344 F. Supp. 3d 481
S.D. Ill.2018Background
- In Sept. 2015 NYPD Officer James Frascatore, working on a Financial Crimes Task Force ruse at the Grand Hyatt, tackled and briefly detained former tennis pro James Blake, mistaken for a fraud ringleader; Blake was released about ten minutes later.
- Prior to the incident, CCRB personnel records relating to Frascatore had been released (no specific CCRB statements alleged); press coverage after the incident cited those records and criticized Frascatore.
- Frascatore alleges stigma-plus (procedural due process), race-discrimination (42 U.S.C. § 1981), and defamation claims against the City, NYPD, CCRB, its executive director, and Blake; Blake wrote and promoted a book recounting the incident.
- Defendants moved to dismiss; the court treated many facts in the amended complaint as true for purposes of the motion.
- The court dismissed the stigma-plus and § 1981 claims for failure to plead falsity, temporal proximity, or discriminatory intent; it dismissed most defamation claims for failure to plead falsity or grossly irresponsible publication and for being nonactionable opinion.
- Plaintiff was given leave to replead the stigma-plus and race claims and his defamation claims only as to two statements (Statements Eight and Nine); defamation claims based on Statements One–Seven were dismissed with prejudice.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stigma-plus (procedural due process) | CCRB/City/NYPD published stigmatizing material and later punished Frascatore, depriving him of liberty interests | Statements were not false, not uttered by CCRB, and not temporally close to the adverse employment action; some statements not sufficiently derogatory | Dismissed: plaintiff failed to plead falsity, contemporaneousness; no CCRB utterance alleged; NYPD quote not sufficiently derogatory |
| Race-discrimination (§ 1981) | Defendants treated Frascatore because he is white and intended to portray him as racist | No facts pled showing discriminatory motive or comparators; only conclusory assertions | Dismissed: complaint lacks plausible facts supporting discriminatory intent |
| Defamation — falsity and fault | Blake defamed Frascatore in book and media appearances, implying racism and mischaracterizing facts | Many challenged statements are opinion, rest not pled false; plaintiff must plead falsity and, for public‑concern matters involving a private figure, gross irresponsibility | Dismissed in large part: Seven statements (1–7) nonactionable or not pled false; for statements 8 and 9 plaintiff failed to plead grossly irresponsible publication but given leave to replead those two |
| Scope of allowable amendment | Plaintiff seeks to proceed on all claims and statements | Defendants seek dismissal with prejudice where claims insufficient as plead | Court grants leave to replead stigma-plus, §1981, and defamation as to Statements 8–9 only; Statements 1–7 dismissed with prejudice |
Key Cases Cited
- Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (U.S. 2009) (pleading standard: plausibility required)
- Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (U.S. 2007) (pleading must nudge claims across from conceivable to plausible)
- Vega v. Lantz, 596 F.3d 77 (2d Cir. 2010) (elements of stigma-plus claim)
- Segal v. City of New York, 459 F.3d 207 (2d Cir. 2006) (stigmatizing statement must be contemporaneous with adverse action)
- Paul v. Davis, 424 U.S. 693 (U.S. 1976) (stigma-plus framework and examples of stigma)
- Donato v. Plainview-Old Bethpage Cent. Sch. Dist., 96 F.3d 623 (2d Cir. 1996) (stigmatizing statements must denigrate professional competence)
- Littlejohn v. City of New York, 795 F.3d 297 (2d Cir. 2015) (pleading requirements for § 1981 discrimination claims)
- Celle v. Filipino Reporter Enterprises Inc., 209 F.3d 163 (2d Cir. 2000) (court decides threshold whether statement is reasonably susceptible to defamatory meaning)
- Elias v. Rolling Stone LLC, 872 F.3d 97 (2d Cir. 2017) (opinion vs. fact analysis in defamation)
- Tannerite Sports, LLC v. NBCUniversal News Grp., 864 F.3d 236 (2d Cir. 2017) (plaintiff must plead falsity to survive a motion to dismiss for defamation)