Wong v. Yoo

Page 34

649 F.Supp.2d 34

Aaron WONG, Plaintiff, v. Police Officer Young YOO, Sergeant Anthony Alfano, Police Officer Stephen Viani, James Mangone, and Detective Leonard Ciurcina, Defendants.

Police Officers Young Yoo and Stephen Viani, Third-Party Plaintiffs, v. The City of New York, Third-Party Defendant.

No. 04-CV-4569 (CPS)(ALC).

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

August 18, 2009.

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Alan D. Levine, Law Offices of Alan D. Levine, Kew Gardens, NY, for Plaintiff.

John Arlia, Wenger & Arlia, LLP, James M. Moschella, Karasyk & Moschella, LLP, New York, NY, Bruno Vincent Gioffre, Jr., Quinn & Mellea, White Plains, NY, for Defendants.

John W. Burns, Worth, Longworth & London, LLP, Rachel Amy Seligman, The City of New York Law Department Office Of Corporation Counsel, Vikrant Pawar, Vikrant Pawar, Attorney at Law, New York, NY, for Defendants/Third-Party Plaintiffs.

Daniel Chiu, Michael A. Cardozo Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, Jeffrey S. Dantowitz, The City of New York, New York, NY, for Third-Party Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER

SIFTON, Senior District Judge.

On September 25, 2004, plaintiff Aaron Wong commenced this action against defendants James Mangone, police officer Young Yoo, police officer Stephen Viani, sergeant Anthony Alfano, and detective Leonard Ciurcina. Plaintiff alleges that defendants used excessive force against him, falsely arrested and imprisoned him, denied medical treatment to him, and maliciously prosecuted him, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He also alleges that defendants intentionally discriminated against him, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981, and conspired to deprive him of his rights under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1985. On June 1, 2007, defendants Yoo and Viani filed a third-party complaint against third-party defendant the City of New York (the "City"), alleging that they were denied their right to representation and seeking indemnification.

Presently before this Court are defendants' separate motions for summary judgment on plaintiff's claims, as well as third-party defendant City's motion for summary judgment on third-party plaintiffs Yoo's and Viani's claims. For the reasons set forth below, defendants' motions are granted in part and denied in part, and third-party defendant's motion is granted in part and denied in part.

BACKGROUND

The following facts are drawn from the deposition testimony, affidavits, exhibits, and Rule 56.1 statements submitted by the parties in connection with this matter. Disputes are noted.

Events of May 16, 2003

On the afternoon of May 16, 2003, plaintiff was driving with his girlfriend, Brook Lopez, on Staten Island in New York. Deposition Testimony of Aaron Wong dated February 13 and March 22, 2006 ("Pl. Dep.") at 18, 137, 148-49. Ms. Lopez, a hispanic female who was 19 years old at the time, had plans to purchase a Playstation video game system for plaintiff, a 5'9", 145-pound, African American male who had celebrated his 21st birthday the day before. Id. at 10-11, 133, 137-38; Deposition Testimony of Brook Lopez ("Lopez Dep.") at 11, 38-39. On the way to an outlet mall, while driving on Jewett Avenue, plaintiff placed a call on Ms. Lopez' cell phone to two of his friends. Pl. Dep at 149; Lopez Dep. at 45, 75. Ms. Lopez scolded him for using the cell phone while driving and asked him to pull over. Lopez Dep. at 45-46.

Since there was no place to pull over on Jewett Avenue, plaintiff took a left turn near Burnside Avenue and pulled into a driveway leading to a parking lot located at 168 Ravenhurst Avenue. Id; Pl. Dep. at 152; Deposition Testimony of James Mangone ("Mangone Dep.") at 13. According to plaintiff, the driveway looked more like a public street than a private driveway. Pl. Dep at 153. A residential complex was adjacent to the parking lot. Id. at 154. Plaintiff put his car in reverse and backed up into a parking spot against a wall. Id. While plaintiff was on the phone, a truck pulled in front of plaintiff's car, blocking it. Id. at 158; Lopez Dep. at 57. A 6'1", 250-pound, white male, later identified as defendant James Mangone, exited the truck and approached plaintiff's car. Pl. Dep at 159, 161; Mangone Dep. at 29-30.

The parties dispute the nature of subsequent events. According to plaintiff and Ms. Lopez, defendant Mangone stuck his head and shoulders through the driver's side window of plaintiff's car, pushing the side-view mirror in toward the car, and yelled words to the effect of:

I'm tired of you niggers being here. I'm tired of you niggers always here with your coke and your crack, and you throw your dirty [vials] on the floor and you take your dirty condoms after you finish fucking and put them on the floor. I'm tired of this shit. You niggers don't belong here. . . . Do you know anybody here? I bet you don't know anybody here. Who do you know here? You niggers don't know anybody here.

Id. at 159-60, 174-76; Lopez Dep. at 60-61. According to defendant Mangone, however, using a moderate tone of voice, defendant Mangone asked plaintiff and Ms. Lopez what their business was in the parking lot without touching or leaning on plaintiff's car. Mangone Dep. at 53-54, 57. Defendant Mangone alleges that plaintiff replied, "none of your fucking business." Id. at 53. There is no dispute, however, that plaintiff falsely informed defendant Mangone that he knew someone who lived in the complex. Mangone Dep. at 53-54; Pl. Dep. at 164.

Plaintiff and Ms. Lopez allege that they repeatedly asked defendant Mangone to allow them leave the parking lot. Pl. Dep. at 167; Lopez Dep. at 62. According to them, defendant Mangone stated that he would not allow them to leave, and that he was going to call 911 and the police. Pl. Dep. at 167; Lopez Dep. at 62. Defendant Mangone alleges, however, that plaintiff appeared "enraged" following their exchange and bolted out of his car, opening his car door quickly and hitting defendant Mangone in the hip with the driver's side-view mirror in the process. Mangone Dep. at 56. At that point, according to defendant Mangone, he told plaintiff that he would call 911. Id. at 57. According to plaintiff, however, plaintiff exited his car to fix the side-view mirror defendant Mangone had pushed in when he leaned into the car and to "get [defendant Mangone] away from the car." Pl. Dep at 177. There is no dispute that defendant Mangone took his phone from his belt and, rather than calling 911, used the Nextel function to call a man later identified as defendant Leonard Ciurcina, who he asked to "come to the back." Mangone Dep at 58; Pl. Dep. at 180, 182.

There is no dispute that while defendant Mangone was using his phone, plaintiff slapped the phone away from defendant Mangone's hand, causing it to fall to the ground. Mangone Dep. at 59; Lopez Dep. at 65; Deposition Testimony of Aaron Wong dated August 21, 2008 ("Pl. Dep. II") at 51-52. Plaintiff alleges that he heard defendant Mangone say a name into the phone and realized that he was not calling the police or someone who would "deescalate the situation." Pl. Dep. II. at 52. According to plaintiff, defendant Mangone then "charged" at plaintiff and shoved him into the front of the driver's side of the car, forcing the driver's side-view mirror frame in toward the car and causing the mirror itself to pop out of its frame. Pl. Dep. at 183-85, 190. Plaintiff caught the mirror. Id. at 185. Defendant Mangone denies having pushed plaintiff into his car or causing the mirror to pop out of its frame, alleging that the mirror popped out when plaintiff opened the door of his car too quickly, hitting defendant Mangone in the hip with the mirror frame. Mangone Dep. at 59-61.

There is no dispute that after the mirror popped out of its frame, plaintiff hit defendant Mangone on the face with the mirror, cutting him above and underneath one of his eyes and causing significant bleeding.¹ Mangone Dep. at 61; Lopez Dep. at 69; Pl. Dep. at 185. Plaintiff and Ms. Lopez allege that before plaintiff hit defendant Mangone with the mirror, defendant Mangone "walked up on" plaintiff and "was dodging at him with his fist up." Pl. Dep at 185; Lopez Dep. at 67. Defendant Mangone alleges that plaintiff "picked the mirror up off the floor and smashed [defendant Mangone] in the face with it." Mangone Dep. at 59-61.

At this point defendant Mangone returned to his truck, and alleges that he saw plaintiff lean inside his car and reemerge with an open knife in his hand. Id. at 63-65. Plaintiff testified that after hitting Mangone with the mirror, he ran to the back of his car, and denies ever having reached for or used a knife during the altercation. Pl. Dep. at 191, 226. Defendant Mangone then grabbed a circular saw from a toolbox in the back of his truck and threw it in plaintiff's direction. Mangone Dep. at 66-68. The saw hit the windshield of plaintiff's car, inside of which Ms. Lopez was sitting, causing the windshield to crack and shatter but not to break. Id.; Pl. Dep at 200-05; Lopez Dep. at 71. Plaintiff picked up the saw where it had fallen and threw it at defendant Mangone's truck, causing the truck's windshield to crack and shatter without breaking. Mangone Dep. at 68; Pl. Dep. at 207-08.

Defendant Mangone then returned to his truck and retrieved a metal pipe. Mangone Dep. at 69-70. He struck plaintiff's car more than once with the pipe, further damaging the windshield and the hood. Id. at 71-72; Pl. Dep. at 213. Meanwhile, plaintiff ran to the back of defendant Mangone's truck and retrieved a wooden broom handle. Mangone Dep. at 73. Ms. Lopez screamed for help and called 911 on her cell phone. Lopez Dep. at 74.

At this point, according to plai...