Francis v. City of New York
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:15-cv-07997
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Francis v. City of New York, Judge Broderick adopted the damages recommendation and granted Francis’s motion, awarding $83,002 against two defaulting defendants.
Dwayne Francis received an $83,002 damages judgment against Leoncio Figueroa and Carlos Capella, who were held jointly and severally liable.
What happened
In Francis v. City of New York, Dwayne Francis sought damages from Leoncio Figueroa and Carlos Capella after the court entered a default judgment against them. Francis’s claims included false arrest, malicious prosecution, and assault.
A magistrate judge recommended awarding Francis $27,000 for loss of liberty and $10,000 for emotional distress and other compensation related to false arrest; $2 for malicious prosecution; $1,000 for assault; $40,000 in punitive damages for false arrest and malicious prosecution; and $5,000 in punitive damages for assault. No party objected to the recommendation.
Judge Vernon S. Broderick found no clear error, adopted the recommendation in full, and granted Francis’s motion for damages. Figueroa and Capella were ordered to be jointly and individually responsible for the total $83,002, and the court directed the Clerk to enter judgment and close the case.
The detailed version
- Francis v. City of New York · No. 1:15-cv-07997
- Vernon Broderick
- May 29, 2020
Background
Dwayne Francis brought this action against Parkchester entities, the City of New York, and several individual defendants. He asserted claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and various state common-law claims. Leoncio Figueroa and Carlos Capella failed to appear. After they also failed to appear at two hearings requiring them to explain their absence, the court entered a default judgment against them on December 28, 2017.
The case continued against the other defendants, but Francis later settled with them and filed a dismissal agreement. The court referred the case to Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker to determine the damages owed by Figueroa and Capella. Francis filed a damages motion, and Judge Parker held a hearing at which the defendants again defaulted.
Recommendation and review
Judge Parker recommended compensatory and punitive damages for false arrest, malicious prosecution, and assault. Because no party filed an objection, Judge Broderick reviewed the recommendation for clear error rather than reconsidering the issues from the beginning. He found no clear error in Judge Parker’s analysis.
Ruling
Judge Broderick adopted the Report and Recommendation in its entirety and granted Francis’s motion for damages. The award was:
- $27,000 for loss of liberty and $10,000 for emotional distress and other compensatory damages related to false arrest; - $2 in compensatory damages for malicious prosecution; - $1,000 in compensatory damages for assault; - $40,000 in punitive damages related to false arrest and malicious prosecution; and - $5,000 in punitive damages related to assault.
The total award was $83,002. Figueroa and Capella were made jointly and severally liable, meaning each was responsible for the entire award even though the total obligation could be collected only once. The Clerk was directed to enter judgment for Francis and close the case. The Clerk was also directed to mail the order to Francis, whom the order identifies as proceeding without a lawyer.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.