Greathouse v. Vasquez

Background

Pro se plaintiff Leon Greathouse brought claims for false arrest and malicious prosecution against New York Police Department Detective Freddie Vasquez. He also brought a malicious-prosecution claim against District Attorney Cyrus Vance in his official capacity and a municipal-liability claim against the City of New York.

Report and Recommendation

The court had referred the defendants’ motion to dismiss to Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn. Judge Netburn recommended granting the motion as to Greathouse’s false-arrest claim against Vasquez, his malicious-prosecution claim against D.A. Vance, and his municipal-liability claim against the City. She recommended denying the motion as to Greathouse’s malicious-prosecution claim against Vasquez.

No party filed objections to the report. Judge Engelmayer therefore reviewed the unobjected-to recommendations for clear error, meaning an obvious mistake on the face of the record. He found no such error and adopted the report in its entirety. The court also stated that the parties’ failure to object waived appellate review of the recommendations.

Ruling

Judge Engelmayer granted the motion to dismiss Greathouse’s false-arrest claim against Vasquez, malicious-prosecution claim against D.A. Vance, and municipal-liability claim against the City of New York. He denied the motion to dismiss Greathouse’s malicious-prosecution claim against Vasquez. The case proceeds to discovery under Judge Netburn’s supervision.