Giuliani v. Springfield Twp.

238 F.Supp.3d 670

Richard GIULIANI, Sr. and Richard Giuliani, Jr.

v.SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, et. al.

CIVIL ACTION NO. 10–7518

United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania.

Signed February 27, 2017

Maurice R. Mitts, Mitts Law, LLC, Philadelphia, PA, for Richard Giuliani, Sr. and Richard Giuliani, Jr.

Harry G. Mahoney, Deasey Mahoney Valentini North, Ltd., Philadelphia, PA, for Springfield Township, et al.

MEMORANDUM

O'NEILL, District Judge

The case before me involves a longstanding and ongoing dispute concerning the use of a 5.29–acre property located at 50 Oreland Mill Road in Springfield Township, Pennsylvania. The owners of the property, plaintiffs Richard Giuliani, Sr. and Richard Giuliani, Jr., bring this federal suit against defendants Springfield Township, Springfield Township Board of Commissioners, Springfield Township Zoning Hearing Board, Commissioner Glen A. Schaum, Commissioner Jeffrey T. Harbison, Commissioner Baird M. Standish, Commissioner Robert E. Gillies, Jr., Commissioner Alison McGrath Peirce, Commissioner James E. Dailey, Commissioner Douglas J. Heller,¹ Township Manager Donald Berger, Zoning Officer Robert Dunlop, Code Enforcement Officer and Fire Marshal Charles H. Baily, Code Enforcement Officer and Fire Marshal Richard Lesniak and the Township's Consulting engineer Amy Riddle Montgomery, P.E. The complaint seeks relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of plaintiffs' procedural due process rights, substantive due process rights and equal protection rights. In addition, plaintiffs allege a conspiracy pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3), as well as a state law claim for tortious interference with actual and prospective relations. After extensive discovery, defendants now move for summary judgment on all claims. For the following reasons, I will grant the motion and enter judgment in favor of all defendants in this case.

FACTUAL HISTORY

I. History of the Property

Plaintiffs originally purchased the property at 50 Oreland Mill Road in Springfield Township, Pennsylvania on September 12, 1996, from Penn Valley Plywood. Pls.' Opp'n Summ. J., Ex. B, at No. 6; Pl's Opp'n Summ. J., Ex. C, at No. 6. The property is a 5.29–acre tract, predominantly zoned for industrial use with three principal structures: a two-story, 5,400 square foot office building, a 32,800 square foot warehouse and a 4,000 square foot Quonset hut. Defs.' Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 4, Dep. of Richard Giuliani, Jr. (Giuliani Jr. Dep.), 63:7–66:6 (approximating sizes). While the property was owned by Penn Valley Plywood, a portion of it was used for Penn Valley's own manufacturing business, and other portions were leased to multiple tenants including Edge Transportation, David Kale t/a Kale Design, Robert Forrester, Felwick Fire Association and Glenn Schaum. Giuliani Jr. Dep. 63–80; Pls.' Opp'n Summ. J., Ex. E.

When plaintiffs obtained ownership of the property on September 12, 1996, they continued the leases of those existing tenants and leased back a portion of the property to Penn Valley Plywood, Inc. Giuliani Jr. Dep. 88:6–89:13. According to plaintiff Richard Giuliani, Jr., prior to entering the agreement of sale, he spoke with the building inspector and code enforcer at the Springfield Township municipal office, Richard Lesniak to ask if there was anything he should know about the property, and Lesniak said no.² Id. at 21:7–21. Township Manager Donald Berger testified that, in 1996, the Township was not aware of the presence of tenants at the property. Defs.' Mot. Summ. J, Ex. 5, Dep. of Donald Berger (Berger Dep.), 686:2–687:3. He further explained that, to his knowledge, Penn Valley Plywood had never applied for land development approval or for use and occupancy permits for any of the tenants that were there on September 12, 1996. Id. at 687:4–14.

II. Tenants on the Property After Plaintiffs Acquired It

Plaintiffs retained M.M. Collins to provide property management services for the property. In that capacity, M.M. Collins sent several communications to Glenn Schaum, who was the secretary/treasurer of the Fellwick Fire Association, regarding Fellwick's and Schaum's delinquent rent from late 1996 into 1997. Pls.' Opp'n Summ. J. Summ. J., Ex. I, Dep. of Glen Schaum (Schaum Dep.) 22:19–23:20; Pls.' Opp'n Summ. J., Exs. J, K, L and M. Ultimately, plaintiffs, through M.M. Collins, gave notice of their intention to institute eviction proceedings against Fellwick Fire Association and Schaum, but never carried out the eviction because Fellwick Fire Association vacated the property voluntarily without paying the back rent. Defs.' Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 13, Dep. of Richard Giuliani, Sr. (Giuliani, Sr. Dep.) 54:1–18. Schaum was subsequently elected to the Springfield Township Board of Commissioners in 1997, and served as its Vice President from 2000 to 2003, and as its President from 2004 to 2005. Schaum Dep. 39–45.

Plaintiffs then either terminated the leases of the five "transition" tenants or the tenants left the property on their own. Thereafter, plaintiffs leased portions of the property to additional tenants who occupied the property at various points in time from 1998 to the present. They include: Elite Limo (lease date 5/30/98); McNamara Masonry Restoration (oral lease in 1997; returned in 2010); James A Grundy Agency, Inc. (lease date 5/13/98); Belcher Roofing Corporation (lease date 1998); Iggy's Landscaping (oral lease); RMG General Contractors (oral lease); E–Pak Technologies (lease date 9/1/01 to 2003); Leary Trucking and Paving, Inc. (lease date 1/15/02, vacated then returned; presently a tenant); PennMark Auto (lease date 4/15/03 to 2008); Alan A. Myers, Inc. (lease date 1/28/04 to 2006); First Student (lease date 7/1/09 to 9/1/13); Cheltenham Transportation (lease date 9/13 to present); and Green Lighting and Paper (lease date 6/10/10 to 12/13). Giuliani Jr. Dep. 108–124, 138–204.

III. Plaintiffs' Early Land Use Applications to the Township

On July 13, 2000, plaintiffs submitted a formal subdivision application for the property, proposing a four-lot subdivision. Pl.'s Opp'n Summ. J., Ex. N. The proposal called for one lot at the front which would keep the existing office building, a second lot behind it where the warehouse was located and one or two residential lots on Lynn Avenue. Id. The prospective purchaser of the second warehouse lot was the New Life Presbyterian Church. At some point, however, the church pulled out of the negotiation, and plaintiffs opted not to subdivide. Giuliani, Jr. Dep. 328:7–23.

In mid–2001, plaintiffs sought to rent a portion of the property to Romano's School Bus Service for storage and parking of school buses. According to the lease between plaintiffs and Romano's, plaintiffs were required to do some relatively small paving. On July 6, 2001, plaintiffs' consulting engineer, Anthony John Hibbein, P.E., sent a letter to Code Enforcement Officer/Fire Marshal Richard Lesniak advising that plaintiffs proposed to pave 9,500 square feet of the property. Defs.' Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 11. The letter stated, "[p]lease review the enclosed schematic and let me know how the township would like to procedurally handle this matter." Id. Lesniak raised the matter before the Township staff meeting and, in a letter dated July 13, 2011, explained that it was "the consensus of the staff members that a full land development plan should be prepared for the subject property." Defs.' Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 12. On August 6, 2001, Richard Collier, plaintiffs' consulting land planner, wrote to Lesniak stating that plaintiffs no longer wished to lease the property for bus operations and, therefore, were not going to pursue the prior application for subdivision any further. Defs.' Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 10. In that same letter, Collier said that plaintiffs intended to lease the two existing buildings to a new tenant who would use them as an office and warehouse. Id.

IV. Defendants' Alleged Harassment and Citation of Plaintiffs

According to plaintiffs, shortly after their purchase of the property, Township vehicles began to show up on the property constantly. Giuliani Jr. Dep. 539:2–21. Giuliani Jr. recalled that when plaintiffs engaged in initial efforts to clean up the property, Detective William Householder and other Township officials came to the property just to inspect their efforts. Id. at 539:14–540:4. Plaintiffs later learned that Detective Householder lived on the street immediately behind the property and, in May 1998, was elected as the District Justice for District No. 38–1–08 in Montgomery County, a district that included the property. Defs.' Mot. Summ. J., Ex. B ¶ 57 & Ex. C ¶ 57.

In January 2001, Lesniak sent a letter to Giuliani Jr. confirming that during a recent telephone conversation, plaintiffs were informed that they would have to remove trailers stored at the property. Pl.'s Opp'n Summ. J., Ex. P. At a routine inspection in the area on January 24, 2001, however, Township officials noted that the trailers had not been removed and plaintiffs were in violation of Section 114–137C of the Springfield Township Code. Id. Accordingly, Lesniak instructed plaintiffs to remove the trailers within fifteen days. Id. Plaintiffs contended that the storage of the trailers was permitted by the Code because they were used by their own company in the ordinary course of business operations. Pl.'s Mem. Supp. Opp'n Summ. J. 8.

In October 2001, plaintiffs received a citation for allegedly failing to obtain building permits for maintenance and repair work. Defs.' Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 1. Plaintiffs paid the fine without contest in court and filed an application for building permits in May 2001. Pls.' Opp'n Summ. J., Ex. Q.On December 13, 2001, one of plaintiffs' then-tenants, E–Pak technologies, received a letter from the Township regarding an anonymous complaint about "illegal rubbish" stored on the property. Pls.' Opp'n Summ. J., Ex. T. The letter stated that "the Township will not collect these items. You are responsible to have them removed by a private...