Morton v. Cnty. of Erie

335 F.Supp.3d 449

Ted MORTON, Plaintiff,

v.COUNTY OF ERIE, Defendant.

1:16-CV-00617 EAW

United States District Court, W.D. New York.

Signed September 26, 2018

Jeremy A. Colby, Kevin George Cope, Webster Szanyi, LLP, Buffalo, NY, for Plaintiff.

Daniel A. Spitzer, Jessica L. Copeland, Hodgson Russ, LLP, Buffalo, NY, Joel J. Terragnoli, Amherst, NY, for Defendant.

DECISION AND ORDER

ELIZABETH A. WOLFORD, United States District Judge

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Ted Morton ("Plaintiff), the former elected Legislator for the Eighth District of Erie County, filed this action on July 29, 2016, bringing claims against Defendant the County of Erie ("Defendant" or the "County") related to the imposition of a $500 fine upon him by the Erie County Board of Ethics (the "Board"). (Dkt. 1). Plaintiff asserts a claim pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (" § 1983") for alleged violations of his due process rights, and he also requests a declaratory judgment that, among other things, his state and federal civil rights were violated and Erie County Local Law 10-1989 ("Local Law 10-1989") is ultra vires , invalid, and unenforceable. (Dkt. 25).

Presently before the Court are Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment (Dkt. 31) and Defendant's cross motion for summary judgment (Dkt. 36). For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiff's motion for summary judgment (Dkt. 31) is denied, Defendant's motion for summary judgment (Dkt. 36) is granted with respect to Plaintiff's federal due process claim, and the Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiff's remaining state law claims.

BACKGROUND

I. Procedural Background

Plaintiff filed this action on July 29, 2016, bringing claims for violation of due process, violation of equal protection, First Amendment retaliation, state law defamation and negligence, and seeking a declaratory judgment. (Dkt. 1). On October 14, 2016, Defendant filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint. (Dkt. 6). Plaintiff filed an amended complaint on November 4, 2016, alleging the same causes of action as the original complaint with the exception of the equal protection claim. (Dkt. 8). Defendant filed a motion to dismiss the amended complaint on November 18, 2016. (Dkt. 11).

The Court held oral argument on June 28, 2017, and issued a ruling from the bench granting in part and denying in part Defendant's motion to dismiss. (See Dkt. 24 at 37-46). The Court dismissed Plaintiff's First Amendment retaliation claim without prejudice but denied the motion to dismiss as to all other claims. (Id. ). The Court issued a Text Order on June 29, 2017, confirming its ruling from the bench, and noting that Plaintiff had been granted leave to file a second amended complaint on or before July 17, 2017. (Dkt. 21). The Court subsequently extended this deadline (Dkt. 23), and Plaintiff filed a second amended complaint on October 5, 2017 (Dkt. 25). Plaintiff repleaded his First Amendment retaliation claim and again alleged due process violations, negligence, and defamation, and sought a declaratory judgment with respect to his state and federal causes of action. (Id. ).

On January 19, 2018, the Court entered a stipulation dismissing Plaintiff's First Amendment retaliation, defamation, and negligence claims with prejudice, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1). (Dkt. 34). The same day, Plaintiff filed the instant motion for summary judgment. (Dkt. 31). On February 20, 2018, Defendant filed a cross motion for summary judgment and response to Plaintiff's motion. (Dkt. 36). Plaintiff filed a reply in support of his motion on March 6, 2018 (Dkt. 38), and filed a response to Defendant's cross motion on March 20, 2018 (Dkt. 39). Defendant filed a reply in support of its cross motion on April 3, 2018. (Dkt. 40).

This Court held oral argument on the parties' motions for summary judgment on May 24, 2018. (See Dkt. 44). The Court reserved decision and requested additional briefing on the issue of whether the County's alleged violation of its own internal rules rises to the level of a constitutional violation under the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution. Plaintiff submitted additional briefing on June 1, 2018 (Dkt. 45), and Defendant submitted its response on June 15, 2018 (Dkt. 47).

II. Factual Background

The essence of this case is a dispute over a $500 fine imposed on Plaintiff by the Board for Plaintiff's failure to correctly fill out a financial disclosure form. (See Dkt. 8 at 7). Plaintiff was formerly an Erie County Legislator, representing Erie County's Eighth District. (Pl. Stmt. at ¶ 2; Def. Stmt. at ¶ 2).¹ In May 2014, Plaintiff submitted his annual financial disclosure form for calendar year 2013, as required by Local Law 10-1989, which establishes a code of ethics for Erie County. (Pl. Stmt. at ¶ 23; Def. Stmt. at ¶ 23). Plaintiff's financial disclosure form contained erroneous information. (Pl. Stmt. at ¶ 23; Def. Stmt. at ¶ 23). Plaintiff maintains that he mistakenly listed the debts he owed as of the date of filing rather than the end of the previous year, as required by the form. (Pl. Stmt. at ¶ 23). Plaintiff filed an amended financial disclosure form on October 13, 2015, in an attempt to correct his mistake. (Pl. Stmt. at ¶ 25; Def. Stmt at ¶ 25). Before filing the corrected statement, Plaintiff had paid off several debts that he owed as of December 31, 2013. (Pl. Stmt. at ¶ 26; Def. Stmt at ¶ 26 (denying knowledge) ).

Plaintiff's financial disclosure form became an issue during his 2015 re-election campaign. (Pl. Stmt. at ¶ 24; Def. Stmt. at ¶ 24). The Board's Chair, Steven Schwartz ("Schwartz"), met with Plaintiff's legislative assistant, Robert Matthews ("Matthews"), in November 2015, and informed Matthews that the Board was "look[ing] into" the erroneous financial disclosure statement. (Dkt. 25 at ¶¶ 27-28). Schwartz then sent a letter to Plaintiff on December 7, 2015, requesting information concerning the debts noted in Plaintiff's form, as well as the dates of any repayment, among other things. (Pl. Stmt. at ¶ 27; Def. Stmt. at ¶ 27 (referring to the letter (Dkt. 14-5 at 2) for its contents) ). In the letter, the Board took "no position ... with respect to accepting any revised form and whether any violations of the Code of Ethics exist[ ]." (Dkt. 14-5 at 2). Plaintiff responded by letter on January 14, 2016. (Dkt. 14-6 at 2-3), In that letter, Plaintiff explained that he had misread the "when-as" dates on the form regarding any debts outstanding. (Id. ).

On February 1, 2016, the Board sent a letter to Plaintiff informing him that it was imposing a $500 fine because it had "determined that a violation of the Ethics Code has occurred to the extent that you should have known that the statements made on the form were erroneous." (Dkt. 14-7 at 2). The Board's letter further stated that Plaintiff could file a request for reconsideration within 30 days. (Id. ). By letter dated February 29, 2016, Plaintiff objected to and sought reconsideration of the Board's decision to impose the fine. (Dkt. 14-8 at 2). In his letter, Plaintiff argued that his error was not made "knowingly and willingly" or "with intent to deceive" and stated that Local Law 10-1989 provides a prescribed disclosure form that requires disclosure of debts "as of the date of the filing," a requirement with which Plaintiff's submission complied. (Id. ). The Board affirmed its decision by letter on April 4, 2016. (Dkt. 14-9 at 2). Plaintiff again requested reconsideration. (Dkt. 25-1 at 56-57). The Board refused to alter its original decision, and Plaintiff informed the Board by letter that he would pursue legal action due to the Board's alleged violation of his state and federal rights. (Id. at 59).

DISCUSSION

I. Standard of Review

Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that summary judgment should be granted if the moving party establishes "that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The Court should grant summary judgment if, after considering the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, the court finds that no rational jury could find in favor of that party. Scott v. Harris , 550 U.S. 372, 380, 127 S.Ct. 1769, 167 L.Ed.2d 686 (2007) (citing Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp. , 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) ). Once the moving party has met its burden, the opposing party "must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.... [T]he nonmoving party must come forward with specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Caldarola v. Calabrese , 298 F.3d 156, 160 (2d Cir. 2002) (quoting Matsushita Elec. , 475 U.S. at 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348 ). "[T]he mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment...." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

II. Plaintiff's § 1983 Due Process Claim

A. Legal Standard

Section 1983 provides a federal cause of action for an alleged deprivation of a federal right by a person acting under color of state law. Wimmer v. Suffolk Cty. Police Dep't , 176 F.3d 125, 136-37 (2d Cir. 1999). To prevail on a § 1983 claim, the plaintiff must prove that the challenged conduct was attributable to a person acting under color of state law, and that the conduct deprived the plaintiff of a right, privilege, or immunity secured by the Constitution or laws of the United States. Id. A municipality or other local government may be liable under § 1983 only "if the governmental body itself ‘subjects’ a person to a deprivation of rights or ‘causes’ a person ‘to be subjected’ to such deprivation."

Connick v. Thompson , 563 U.S. 51, 60, 131 S.Ct. 1350, 179 L.Ed.2d 417 (2011) (citing Monell v. Dep't of Social Servs. , 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d...