Representative Of The Estate Of William Christi Scozzari v. City Of Clare

723 F.Supp.2d 945

Steven SCOZZARI, Representative of the Estate of William Christi Scozzari, Plaintiff,

v.CITY OF CLARE, Ken Hibl, Dwayne Miedzianowski, Jeremy McGraw, Defendants.

Case No. 08-10997-BC.

United States District Court,

E.D. Michigan,

Northern Division.

April 21, 2010.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED.

Hugh M. Davis, Jr., Constitutional Litigation Associates, Detroit, MI, Robert D. Horvath, Troy, MI, for Plaintiff.

David K. Otis, Plunkett & Cooney, East Lansing, MI, John W. Martin, Jr., Plunkett & Cooney, Bloomfield Hills, MI, Roger A. Smith, Garan Lucow, Troy, MI, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART, DENYING IN PART, AND HOLDING IN ABEYANCE IN PART MIEDZIANOWSKI AND MCGRAW'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, GRANTING IN PART, DENYING IN PART, AND HOLDING IN ABEYANCE IN PART THE CITY AND HIBL'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, AND DIRECTING SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEFING ON BOTH MOTIONS

THOMAS L. LUDINGTON, District Judge.

Plaintiff Steven Scozzari (“Plaintiff”), on behalf of the estate of his deceased brother, William Scozzari (“Scozzari”), filed a complaint on March 7, 2008, and an amended complaint on June 25, 2009, alleging claims arising out of the shooting death of Scozzari on or about September 18, 2007. The amended complaint alleges the following claims in separately numbered counts against the City of Clare (“the City”), City Manager Ken Hibl (“Hibl”), City Police Chief Dwayne Miedzianowski (“the Chief”), and Officer Jeremy McGraw (“Officer McGraw”): (1) excessive force and deliberate indifference to a serious medical need constitutional violations pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (2) municipal liability under § 1983; (3) assault and battery; (4) gross negligence under Mich. Comp. Laws § 691.1407; (5) civil conspiracy to violate Scozzari's civil rights; and (6) discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12132.

Now before the Court are the City and Hibl's motion for summary judgment [Dkt. # 68], and the Chief and Officer McGraw's (collectively, “the Officers”) motion for summary judgment [Dkt. # 71], filed on November 12 and 13, 2009, respectively. Plaintiff filed a single response [Dkt. # 81] to both motions on December 8, 2009. Replies were filed by the City and Hibl [Dkt. # 86], and the Chief and Officer McGraw [Dkt. # 87] on December 15, 2009.

The Court has reviewed the parties' submissions and finds that oral argument will not aid in the disposition of the motion. Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the motion be decided on the papers submitted. E.D. Mich. LR 7.1(e)(2). For the reasons stated below, the Officers' motion will be granted in part and supplemental briefing directed as to Plaintiff's Fourth Amendment claims pursuant to § 1983, denied as to Plaintiff's deliberate indifference to a serious medical need claims pursuant to § 1983, supplemental briefing directed as to Plaintiff's assault and battery claim, and granted as to Plaintiff's gross negligence and civil conspiracy claims. Additionally, the City and Hibl's motion will be denied as to municipal liability pursuant to § 1983, granted as to Plaintiff's civil conspiracy claims and all of Plaintiff's claims against Hibl, and supplemental briefing directed on Plaintiff's ADA claims.

I

Under Rule 56(c), a court must review “pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any,” to conclude that “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” The Court must view the evidence and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party and determine “whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 251-52, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A fact is “material” if its resolution affects the outcome of the case. Lenning v. Commercial Union Ins. Co., 260 F.3d 574, 581 (6th Cir.2001). “Materiality” is determined by the substantive law claim. Boyd v. Baeppler, 215 F.3d 594, 599 (6th Cir.2000). An issue is “genuine” if a “reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Henson v. Nat'l Aeronautics and Space Admin., 14 F.3d 1143, 1148 (6th Cir.1994) (quoting Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505). When the “record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party,” there is no genuine issue of material fact. Mich. Paytel Joint Venture v. City of Detroit, 287 F.3d 527, 534 (6th Cir.2002).

The party bringing the summary judgment motion has the initial burden of informing the court of the basis for its motion and identifying portions of the record which demonstrate the absence of a genuine dispute over material facts.

Mt. Lebanon Personal Care Home, Inc. v. Hoover Universal, Inc., 276 F.3d 845, 848 (6th Cir.2002). The party opposing the motion then may not “rely on the hope that the trier of fact will disbelieve the movant's denial of a disputed fact” but must make an affirmative showing with proper evidence in order to defeat the motion. Street v. J.C. Bradford & Co., 886 F.2d 1472, 1479 (6th Cir.1989). A party opposing a motion for summary judgment must designate specific facts in affidavits, depositions, or other factual material showing “evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the plaintiff.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505. The party who bears the burden of proof must present a jury question as to each element of the claim, Davis v. McCourt, 226 F.3d 506, 511 (6th Cir.2000), rather than raise only “metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Highland Capital, Inc. v. Franklin Nat'l Bank, 350 F.3d 558, 564 (6th Cir.2003) (quoting Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)). Failure to prove an essential element of a claim renders all other facts immaterial for summary judgment purposes. Elvis Presley Enters., Inc. v. Elvisly Yours, Inc., 936 F.2d 889, 895 (6th Cir.1991).

II

The shooting death of Scozzari by the Chief and Officer McGraw took place in or near the parking lot of the Lone Pine Motel in the City of Clare, Michigan, between eleven o'clock and midnight on September 18, 2007. The Lone Pine Motel consists of several buildings, including several stand-alone cabins and a two-story building with several motel rooms, see Pl. Br. Ex. 2, and provides for overnight stays and extended lodging. The motel is located at 1508 North McEwan Street, on the east side of the street, south of Wilcox Parkway. Just to the north of Wilcox Parkway and the motel property, there is a park and a Veterans of Foreign Wars (“VFW”) building.

At the time of his death, Scozzari had lived in cabin seventeen at the Lone Pine Motel for seven to ten years. Cabin seventeen is located in the northwest area of the motel property. To the east of cabin seventeen are at least two other cabins, numbers eighteen and nineteen. Jeff Richardson was a guest who stayed in cabin eighteen, and Jeff Morgan II and his girlfriend, Sheryl Irwin, were guests who stayed in cabin nineteen. The doors to these particular cabins faced south. A short sidewalk led from the door of each cabin to a sidewalk that effectively connected the row of cabins. See Pl. Br. Ex. 38.

A long, rectangular, two-story building with several motel rooms was south of cabins seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen, and essentially perpendicular to that row of cabins. See Pl. Br. Ex. 2. Jason Miller was a guest in motel room five, and the door to his room faced west. Jeff Morgan Sr. and Jacob Morgan were guests in a motel room on the second floor. Also to the south of cabins seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen, further to the east and parallel to the long motel building, was another cabin or row of cabins, consisting of at least cabin twenty. Wanetta Gibbons stayed in cabin twenty and was responsible for cleaning the cabins and motel rooms. The door to cabin twenty faced west.

Plaintiff asserts that fifty-one year old Scozzari was hard of hearing, blind in one eye, had diminished sight out of the other eye, and sometimes used a cane while walking. Scozzari was five feet three inches tall and weighed 113 pounds. Pl. Br. Ex. 4 (autopsy). Plaintiff asserts that Scozzari was a diagnosed schizophrenic on disability and under the care of the Clare County Mental Health Department. Timothy Rynearson, the prior owner of the Lone Pine Motel and the prior police chief, testified that at some point, “Mark” from County Mental Health asked if there was a cabin that Scozzari could stay in. Rynearson Tr. 13, June 26, 2009. Wanetta Gibbons testified that she saw Mark Tucker, a social worker, visit Scozzari, although the last time Gibbons had seen Tucker was probably three years ago. Gibbons Tr. 14-15, Oct. 24, 2008. Gibbons testified that Scozzari was a hermit and had not allowed anyone, not even family, to enter his cabin in years. Gibbons Tr. 18-19, 57, 83. Rynearson testified that Scozzari was a “pack rat.” Rynearson Tr. 18. While Scozzari loved to collect knives and hatchets, he had no police record, and Rynearson had never witnessed Scozzari engage in any threatening behavior. Rynearson Tr. 24-25, 57, 59, 61, 99-100. Scozzari would not talk to people, he only “grunted.” Rynearson Tr. 25-26. When Rynearson was police chief, everybody in the department knew Scozzari because he walked around a lot, wore winter coats in the summer and his boots unlaced, and was generally disheveled. Rynearson Tr. 54-55, 101.

At about 11:05 p.m. on September 18, 2007, Jason Miller, the guest in motel room five, called Clare County 911 to report what sounded like shots fired from the direction of the park just north of the motel. Pl. Br. Ex. 1 (Clare Police Dep't incident report). The Chief was dispatched to investigate the incident and arrived at a parking...