. 

The case is Miller v. LaManna, issued on March 9. Plaintiff was a correction officer working in the New York prison system. He claims he was treated differently because he is Black, at least compared with while officers who were not afforded similar mistreatment for engaging in comparable misconduct. Plaintiff also claims he suffered retaliation for filing a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

At the close of extensive discovery, the state moved for summary judgment, arguing the evidence generated in discovery proves the plaintiff did not suffer any racial discrimination or retaliation. The summary judgment record was approximately 1,700 pages. But the state also said the complaint that initiated this lawsuit did not state a claim for discrimination. That is the sort of argument defendants normally make at the start of the case, not when discovery is completed. Yet, the district court, rather than resolving the case under summary judgment standards -- determining if the evidence might support a verdict in the plaintiff's favor -- instead determined whether the complaint states a plausible claim; under that inquiry we do not examine any documents beyond the complaint itself. Under the Rule 12 process, the district court said plaintiff has not stated a plausible claim.

The district court abused its discretion, holds the Court of Appeals (Lynch and Menashi), which notes that shortly after the district court dismissed this case under Rule 12, the Court of Appeals held in Lugo v. City of Troy, 114 F.4th 80 (2d Cir. 2024), that the district court cannot resolve a motion to dismiss on standing grounds simply by reading the complaint if there is also a summary judgment record that might support the plaintiff's claims. While Lugo held as such in a standing case, its reasoning applies to this case, the Second Circuit holds, over Judge Sullivan's dissent. Quoting from Lugo, the Second Circuit states that "the administration of justice is best served when the district court applies the standards that are appropriate for the pertinent motion and stage of litigation." Since the stage of litigation when defendants in this case was post-discovery, the proper procedure was summary judgment, not a motion to dismiss. The "Rule 12(d) conversion" in this case an abuse of discretion. 

The case returns to the district court to determine if the summary judgment record demonstrates that plaintiff is entitled to a trial on his discrimination and retaliation claims. 

Supreme Court rules for religious parents in public school gender-transitioning case

Without hearing oral argument, the Supreme Court has ruled that religious parents in California are likely to win their case challenging a state law that bars public schools from telling them about their childrens' efforts to engage in gender transitioning at school, i.e., the students preferred pronoun or name. The ruling is grounded in the First Amendment (freedom of religion) and Fourteenth Amendment (right to raise your children without certain governmental intervention).

The case is Mirabelli v. Bonta, issued on March 2. The law in California provides that parents cannot learn this information without consent from the student. My guess is that most students have already told their parents about their gender-transitioning efforts but that some have not, perhaps because they know their parents will not approve. Whatever the policy justifications for the California law, it showcases the culture wars that are now being resolved the Supreme Court on a regular basis. This case reaches the Court because the Ninth Circuit stayed the trial court's order striking down the California law, barring the schools from misleading parents about their childrens' gender presentation at school and their social transitioning efforts.

The factual scenarios arising from the California law are varied. Some parents just want to know what their children are doing in this regard: changing their preferred name and pronoun. Other parents, however, allege that as a result of the law, they did not know about their daughter's gender dysphoria, and their daughter ultimately attempted suicide before their parents could intervene. These facts make this a new kind of case for the Supreme Court.

While it is a new case, however, the Court lifts the Ninth Circuit's stay and reinstates the trial court's injunction against enforcing the law, but it does so on an expedited basis, without oral argument. The Court applies precedent holding that parents have the First Amendment right to raise their children as they see fit, particularly on religious matters, without governmental interference. That's the Free Exercise Clause. Of course, cases under this Clause never involved gender transitioning, though last term the Court said schools cannot force objecting religious parents to allow their children's exposure to LGBTQ storybooks. That logic, the Court says, supports the parents in this case,

The other line of Supreme Court authority guiding this case is the Fourteenth Amendment's protection, under the substantive due process line of cases, holding that parents and not the government have primary authority in how to raise their children. Those cases of course did not involve LGBTQ rights, but they date to the 1920's, so they are a fundamental right under the Constitution, even if the Constitution does not make explicit reference to these rights, which are implied in light of U.S. history.

The ruling was 6-3. No surprise there. The Republican-appointed justices ruled for the parents, and the Democratic-appointed justices dissented. Justice Kagan asks in dissent how the Court can resolve such unprecedented issues, under the fuzzy substantive due process doctrine, without oral argument and full briefing, which is the normal course of affairs. She notes that substantive due process "has not been of late in the good graces of this court," particularly by the six-justice majority in this case, as its boundaries are not clear and the justices have criticized it in the past in allowing judges to impose their personal views in resolving cases. 

Esoteric statute of limitations issue under the Federal Tort Claims Act

This personal injury case arises from a workplace accident at Long Island MacArthur Airport in 2021 that injured the plaintiff, who sues under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Plaintiff sued in state court, but the government removed the case to federal court on the basis that federal court has exclusive jurisdiction over FTCA cases, and that any claims against federal employees also can only be filed in federal court. This interplay between state and federal court gives rise to an interesting statute of limitations issue for which there is a Circuit split that might someday reach the Supreme Court.

The case is Fiermonte v. Deonarain, a summary order issued on March 4. What injured the plaintiff was being electrocuted. A coworker died from that electrocution. Plaintiff filed suit on November 10, 2022 in state court. The following April, plaintiff submitted an administrative claim to the Federal Aviation Administration, which wrote back denying his claim and advising he could file suit in federal court under the FTCA no later than six months after this letter was mailed. Within that six-month window, on February 12, 2024, plaintiff amended the complaint in state court, naming Deonarain as a defendant and claiming that this defendant acted within the scope of his federal employment with the FAA. After the federal government removed the case to federal court, the district court dismissed the case on statute of limitations grounds, reasoning that the case reached federal court more than six months after he exhausted his administrative remedies.

The Court of Appeals (Walker, Sack and Lee) reinstates the case, as it might actually be timely. The district court will have to take a closer look at this issue.

Section 2401(b) of the FTCA requires that a plaintiff commence an 'action' within six months of exhausting their administrative remedies. 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b). However, the statute is silent on whether the action must be filed in federal court or, alternatively, whether a complaint initially filed in state court within the six-month time period and then later removed to federal court—as was the case here—may nonetheless satisfy Section 2401(b)." 

This is an esoteric statute of limitations question, and Courts of Appeal around the country have reached different holdings. The Fourth and Fifth Circuits hold that filing suit in state court does not toll the statute of limitations, requiring dismissal of the case if it reaches federal court after six months. The Seventh and Ninth Circuit have reached a contrary conclusion. Since we have divided authority on this issue, but limited briefing, the Court of Appeals returns the case to the district court to rule on this issue.  

"Ghost guns" case returns to trial court to decide whether New York can regulate them

The State of New York has sued certain gun manufacturers for selling materials that allow you to make "ghost guns," defined as homemade guns that lack serial numbers and are therefore untraceable. That led to a series of motion practice and appeals examining whether these ghost guns are legal or whether the State can enjoin their production. The case reaches the Court of Appeals again, which declines to issue a conclusive ruling.

The case is New York v. Arm or Ally, LLC, a summary order issued on February 26. While the trial court initially denied defendants' motion to dismiss the case, finding the State had asserted a claim against the manufacturers in that the materials qualified as "firearms" under the Gun Control Act, the Court of Appeals in 2024 heard oral argument but held the appeals in abeyance because the Supreme Court was deliberating on Bondi v. VanDerStok, 604 U.S. 458 (2025), which issued in March 2025.

The VanDerStok ruling said that at least some weapons parts kits and unfinished frames or receivers are “firearms” within the meaning of the GCA. The Court noted, however, that at some point a product may be “so incomplete or cumbersome to assemble” as to no longer constitute a weapon, or “so far from a finished frame or receiver that they cannot fairly be described using those terms,” thus bringing them outside the scope of the GCA.

The VanDerStok ruling is now the law of the land. The district court, however, did not have the benefit of that ruling in determining whether New York could bring this lawsuit. The Court of Appeals (Bianco, Menashi and Lee) returns this case to the district court for that purpose.  

Court of Appeals sidesteps separation-of-powers arguments relating to the NLRB and other federal agencies

Here is a case for the modern age: the National Labor Relations Board proceeded against certain health care facilities, claiming they were denying the labor rights of their employees. But the employers mounted a significant defense: in today's political climate, the NLRB had no power to proceed against them because (1) the NLRB lacks a quorum, a byproduct of the Trump administration's maneuverings, and (2) the rules in place that constrain the President's ability to fire members of the board are unconstitutional. 

The case is Care One LLC v. NLRB, issued on February 5. The NLRB is a federal agency that enforces the National Labor Relations Act and resides in the Executive Branch. The President appoints the five-member board to a five-year term and can only be removed by the President "for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause." An administrative law judge rules on alleged NLRA violations, and the ALJ is also protected from political dismissals. The Merit Systems Protection Board, whose members can only be removed by the President on non-political grounds, determines whether the ALJ's may be terminated.

The employers argue that the NLRB was not properly constituted and that the removal procedures for NLRB and MSPB members unconstitutionally interfere with the President's authority to fire them. These arguments may not seem exciting, but they strike at the heart of the U.S. constitutional order, as the present administration is trying to exert unprecedented control over these agencies. If the employers are correct about this, then these agencies were not permitted to proceed against them because they are no longer independent actors but agents of the President. 

Litigation relating to these issues is now raging throughout the federal system, and once the Supreme Courts gets its hands on these cases, we may be living under a very different administrative state than the one we have grown accustomed to over the last few decades. But we are not there yet.

The Court of Appeals (Raggi, Perez and Kahn) sidesteps these issues, and resolves the case in a different way: there is no irreparable harm to the employers, which means there can be no preliminary injunction that would allow the courts to halt the proceedings against them. Upon a finding of irreparable harm flowing from a likely constitutional violation, you'll get an injunction. But while constitutional violations (like free speech) often support a finding of irreparable harm (in that the harm cannot be undone years later following full litigation), that principle does not guide all constitutional violations. The Court finds that no irreparable harm can result from the violation of separation-of-powers principles such as that asserted here. The legal arguments here, relating to the legitimacy of the agency-member removal requirements, "do not cause cognizable harm in all instances," as "removal violations cause cognizable separation-of-powers injury only when the person afforded removal protection engages in action that he would not have taken but for the President's inability to remove him." Since the ALJ in this case -- potentially protected under unconstitutional removal rules -- is no longer on the case due to his retirement, and Care One's case is now before a full NLRB, there is no risk of legal injury from the ALJ and therefore no irreparable harm. 

Judge Perez concurs in the result and offers a lengthy discussion that the Court is also able to find the employers in this case cannot prevail on the merits because the removal procedures governing the NLRB are constitutional