Morency v. City of Allentown, 5:19-cv-5304

MICHAEL RAYMOND MORENCY and ROEUTH MORENCY, husband and wife, Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF ALLENTOWN, ALLENTOWN POLICE DEPARTMENT,CHIEF OF POLICE TONY ALSLEBEN, OFFICER DIEHL,SERGEANT FLORES, and OFFICER ERIC BLOOD, Defendants.

No. 5:19-cv-5304

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

April 22, 2020

OPINION

Defendants' Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings, ECF Nos. 14, 24—GRANTED, in part

Joseph F. Leeson, Jr. United States District Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

This action was commenced by husband and wife Plaintiffs, Michael Raymond Morency and Roeuth Morency (collectively, "Plaintiffs"), against the City of Allentown, Pennsylvania ("the City"), the Allentown Police Department, and several of its police officers (collectively, "Defendants"). Plaintiffs allege myriad civil rights violations stemming from the arrest and prosecution of Michael Morency for simple assault and disorderly conduct, charges which were subsequently dropped. Defendants have moved for partial judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c), asking that the Court dismiss several of Plaintiffs' claims based on the presence of probable cause to arrest, the issuance of an arrest warrant, and the officers' entitlement to qualified immunity. For the reasons set forth below, Defendants' motion for partial judgment on the pleadings is granted, in part.

II. BACKGROUND

A. Facts alleged in the Amended Complaint¹

Plaintiffs aver that on June 14, 2018, at approximately 11:00 p.m., Michael Morency was on his porch when he observed two teenage males playing soccer in his yard, using his car as a backstop. See Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint ("Am. Compl.") [ECF No. 19] ¶ 10. When Morency² told the two teenagers to leave his property, one of the two teenagers—who Plaintiffs state was the son of their neighbor, Hector Sanchez—kicked the soccer ball one final time against Morency's car, causing the ball to land in Plaintiffs' hedge against their house. See id. ¶¶ 11-12. Morency jumped off the porch, moving to retrieve the ball, and collided with Hector Sanchez's son, who was also moving to retrieve the ball, and "who land[ed] on his buttocks" as a result of the collision. Id. ¶ 13. After this, Hector Sanchez's son began uttering threats against Morency that he would "have [his] father give [Morency] a beating." Id. ¶ 15.

Several minutes later, Hector Sanchez came to Plaintiffs' property, stood in their yard, and began yelling at Michael Morency, who was on his porch smoking a cigarette. See Am. Compl. ¶ 17. Plaintiffs state that Morency told Sanchez that the contact with his son was accidental and that his son should not have been playing on Plaintiffs' property. See id. ¶ 18. At this point, according to the Amended Complaint, Hector Sanchez began advancing on Morencyin a threatening manner, climbing the steps of Plaintiffs' porch with raised, clenched fists. See id. ¶ 19. Morency warned Sanchez twice to back off and leave his property, before "making a defensive draw of a handgun from his pocket; holding it down at his side as Hector Sanchez climbed the steps." Id. ¶¶ 20-21. The Amended Complaint avers that Morency never pointed the handgun at Hector Sanchez, that Morency had a license to legally carry firearms, and that the firearm was legally owned and registered to him. See id. ¶¶ 22-24. Upon seeing the firearm, Hector Sanchez immediately fled the scene. See id. ¶ 25.

At approximately 12:01 a.m. the same night, Allentown police officers, including Officers Diehl and Blood, came to Plaintiffs' property and ordered Michael Morency out of his home "with [his] hands up." Am. Compl. ¶ 26. According to the Amended Complaint, Morency "calmly refused" this command, to which the officers responded by stating that he must come with them and that they were not going to listen to anything he had to say. Id. ¶¶ 27-28. Michael Morency then stated that, as they were not going to listen to him anyway, they needed to vacate his property. See id. ¶ 29. Plaintiffs aver that at this point, Officer Diehl began shaking the screen door and trying to force entry while stating, "he's close enough to outside, he's coming with us." Id. ¶¶ 30-31. Morency responded by telling the officers to "have a nice day," after which he shut the door. Id. ¶ 32.

The next morning, June 15, 2018, Michael Morency left his home in his vehicle, and, according to the Amended Complaint, within one block of his home, was pulled over by three Allentown police cruisers. See Am. Compl. ¶ 34. Importantly, Plaintiffs aver that Sergeant Flores told Michael Morency at this time that the police did not have a warrant for his arrest yet, but that they were going to apply for one. Id. ¶ 35. Morency was taken to the Allentown Police Station, where Officer Diehl seized his property consisting of one handgun, one holster,ammunition, $35 in cash, and a cigarette lighter. See id. ¶ 36. Plaintiffs claim that Morency was then incarcerated in the Lehigh County Jail, and "[a]n arrest warrant was subsequently issued." Id. ¶¶ 37-38. According to the Amended Complaint, "Defendant Officers did repeatedly question [Morency], even after [he] demanded an attorney," and he was never read his Miranda rights. Id. ¶¶ 39-40. Plaintiffs aver that Morency only learned what the charges against him were—two counts of simple assault and one count of disorderly conduct—during a bail hearing at the jail by video conference. See id. ¶¶ 41, 43. Similarly, the Amended Complaint claims Morency was not provided with any documents concerning the charges against him until approximately fourteen hours after his arrest. See id. ¶ 42.

Plaintiffs allege several deficiencies with the affidavit of probable cause filed by Officer Blood in support of Michael Morency's arrest.³ Specifically, they state that the affidavit (1) "failed to indicate that [Morency] had told Hector Sanchez's son to stop kicking the ball at his vehicle and that Sanchez's son continued to kick the ball against Plaintiffs' vehicle," Am. Compl. ¶ 46; (2) "failed to indicate that it was after Sanchez's son was warned to stop kicking the ball at Plaintiffs' vehicle and . . . defied the warning . . . that [Morency] and Sanchez's son collided," id. ¶ 47; (3) incorrectly "indicated that Sanchez was on the sidewalk, whereas, [Morency] states and avers that Sanchez was ascending the Plaintiffs' front steps to the porch with his raised, clenched fists," id. ¶ 48; (4) "contain[ed] only information provided by Hector Sanchez, Sr.," id. ¶ 49; and (5) "stat[ed] that a Firearms Ownership Request found that Michael Morency owned six (6) firearms," when it was clear that at least two and possibly threeindividuals were listed on the Firearms Ownership Request Record of Sale Query, id. ¶¶ 53-57.⁴ Similarly, Plaintiffs contend that the police failed to perform any investigation to corroborate Hector Sanchez's allegations, failed to examine the evidence at the scene, failed to review video footage from a police camera stationed one block away. See id. ¶¶ 50-52.

Plaintiffs allege that while Michael Morency was incarcerated at the Lehigh County Jail, two uniformed Allentown police officers went to Plaintiffs' home and "threatened and intimidated [Roeuth Morency] . . . . [t]hen proceeded to ransack the home without Plaintiffs' consent." Am. Compl. ¶ 64. According to the Amended Complaint, these officers did not present a search warrant, and proceeded to take from the home items including two handguns, ammunition for the handguns, and $2,000 in cash from the Plaintiffs' safe. See id. ¶ 67. It is alleged that no receipt was provided to Roeuth Morency for the items taken from Plaintiffs' home. See id. ¶ 68.

At his bail hearing, the Allentown Police requested that Michael Morency not be permitted to live at his home with his wife and family. Am Compl. ¶ 69. During the hearing, the presiding magistrate referenced Michael Morency owning six firearms—information Plaintiffs claim was knowingly false and was intentionally provided to the court. See id. ¶ 70. On June 16, 2018, Morency was bailed out of the Lehigh County Jail by his wife. See id. ¶ 71. Subsequently, on or about July 3, 2018, his defense counsel petitioned the court to strike the bailcondition preventing Morency from residing in his home, which was removed on the same day. See id. ¶¶ 72-73. Plaintiffs aver that as a result of the bail condition preventing him from residing with his family for eighteen days, Morency was required to spend a large sum of money to pay for food and lodging, and was limited in the amount of time he could spend with his family. See id. ¶¶ 74-76.

At a hearing held on July 26, 2018, all charges against Morency were dismissed. See Am. Compl. ¶ 77. The Amended Complaint avers that despite hand delivering a demand letter for return of his property on September 18, 2019, as of the commencement of the instant action, none of the possessions taken from Plaintiffs' home—including $2,000 cash and two firearms with ammunition—have been returned. See id. ¶¶ 78-79.

Based on the above allegations, Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint purports to assert the following twelve causes of action: (1) malicious prosecution, brought by Michael Morency, against Officer Eric Blood; (2) false arrest, brought by Michael Morency, against Officer Eric Blood; (3) false imprisonment, brought by Michael Morency, against Officer Eric Blood; (4) false arrest, brought by Michael Morency, against Sergeant Flores;⁵ (5) violation of Michael Morency's constitutional rights, against Allentown Police Chief Tony Alsleben;⁶ (6) violation of Michael Morency's constitutional rights, against the City of Allentown;⁷ (7) loss of consortium,brought by Michael Morency, against Officer Blood and the City of Allentown;⁸ (8) conspiracy to commit constitutional violations, brought by Michael Morency, against Officer Blood, Officer Diehl, and Sergeant Flores; (9) violation of Roeuth Morency's constitutional rights, against Eric Blood;⁹ (10)...