Cardillo v. Cardillo

360 F.Supp.2d 402

Rudolph CARDILLO, Rose Cardillo, Dennis Cardillo, and Cardillo's, Inc., Plaintiffs, v. Edward T. CARDILLO, The Town of Johnston, The Town of Johnston Police Department, The Town of Johnston Police Chief Richard Tamburini, and The Town of Johnston Finance Director Barbara Joncas, Defendants.

Edward T. Cardillo, Plaintiff, v. Rose P. Cardillo, individually and as Trustee of the Alfred A. Cardillo Rev. Inter Vivos Trust, dated May 25, 1989, as amended, and in her capacity as an Officer and Director of each of Cardillo Bros., Inc., Rucar, Inc., and Cardillo's, Inc.; Rudolph Cardillo, individually and in his capacity as an Officer and Director of each of Cardillo Bros., Inc., Rucar, Inc., and Cardillo's, Inc.; John Doe; Joseph Doe; and Jane Doe, Defendants.

No. C.A.04-027S.

No. C.A.04-060S.

United States District Court, D. Rhode Island.

March 23, 2005.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Gary E. Blais, Esq., Kurt M. Hayes, Esq., Providence, RI, for Rudolph Cardillo, Dennis Cardillo, Rose Cardillo And Cardillo's, Inc.

Frank R. Saccoccio, Esq., Johnston, RI, for Rose Cardillo.

Edward R. DiPippo, Esq., Cranston, RI, for Rudolph Cardillo.

Stephen M. Robinson, Esq., Mary Ann F. Carroll, Esq., Michael P. Robinson, Esq., Law Office of Stephen M. Robinson, Providence, RI, for Edward T. Cardillo.

Marc DeSisto, Esq., Kathleen M. Daniels, Esq., DeSisto Law, Providence, RI, for Town of Johnston, Johnston Police Dept., Richard Tamburini, and Barbara Joncas.

DECISION AND ORDER

SMITH, District Judge.

Before this Court are three motions arising out of a bitter family dispute involving conspiracy theories, allegations of police misconduct, and a salvage yard. Specifically, this Court is asked to decide a motion to dismiss and a motion for judgment on the pleadings in a case now pending before this Court, as well a motion for Rule 11 sanctions arising out of a companion case that this Court previously remanded to state court. While the procedural history of these cases is somewhat complex, the issues presented are not. Edward Cardillo ("Edward") alleges that his aunt and uncle, Rose and Rudolph Cardillo ("Rose and Rudolph"), wasted corporate assets conveyed to him by another uncle, and that they deprived him of his interest in certain real estate also conveyed to him. Almost four years after Edward filed his Complaint, Rose and Rudolph removed the case to federal court. For obvious reasons, this Court found such removal to be improper, remanded the case to Rhode Island Superior Court, and allowed Edward to bring a motion for Rule 11 sanctions. Edward's original filing was procedurally inadequate and was rejected by this Court. He has now re-filed this motion in the form of a Motion for Reconsideration and Award of Attorneys' Fees Pursuant to Rule 11. Meanwhile, Rose and Rudolph, together with Edward's brother, Dennis, and the family salvage yard business, Cardillo's, Inc., filed a separate action against Edward, the Town of Johnston, the Town of Johnston Police Department, and several town officials, alleging violations of their federal constitutional rights and state law. Edward subsequently filed a Motion to Dismiss and the remaining defendants filed a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. For the reasons discussed below, this Court treats the dispositive motions as motions for summary judgment, and grants the relief requested therein with prejudice as to all federal claims, and without prejudice as to the state law claims. In addition, because the removal of the state court action nearly four years after its filing was so flagrantly baseless, Edward's Motion for Reconsideration and Award of Attorneys' Fees Pursuant to Rule 11 is also granted.

I. Background

Case 04-60

"Edward T. Cardillo v. Rose P. Cardillo, et al."

In May 2000, Edward instituted an action (Case 04-60) in the Rhode Island Superior Court against Rose and Rudolph for an accounting with respect to corporate assets conveyed to him by his deceased uncle, Alfred A. Cardillo ("Alfred"), which were alleged to have been wasted by Rose and Rudolph;¹ for partition of the real estate conveyed to him by Alfred;² and for compensatory damages. On December 18, 2003, Rose and Rudolph sought leave to bring a counterclaim against Edward, alleging that Edward had interfered with business profits and licensing, and had wasted corporate assets. This motion was denied by the Rhode Island Superior Court on February 4, 2004, apparently because it was made on the eve of trial and nearly four years after the suit had been filed, and because Rose and Rudolph, together with others, had initiated a separate action, Case 04-27, seeking much the same relief. That separate suit was timely removed to this Court (as further discussed below). On February 25, 2004, several months prior to the start of the state court trial set for May 17, 2004, Rose and Rudolph removed Edward's state court action (which had been pending for nearly four years) to this Court, Case 04-60. On March 25, 2004, Edward brought a Motion to Remand the action to Superior Court, claiming that the action raised strictly matters of state law. On March 30, 2004, Rose and Rudolph brought a Motion to Consolidate Case 04-60 with Case 04-27.

On July 8, 2004, this Court heard arguments on Edward's Motion to Remand and Rose's and Rudolph's Motion to Consolidate. This Court issued a ruling from the bench, finding "absolutely no authority or basis" for Rose's and Rudolph's removal of Case 04-60 to this Court. Citing the multiple-year delay in filing for removal and their failure to cite any legal basis in support of removal, this Court granted Edward's Motion to Remand to Superior Court, thereby mooting Rose's and Rudolph's Motion to Consolidate. (Tr. of Hr'g, 7/8/04, Cardillo v. Cardillo, C.A. 04-027S, C.A. 04-60S (hereinafter, "Tr. of Hr'g, 7/8/04").) At the hearing, this Court also stated that it would "entertain" a motion by Edward for sanctions for fees associated with defending the Motion to Consolidate and filing a Motion to Remand, and requested that Edward submit an affidavit with his costs and fees associated with the Motion to Remand. On July 16, 2004, Edward responded to the Court's request by submitting supporting affidavits and an itemization of attorneys' fees relating to his filing of the Motion to Remand.

On September 3, 2004, this Court denied Edward's Rule 11 Motion for attorneys' fees on procedural grounds, finding no legal authority, absent a separate motion by Edward conforming with Rule 11, to support imposition of sanctions for attorneys' fees. On September 9, 2004, Edward filed a Motion for Reconsideration and Award of Attorneys' Fees Pursuant to Rule 11, bringing a formal motion for attorneys' fees pursuant to Rule 11 and requesting that this Court revisit its decision to deny these fees.

Case 04-27

"Rudolph Cardillo, et al. v. Edward T. Cardillo, et al."

On December 18, 2003, Rose, Rudolph, Dennis (Edward's brother), and Cardillo's, Inc.,³ (collectively, the "Cardillos") instituted an action in Rhode Island Superior Court against Edward, together with the Town of Johnston, the Town of Johnston Police Department, the Town of Johnston Police Chief Richard Tamburini, and the Town of Johnston Finance Director Barbara Joncas (collectively, "the Town") alleging violations of state and federal law.⁴ Shortly thereafter, on February 2, 2004, the Town timely removed Case 04-27 to this Court. On March 9, 2004, Edward brought a Motion to Dismiss the Cardillos' action. On March 24, 2004, following a hearing, this Court issued a bench decision denying the Cardillos' Motion for a Preliminary Injunction against Edward and the Town (collectively, the "Defendants"). On April 15, 2004, the Town brought a Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. On July 8, 2004, in addition to hearing arguments on Edward's Motion to Remand Case 04-60 to Superior Court, this Court heard arguments on Edward's Motion to Dismiss and the Town's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings.

II. Summary Judgment Standard

At the July 8, 2004 hearing, Edward asked this Court to convert his Motion to Dismiss to a Motion for Summary Judgment, in light of the affidavits submitted by himself and Rudolph.⁵ Under Rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, if this Court permits the introduction of extraneous matter on a motion to dismiss, pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), and/or a motion for judgment on the pleadings, pursuant to Rule 12(c), then the motions "shall be treated as [motions] for summary judgment and disposed of as provided in Rule 56, and all parties shall be given reasonable opportunity to present all material made pertinent to such a motion by Rule 56." Fed.R.Civ.P. 12 advisory committee's note. Because this Court has received affidavits from both parties, this Court may, pursuant to Rule 12, convert Edward's Motion to Dismiss, together with the Town's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, to motions for summary judgment.⁶

Summary judgment is appropriate when there are no genuine issues of material fact, and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). In considering the motion, the Court must "view all facts and draw all inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party." Reich v. John Alden Life Ins. Co., 126 F.3d 1, 6 (1st Cir.1997) (citing Continental Cas. Co. v. Canadian Universal Ins. Co., 924 F.2d 370, 373 (1st Cir.1991)).

III. Analysis

A. The Cardillos' § 1983⁷ and § 1985⁸ Claims

In their Second Amended Complaint, the Cardillos allege that Edward acted in concert with the Town to "destroy" Cardillo's, Inc., deprive Dennis of his constitutional rights, and deprive Rudolph of the fruits of his business endeavors in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (Pls.' Compl. at 3-4.) Specifically, the Cardillos allege that Edward had Dennis falsely arrested based on untrue statements "with the assistance of the Johnston Police Department"; caused corporate assets to be removed wrongfully...