Bassett v. City of Rye

104 A.D.3d 889

961 N.Y.S.2d 561

2013 N.Y. Slip Op. 02037

Michael M. BASSETT, et al., appellants,

v.CITY OF RYE, respondent.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, New York.

March 27, 2013.

Gerard A. Falco, Harrison, N.Y., for appellants.

Joseph A. Maria, P.C., White Plains, N.Y. (Edward A. Frey of counsel), for respondent.

PETER B. SKELOS, J.P., JOHN M. LEVENTHAL, L. PRISCILLA HALL, and PLUMMER E. LOTT, JJ.

In an action to recover damages for false arrest and malicious prosecution pursuant to 42 USC § 1983, the plaintiffs appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Berliner, J.), dated August 26, 2011, which, upon a jury verdict in their favor, granted that branch of the defendant's motion which was, in effect, pursuant CPLR 4404(a) to set aside the jury verdict and for judgment as a matter of law dismissing the complaint.

ORDERED that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, that branch of the defendant's motion which was, in effect, pursuant to CPLR 4404(a) to set aside the jury verdict and for judgment as a matter of law dismissing the complaint is denied, the verdict is reinstated, and the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Westchester County, for a determination of the remaining branches of the defendant's motion.

This action arises out of the allegedly unlawful arrest of the plaintiff Michael M. Bassett in 2004. Michael M. Bassett, and his spouse suing derivatively, commenced this action against the City of Rye, inter alia, to recover damages for false arrest pursuant to 42 USC § 1983. On a prior appeal in this action, this Court affirmed the Supreme Court's denial of the defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint ( see Bassett v. City of Rye, 69 A.D.3d 667, 893 N.Y.S.2d 179).

After a trial, the jury rendered a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs as to the false arrest causes of action. The defendant then moved, in effect, pursuant to CPLR 4404(a) to set aside the jury verdict and for judgment as a matter of law dismissing the complaint or, in the alternative, to set aside the jury verdict as contrary to the weight of the evidence and for a new trial. In support of that branch of its motion which was, in effect, pursuant to CPLR 4404(a) to set aside the verdict and for judgment as a matter of law dismissing the complaint, the defendant argued that the evidence adduced at trial demonstrated that there was probable cause for Michael M. Bassett's arrest, that there was no evidence of an official policy or custom relating to that arrest, and that the plaintiffs failed to prove that they sustained any damages as a result of the claimed deprivation of Michael M. Bassett's constitutional rights.

In the order appealed from, the Supreme Court granted that branch of the defendant's motion which was, in effect, pursuant to CPLR 4404(a) to set aside the jury verdict and for judgment as a matter of law dismissing the complaint, concluding that there was no evidence to support the jury's finding that Michael M. Bassett's arrest was the result of an official policy or custom of the defendant. As a result, the Supreme Court did not consider the defendant's remaining contentions in support of its motion, including the defendant's assertions that there was probable cause for Michael M. Bassett's arrest, and that the jury verdict was contrary to the weight of the evidence and that a new trial should be held.

Contrary to the plaintiffs' contention, the Supreme Court did not violate the law of the case in issuing the order appealed from ( seeCPLR 4401, 4404[a]; see also Stroem v. Plackis, 96 A.D.3d 1040, 948 N.Y.S.2d 90;S.L. Benfica Transp., Inc. v. Rainbow Media, Inc., 13 A.D.3d 348, 349, 786 N.Y.S.2d 98).

However, the Supreme Court erred in granting that branch of the defendant's motion which was, in effect, pursuant to CPLR 4404(a) to set aside the jury verdict and for judgment as a matter of law dismissing the complaint. “A court may set aside a jury verdict as legally insufficient and enter judgment as a matter of law only where ‘there is simply no valid line of reasoning and permissible inferences which could possibly lead rational [persons] to the conclusion reached by the jury on the basis of the evidence presented at trial’ ” (Matter of State of New York v. Derrick B., 68 A.D.3d 1124, 1126, 892 N.Y.S.2d 140, quoting Cohen v. Hallmark Cards, 45 N.Y.2d 493, 499, 410 N.Y.S.2d 282, 382 N.E.2d 1145).

The Supreme Court determined that the jury verdict should be set aside on the ground that the plaintiffs failed to submit evidence showing that the complained-of actions stemmed from an official municipal policy or custom. A municipality may not be held vicariously liable pursuant to 42 USC § 1983 based on a theory of respondeat superior ( see Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 691, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611). However, a plaintiff may prevail...