McNaughton v. de Blasio

Background

Neil McNaughton filed the action without a lawyer and paid the filing fee. He sued Bill de Blasio; Dermot Francis Shea; Mitchell J. Silver; the City of New York; the New York City Police Department; the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation; several private individuals and entities; the Estate of Laura G. McNaughton; law firms; and unidentified defendants.

The complaint alleged that the New York City Police Department was conducting an ongoing campaign to lure McNaughton into committing pedophilic acts, including by arranging for children to appear near him while he was watched by police. He also alleged harassment by people connected with his apartment building, local businesses, and private individuals. His claims invoked the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments, defamation, trespass, interference with the covenant of quiet enjoyment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud, fraud in the inducement, rescission, and attorney malpractice.

Legal standards

The court explained that it could dismiss a paid complaint if it was frivolous and had to dismiss claims over which it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction. It applied the requirement that a complaint provide a short and plain statement showing entitlement to relief and contain enough factual matter to make a claim plausible, rather than merely possible. Although McNaughton was proceeding without a lawyer, the court noted that he was an attorney and therefore was not entitled to the special solicitude usually given to self-represented litigants.

The court treated the constitutional claims as claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Section 1983 requires a plaintiff to allege both a violation of a federal right and conduct by a person acting under state law.

Claims against city agencies

The court dismissed the claims against the New York City Police Department and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation because a New York City agency generally is not a suable entity.

Claims against the mayor and commissioners

The court dismissed the claims against Mayor de Blasio, Commissioner Shea, and Commissioner Silver for failure to state a claim. McNaughton did not allege facts showing that any of these defendants was personally involved in the events underlying his claims. The court explained that a government official cannot be held liable under Section 1983 merely because the official supervises someone who allegedly violated a plaintiff’s rights.

Claims against the City of New York

The court dismissed the claims against the City of New York. A municipality is not liable under Section 1983 simply because an employee or agent allegedly committed wrongdoing. McNaughton needed to allege a city policy, custom, or practice that caused the constitutional violation, and the court found that he had not done so.

Claims against private defendants

The court concluded that McNaughton failed to state a Section 1983 claim against Century Management Services; 5 West 14 Owners Corp.; Norma Bellino; Lisa Golub; Galen Criscione; Criscione-Ravela LLP; Fern Lee; the Estate of Laura G. McNaughton; David L. Moss; and David L. Moss & Associates, LLC. The opinion states that these defendants were private parties who did not work for a state or other government body. Private conduct generally does not satisfy Section 1983’s requirement of action under color of state law.

Other federal claims

To the extent McNaughton intended to assert other federal claims, the court dismissed them as frivolous. It defined a frivolous claim as one lacking an arguable basis in law or fact and found that the allegations were not plausible and that no legal theory supported those claims.

State-law claims and amendment

After dismissing the federal claims, the court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction, meaning authority to hear related state-law claims, over any state-law claims McNaughton may have asserted. The court also declined to grant leave to amend because it found that the defects in the complaint could not be cured by amendment.

Disposition

Judge Jesse M. Furman dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim and as frivolous, declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over any state-law claims, and denied McNaughton’s requests for the issuance of summonses. The Clerk was directed to mail the order to McNaughton, note service on the docket, and close the case. The court certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying fees.