Hyman v. Morris

320 F.Supp.3d 707

Angela HYMAN, Plaintiff,

v.Michael MORRIS and Bryan Devlin, Defendants.

CIVIL ACTION NO. 3:17-89

United States District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania.

Filed August 14, 2018

Andrew M. Milz, Cary L. Flitter, Jody T. Lopez-Jacobs, Flitter Milz, P.C., Narberth, PA, for Plaintiff.

J. Eric Barchiesi, Office of Attorney General, Pittsburgh, PA, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

KIM R. GIBSON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

I. Introduction

Pending before the Court is the Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 91) filed by Defendant Bryan Devlin ("Devlin"), the sole remaining defendant in this case.¹ The Motion has been fully briefed (see ECF Nos. 92 and 95) and is ripe for disposition. For the reasons stated below, the Court will DENY Devlin's Motion.

II. Background

A. Factual History²

1. Angela Hyman Defaults on Her Loan

Plaintiff Angela Hyman ("Hyman") received a loan to finance the purchase of a new car.³ Hyman gave the lender, Capital One, a security interest in her car.⁴ The loan agreement gave Capital One the right to repossess Hyman's car if she defaulted on her loan payments.⁵

Hyman fell behind on her monthly payments.⁶ Capital One sent Hyman a notice of default and advised her that if she failed to pay the amount due, it might repossess her car.⁷ Hyman submitted a loan modification request, which Capital One denied,⁸ instead deciding to exercise its right to repossess Hyman's car.⁹

Capital One hired Jeff Brunner of Commonwealth Recovery Group to carry out the repossession.¹⁰

2. Brunner Arrives to Repossess Hyman's Vehicle

Brunner arrived at Hyman's home on October 5, 2016, around 7:20 p.m.¹¹ While the parties agree that Brunner ultimately repossessed Hyman's car, they disagree about when the repossession occurred. Devlin states that Brunner immediately backed his tow truck into Hyman's driveway, hooked and strapped both sides of Hyman's car, and lifted the vehicle into the air without incident.¹² By contrast, Hyman and her wife, Shyree Johnson, unequivocally assert that Brunner did not hook and lift her car until after the police arrived.¹³

Johnson exited the house and requested to remove items from the vehicle.¹⁴ Brunner helped her remove her items.¹⁵ Johnson brought the items inside the house and, shortly thereafter, returned to the vehicle, got into the driver's seat, and refused to exit.¹⁶ After Johnson entered the vehicle, the vehicle's doors were locked, though the parties dispute whether Johnson locked the doors from the inside or whether Hyman locked them remotely.¹⁷ The parties also dispute whether the car was attached to Brunner's tow truck at this juncture; Devlin, citing Brunner's testimony, claims that Hyman's car was hooked up and raised in the air, while Hyman, citing her own testimony and that of Johnson, contends that the car was not attached to the tow truck and was still on the ground.¹⁸

At this point, Hyman called her daughter, a law student, and asked her for advice about how to handle the situation.¹⁹ Hyman claims that, on the advice of her daughter, she approached Brunner, informed him that he was trespassing, and demanded that he vacate her property.²⁰ Brunner denies that Hyman or Johnson told him he was trespassing or demanded that he get off the property.²¹

At this point, Brunner called the Pennsylvania State Police.²² Hyman also called the police, and reported that someone was trying to take her car.²³ Hyman claims that, while everyone was waiting for the police to arrive, she told Brunner to leave her property two more times.²⁴ Brunner denies that Hyman ever ordered him to leave.²⁵ During this interval, Hyman stood in the doorway to her house and Johnson remained inside Hyman's vehicle.²⁶

3. The State Police Arrive

After approximately twenty minutes, Trooper Brian Black arrived.²⁷ Black spoke with Brunner, who provided documentation of the repossession, and with Johnson, who refused to exit the vehicle.²⁸ Black then approached Hyman and requested that she ask Johnson to exit the vehicle so he could talk to her.²⁹ Hyman told Black that Johnson was her wife³⁰ and refused to ask her to exit the car.³¹ Black returned to his cruiser and contacted Corporal Brian Devlin.³² Black waited in his cruiser for Devlin to arrive.³³

Trooper Michael Morris arrived at the scene to assist Black.³⁴ Morris attempted to speak with Johnson, but she did not respond.³⁵ Morris then abandoned his efforts to speak with Johnson and waited for Devlin to arrive.³⁶

4. Corporal Devlin Intervenes

Devlin arrived with Trooper Elmer Hertzog.³⁷ After arriving, Devlin "was briefed on the situation" and then attempted to speak to Hyman who handed Devlin a cellphone.³⁸ Devlin spoke briefly to the person on the phone, an unknown woman who claimed to be an attorney or a law student.³⁹ Devlin then approached the vehicle and spoke with Johnson, who was still inside.⁴⁰

The parties dispute whether Devlin knew that Johnson was Hyman's wife and whether he understood that he was at the scene of a repossession. Black testified that, when he called the barracks and spoke with Devlin, he informed Devlin that he was at "the scene of a repo" and that the woman in the car was the owner of the vehicle.⁴¹ By contrast, Devlin testified that he believed he was responding "to a scene of [a] disturbance, of an unknown lady locked inside a car."⁴² The parties also disagree about whether the car was already hooked up to the tow truck when Devlin arrived.⁴³

Devlin approached the car, still speaking to the woman on the phone.⁴⁴ Cell phone video captures the interaction that ensued.⁴⁵ The Court notes that while Devlin was speaking on the phone to Hyman's daughter, the conversation was clearly audible to Johnson—whose cell phone video, taken from inside the car, recorded the conversation.⁴⁶ What is produced below is not an official transcription, but rather the Court's impression of what occurred based on its viewing of the cell phone video.

The woman on the phone informs Devlin that police may not enforce a civil contract or take sides in civil disputes.⁴⁷ Devlin responds, "[m]a'am, what's going to happen here today is that I've already spoken with the tower, they need to get the vehicle tonight, okay? If you're talking with the young lady in the car ... would please tell her to get out so these gentlemen can do their job?"⁴⁸

The woman reiterates that the police may not assist in a civil repossession.⁴⁹ Devlin replies, "you can file a complaint on me later."⁵⁰ He continues, "[h]ere's what's going to happen. If she doesn't get out, we're going to break the window ... she's going to be removed, she's going to be arrested for disorderly conduct, and the car is still going to get taken."⁵¹ After the woman on the phone reiterates that Devlin is breaking the law, Devlin repeats that she can file a complaint against him.⁵²

Devlin asks the woman on the phone if she has told Johnson to get out of the car yet.⁵³ The woman responds that she has not spoken with Johnson but that Johnson will comply with Devlin's order.⁵⁴ Devlin tells the woman, "[y]ou call her, tell her to do that, and once she gets out, we'll be okay."⁵⁵

After a few seconds, Devlin taps the window of the car and tells Johnson, "I'm not going to wait all day ... you've got about 30 more seconds." Johnson responds, "[m]y lawyer's on the phone with the State Police." Devlin replies, "[y]ou've got 30 seconds to come out or we're breaking the window and coming in. How long have we been here dealing with this? ... If you refuse to come out, we're going to have to remove you, and I do not want to have to do that over a repossessed vehicle."⁵⁶

After Johnson failed to obey Devlin's order, Devlin taps on the window again and asks, "are you coming out? Your time is up ... yes or no? Are you coming out?" At this point, Johnson complies with Devlin's order and exits the vehicle.

Devlin spent approximately 18 minutes at Hyman's residence.⁵⁷ Devlin admits that he "did not witness any violence, property destruction, or threats."⁵⁸

Devlin and the other officers left Hyman's residence shortly after Johnson exited the vehicle.⁵⁹ Hyman testified that, after Johnson vacated the car, Brenner attached the car to the tow truck, lifted it up from the rear end, and towed the car away.⁶⁰ Devlin disputes this account and states that Hyman's car had been hooked up before the police arrived at the scene.⁶¹

Devlin and the other officers present at Hyman's residence "are well aware" that "law enforcement cannot involve themselves (sic) in a civil repossession."⁶²

B. Procedural History

Hyman filed her Complaint before this Court on May 30, 2017 (see ECF No. 1), followed by an Amended Complaint on August 4, 2017 (see ECF No. 27). Hyman asserted six counts in her Amended Complaint.⁶³

Capital One and Commonwealth Recovery moved for partial dismissal of Hyman's claims against them.⁶⁴ (ECF No. 41.) The Commonwealth Defendants moved to dismiss Hyman's § 1983 claims, which alleged that they had violated her Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable seizure and her Fourteenth Amendment right to procedural due process. (ECF No. 39.)

The Court disposed of these motions via memorandum opinion and order. (ECF No. 59.) The Court denied Capital One and Commonwealth Recovery's Motion to Dismiss in its entirety. (Id. ) The court granted in part and denied in part the Commonwealth Defendants' Motion to Dismiss. (Id. ) Specifically, the Court granted the Motion with respect to Hyman's official capacity claims and all claims against the Pennsylvania State Police, Blocker, and John Doe Troopers 1-10 in their individual capacities. Accordingly, the only remaining claims against any of the Commonwealth Defendants were the § 1983 claims against Defendants Morris and Devlin in their individual capacities.

Subsequently, Hyman accepted Capital One and Commonwealth Recovery's Offer of Judgment (ECF No. 82). The clerk entered judgment against these Defendants (ECF No. 84), and they were dismissed from the case.

The remaining Defendants—Morris and...