Shabazz v. BezioShabazz v. Bezio
The district court properly determined that Singer failed to satisfy the high standards required to overturn a jury verdict. Quite simply, the record contains ample evidence in support of Halica‘s position advanced at trial that she was a passive tortfeasor deserving of common law indemnification from the active tortfeasor, Singer, who committed fraud. Halica testified that she had no knowledge that the consulting agreement was illusory, and that she “had no knowledge that there was anything being hidden” from Finance California, Inc. (“Finance California“). Singer, on the other hand, testified that he was aware of Finance California‘s requirement that the buyer contribute cash at closing, and that he nonetheless instructed Halica to keep confidential the undisclosed “credit” provided by the buyer from the valueless consulting agreement between the buyer and the seller. This direct testimony permits a reasonable jury to conclude, based on the evidence of Singer‘s fraud and manipulation of Halica and the charge given to the jury,1 that Singer had the requisite control of the transaction sufficient to support the jury‘s award of indemnification under Connecticut law.
We have considered all of Singer‘s other arguments and found each of them to be without merit. Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is hereby AFFIRMED.
Denise A. Hartman, Assistant Solicitor General (Eric T. Schneiderman, Attorney General of the State of New York; Barbara D. Underwood, Solicitor General; Martin A. Hotvet, Assistant Solicitor General, on the brief) Albany, NY, for Defendants-Appellees.
PRESENT: ROSEMARY S. POOLER, PETER W. HALL and DEBRA ANN LIVINGSTON, Circuit Judges.
SUMMARY ORDER
Raheem Shabazz, proceeding pro se, appeals the district court‘s adoption of a magistrate judge‘s report recommending dismissal of his complaint, brought pursuant to
We review de novo a district court decision dismissing a complaint pursuant to
Finally, we have held that district courts should not dismiss a pro se complaint without granting the plaintiff at least one opportunity to amend. See Cuoco v. Moritsugu, 222 F.3d 99, 112 (2d Cir.2000); see also Branum v. Clark, 927 F.2d 698, 705 (2d Cir.1991) (holding that district courts should not dismiss pro se complaints “without granting leave to amend at least once when a liberal reading of the complaint gives any indication that a valid claim might be stated“).
After an independent review of the record and relevant case law, we conclude that the record does not contain sufficient information to confirm that the district court‘s determination that Shabazz‘s due process rights were not violated was without error. Specifically, with respect to Shabazz‘s first disciplinary hearing before Bezio, the following facts were alleged in Shabazz‘s complaint: (1) when Shabazz arrived at the Clinton Correctional Facility Annex, he was told that he could not have dreadlocks unless he was a Rastafarian; Shabazz complained to the Captain of Security; and Bezio was assigned to “investigate” his complaint; (2) Bezio informed Shabazz that “upon his investigation and being that [Shabazz] wasn‘t Rastafarian,” “[Shabazz] could not wear dreadlocks” and Bezio “ordered” Shabazz “to cut [his] dreadlocks or be keeplocked,” and “[s]ubsequently, Lt. Bezio order[ed] Sgt. Rice to keeplock [Shabazz] and to write a Misbehavior Report, which was written on April 14, 2008“; (3) Bezio was the hearing officer who considered whether Shabazz was guilty of the conduct described in Rice‘s misbehavior report; (4) Bezio refused to recuse himself despite his investigation of Shabazz‘s complaint, ruled that Shabazz was guilty, and ordered that Shabazz be confined in “keeplock” for 30 days; (5) while Shabazz was in keeplock confinement, on April 29, 2008, Bezio wrote a misbehavior report because Shabazz was wearing a tsalot-kob, and a second disciplinary hearing was held, this one before hearing officer Chase; (6) Bezio was permitted to provide “rehearsed testimony” against Shabazz after the disciplinary hearing was adjourned for two-hours, stating that he had investigated whether Shabazz could wear dreadlocks and he had learned that only Rastifarians could wear dreadlocks or a tsalot-kob head piece; (7) Chase found Shabazz guilty and sentenced him to another 30 days in keeplock; (8) Shabazz appealed both of the guilty determinations, and both were affirmed; and (9) Shabazz appealed the affirmances to the Director of Disciplinary Appeals Unit in Albany, and “Norman Bezio,” the alleged brother of Bezio, informed Shabazz “that there was nothing he could do about” the guilty determinations. Shabazz attached to his complaint two letters from the New York State Office of the Attorney General Division of Appeals and Opinions, which reversed and expunged the guilty determinations made at Shabazz‘s disciplinary hearings described above. Also attached to the complaint was a “Disciplinary Hearing Disposition Rendered” form, completed by Bezio and dated April 17, 2008, which stated that the only “evidence relied upon” consisted of a “written report” by “Sgt. Rice.”
A prisoner alleging “a liberty interest arising under a state statute or regulation” and challenging the imposition of a confinement separate from his imprisonment must establish, in part, that this confinement “creates an ‘atypical and significant hardship ... in relation to the ordinary incidents of prison life.‘” Arce v. Walker, 139 F.3d 329, 334 (2d Cir.1998) (quoting Sandin v. Conner, 515 U.S. 472, 483-84 (1995)). To determine whether the prisoner suffered an atypical and significant hardship, this Court considers “the extent to which the conditions ... of the segregation differ from other routine prison conditions and the duration of the ... segregation imposed.” Davis v. Barrett, 576 F.3d 129, 133 (2d Cir.2009) (internal quotation marks omitted). In order to assert a due process argument, a prisoner must show that he has, inter alia, a protected liberty interest. See Sandin, 515 U.S. at 483-84. A protected liberty interest may be shown by a prisoner who establishes “that [he endured a] deprivation [that] was atypical and significant in relation to the ordinary prison life.” Id. at 483.
Accepting Shabazz‘s factual allegations as true—as required under the
This Court has explained that “[o]ur conception of an impartial decisionmaker is one who, inter alia, does not prejudge the evidence and who cannot say ... how he would assess evidence he has not yet seen.” Patterson v. Coughlin, 905 F.2d 564, 570 (2d Cir.1990). Here, Shabazz‘s complaint alleged that Bezio researched the issue of whether Shabazz could wear dreadlocks, he concluded that Shabazz could not wear dreadlocks because he was not Rastafarian, and he instructed Rice to
Although this Court has stated that “[t]he degree of impartiality required of prison officials does not rise to the level of that required of judges,” Allen v. Cuomo, 100 F.3d 253, 259 (2d Cir.1996), this Court has also explained that there must be some “‘reliable evidence’ of the inmate‘s guilt.” Luna v. Pico, 356 F.3d 481, 488 (2d Cir. 2004) (quoting Taylor v. Rodriguez, 238 F.3d 188, 194 (2d Cir.2001)). As a preliminary matter, although the adopted report and recommendation found that there was “ample evidence” to support Bezio‘s guilty determination, the report and recommendation supported this finding by discussing prison regulations regarding the requirement that only registered Rastifarians were permitted to wear dreadlocks; however, a review of Bezio‘s “Disciplinary Hearing Disposition Rendered” form states only that he considered “Sgt. Rice‘s written report” and the information contained within that report. Although Bezio‘s “Disciplinary Hearing Disposition Rendered” form makes reference to Rice‘s order to Shabazz to “cut [his] dreadlocks to comply with departmental grooming standards,” there is no indication that Bezio independently reviewed these “departmental grooming standards” to verify the reliability of the only evidence he relied upon—Rice‘s “written report.” See generally Luna, 356 F.3d at 489 (discussing when evidence is “reliable” so as to satisfy the due process right of a prisoner within the context of a prison disciplinary hearing). Further, there is some ambiguity in the record as to whether Rice‘s “written report” was the same document as Rice‘s “inmate misbehavior report,” or if there was some other writing upon which Bezio relied. Although the misbehavior report was attached to Shabazz‘s complaint, it does not appear that a “written report” by Rice was filed in the district court. Thus, this Court is not able to review the substance of the document Bezio relied upon in making his decision as a hearing officer, and is unable to confirm whether the only document consulted by Bezio contained “reliable” evidence for purposes of due process. Id.
With respect to Shabazz‘s challenges to the conduct of Chase and Rice, an independent review of the adopted report and recommendation reveals that no case law was provided in support of a finding that Chase‘s conduct did not violate Shabazz‘s constitutional rights, and there is no indication as to the basis for the dismissal of all claims against Rice. While the dismissal of these defendants may have been appropriate, a court should generally consider whether granting leave to amend is appropriate before dismissing a complaint under
Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that the district court‘s judgment, entered on February 8, 2012, is VACATED and the case is REMANDED to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this order.