Diaz et al v. Devlin et al

Filing 74

District Judge Timothy S Hillman: MEMORANDUM AND ORDER entered granting 35 Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim. (Castles, Martin)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
________________________________________________
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
v.
)
)
SGT. JAMES P. DEVLIN, DET. NICHOLAS E. NASON, )
DET. JEFFREY CARLSON,
)
LT. DET. JOSEPH SCAMPINI, SGT. RICHARD CIPRO, )
DET. JAMES CARMODY, OFF. ANTHONY LORENTE,`)
DET. TERRENCE GAFFNEY, DET.JOHN MORRISEY, )
DET.SHAWN BARBALE, DET.RONALD REMILLARD,)
OFF. REBECCA AGUILAR, OFF. ELIAS BAEZ,
)
CITY OF WORCESTER, CHIEF GARY J. GEMME,
)
CAPT. PAUL SAUCIER,
)
CITY MANAGER EDWARD M. AUGUSTUS,
)
POLICE INFORMANT CR-1, and OFFS. JOHN DOE 1-4, )
Defendants. )
________________________________________________)
MARIANNE DIAZ, individually and as mother and next
friend of two minor children Jane Doe and Jane Roe,
BRYANT ALEQUIN, and JOSHUA MATOS,
Plaintiffs,

CIVIL ACTION
NO. 16-40039-TSH

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
January 10, 2017
HILLMAN, D.J.
Nature of the Case
Plaintiffs, Marianne Diaz (“Diaz”), individually and as mother and next friend of two
minor children ( individually (“M1” and “M2” and collectively, the “minor children”), Bryant
Alequin (“Alequin”) and Joshua Matos (“Matos”) have filed suit against the City of Worcester
(“City”) and individual Defendants Sergeant James P. Devlin, Detective Nicholas E. Nason
(“Det. Nason”), Detective Jeffrey Carlson (“Det. Carlson”), Lieutenant Detective Joseph

Scampini, Sergeant Richard Cipro, Detective James Carmody, Officer Anthony Lorente,
Detective Terrence Gaffney, Detective John Morrisey, Detective Shawn Barbale, Detective
Ronald Remillard, Officer Rebecca Aguilar, Officer Elias Baez, Chief Gary J. Gemme, Captain
Paul Saucier, City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Police Informant Cr-1 (“CI”), and Offs. John
Doe 1-4. Plaintiffs allege that their rights were violated and they suffered personal injuries when
state and local law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at their apartment. They allege
claims against the Defendants under 42 U.S.C. §1983 for violation of their Fourth, Fifth and
Fourteenth Amendment Rights, corresponding claims under the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act,
Mass.Gen.L. ch. 12, §§11I (“MCRA”)1, and state law tort claims for false arrest, conspiracy,
assault and battery, assault with a deadly weapon, intentional infliction of emotional distress,
trespass, and fraud.
This Order addresses Defendant Jeffrey Carlson’s Motion To Dismiss (Docket No. 35).
For the reasons set forth below, the motion is granted.
Discussion
Standard of Review
Det. Carlson seeks to dismiss the claims against him pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6)
for failure to state a claim. On a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, the Court “must assume the
truth of all well-plead[ed] facts and give plaintiff the benefit of all reasonable inferences
therefrom.” Ruiz v. Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp., 496 F.3d 1, 5 (1st Cir. 2007) (citing
Rogan v. Menino, 175 F.3d 75, 77 (1st Cir. 1999)). To survive a motion to dismiss, the plaintiff

1
In their Complaint, Plaintiffs cite to the MCRA as “M.G.L. c. 112 §11IM”. See Complaint, at p.24.
Chapter 112 of the Massachusetts General Laws deals with the registration of certain professions and occupations,
while the MCRA, Chapter 12 §11I, deals with the violation of constitutional rights. Plaintiffs’ counsel have filed
numerous complaints in this Court during my nearly 11 year tenure which contain this incorrect statutory reference
and I have on multiple occasions expressly commented on their error. Nonetheless, counsel for Plaintiffs
inexplicably continue to file complaints containing the incorrect statutory reference.

2

must state a claim that is plausible on its face. Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570,
127 S.Ct. 1955 (2007). That is, “[f]actual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief
above the speculative level ... on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true
(even if doubtful in fact).” Id. at 555 (internal citations omitted). “The plausibility standard is
not akin to a ‘probability requirement,’ but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a
defendant has acted unlawfully.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (2009)
(quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556). Dismissal is appropriate if plaintiff’s well-pleaded facts do
not “possess enough heft to show that plaintiff is entitled to relief.” Ruiz Rivera v. Pfizer
Pharm., LLC, 521 F.3d 76, 84 (1st Cir. 2008) (internal quotations and original alterations
omitted). “The relevant inquiry focuses on the reasonableness of the inference of liability that
the plaintiff is asking the court to draw from the facts alleged in the complaint.” OcasioHernàndez v. Fortuño-Burset, 640 F.3d 1, 13 (1st Cir. 2011).
Facts
Det. Carlson of the Massachusetts State Police (“MSP”) was part of an ongoing joint
investigation with the Worcester Police Department (“WPD”) into an individual by the name of
Shane Jackson (“Jackson”), who was a suspected crack cocaine dealer. Law enforcement had
previously executed a search warrant targeting Jackson at an apartment located at 17 Hillside
Street, Worcester, Massachusetts, Apartment 3 (“Apartment”); this search, which took place on
September 22, 2014, was conducted pursuant to a search warrant issued by the a Worcester
District Court magistrate. Jackson had a prior conviction for drug dealing and the affidavit in
support of the search warrant stated that he had a firearm. The search yielded digital scales with
apparent drug residue, but no gun or drugs.

3

Jackson moved out of the Apartment on or about May 1, 2015, and thereafter, Diaz, her
two minor children, Alequin (Diaz’s fiancé and the father of M2, Diaz’s youngest child) and
Matos moved in. Law enforcement continued to investigate Jackson. On March 30, 2015, Det.
Carlson conducted surveillance of him at an address on Fox Street in Worcester, MA. Two days
later Jackson was arrested and charged with narcotics distribution; the charges were later
dismissed. On or about August 5, 2015, a default warrant the Worcester District Court mailed to
Jackson at the Apartment was returned because he no longer resided there. On August 6, 2015,
WPD officers arrested Jackson and charged him with larceny over $250 for stealing a phone
from a convenience store. When Jackson was arraigned that same day, he did not list the
Apartment as his address. Det. Carlson and other law enforcement agents investigating Jackson
knew that the owner/landlord of the Apartment was O&R Realty Trust. Motor vehicle records,
probation records and electric company records indicated that Plaintiff lived at the Apartment in
August 2015.
Notwithstanding readily available information indicating Jackson had moved and that
Plaintiffs now resided in the Apartment, on August 17, 2015, Det. Nason, who worked with Det.
Carlson on the Jackson investigation, applied to the District Court for a no-knock search warrant
targeting Jackson at the Apartment. The only information supporting the warrant was gathered
from the CI. According to the affidavit, Jackson was staying at the Apartment and had guns in
his possession. More specifically, the CI, who was described as a reliable informant and drug
user, told Det. Nason that Jackson was staying at the Apartment and the CI had been in the
Apartment within the previous 72 hours and saw two guns (a 9mm pistol and a .22 pistol). This
information was false. Law enforcement agents did not conduct surveillance of the area (to see if
Jackson resided there) before executing the no-knock search warrant on August 19, 2015. They

4

did not check the mailbox to see who was listed as residents of the apartment and did not contact
the landlord to confirm who was living there prior to conducting the raid. The CI claimed that
Jackson was working with a female accomplice, but law enforcement officers did not show the
CI a picture of Diaz to determine whether she was the female that s/he had observed with
Jackson.
Police executed the warrant shortly after 5:00 AM on August 19, 2015. Det. Carlson was
involved in planning and approving the raid. Armed SWAT officers entered a bedroom where
Diaz – naked due to the warm weather – was sleeping with her children, shouting obscenities at
her. The officers would not allow Diaz to move or cover herself until they had searched the
room. Eventually she was allowed to cover herself with a bathrobe and a female police officer
performed a pat frisk on her, reaching under the bathrobe to do so. Matos had been sleeping on a
couch in the living room when the raid began. Officers ran at him, pointed weapons at him, and
shouted obscenities at him. Matos complied with requests to drop to the floor, but when he told
the officers that he had an injured wrist and a fracture from a recent accident, they ignored him
and one officer stepped on his hand. Alequin had been in the bathroom preparing for work when
the raid began. An officer kicked the door in and Alequin fell back. Officers seized him, twisted
his arm behind his back, and aimed a sub-machine gun at him. When he asked why the officers
were raiding his home, they ignored his question as they handcuffed him. Officers searched the
apartment. Ultimately, they found nothing of interest. When officers produced photographs of
Jackson and an alleged accomplice, Plaintiffs insisted they did not know them. The police then
left.
Following the raid, M1, the older of the minor children refuses to sleep alone and has
been treated for anxiety. Her younger sister, M2, was treated for sleep disruption and still

5

awakens some nights in terror. Alequin sought help and was diagnosed as needing psychiatric
treatment. A broken bone in Matos’s hand was re-fractured, and he has sought treatment for
debilitating anxiety and depression. Diaz says she suffers stress and anxiety over the impact of
the raid on her children and fiancé, but it is unclear if she has sought medical help for these
issues.
Whether Plaintiffs have stated a Plausible Claim against Det. Carlson
Det. Carlson asserts that Plaintiffs’ allegations in the Complaint are insufficient to state a
claim against him in relation to the planning and execution stages of the raid. Plaintiffs, in
response, concede that they do not catalogue every aspect of Det. Carlson’s involvement with the
investigation and raid, but they argue the complaint and the reasonable inferences therefrom make
out a plausible claim. In particular, Plaintiffs argue that there are sufficient facts asserted to support
and inference that Det. Carlson was a key member of the investigation who was personally
involved in planning and conducting the raid.
Unreasonable Search and Seizure and Excessive Force (Count I)
In Count I of their Complaint, Plaintiffs’ assert claims against Det. Carlson under Section
1983 for violation of their constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and
seizures, and excessive force. To state a claim under Section 1983, a plaintiff must show that the
challenged conduct was committed by a person acting under color of state law and that the
conduct worked a deprivation of rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution or
federal law. 42 U.S.C. §1983; Soto v. Flores, 103 F.3d 1056, 1061 (1st Cir. 1997), cert. denied,
522 U.S. 819 (1997). Section 1983 liability “may be imposed both for action that deprives a
plaintiff of a constitutional right and for failure to act, when there is a duty to act, to prevent such
a deprivation.” Clark v. Taylor, 710 F.2d 4, 9 (1st Cir. 1983). Liability may be imposed against

6

an individual officer as the result of his own action/inaction, or for failure to properly supervise
subordinate officers. However, in civil rights actions, supervisors are not vicariously liable for
the misconduct of those under their command. The supervisor’s action or inaction must be
affirmatively linked to the subordinate’s behavior “in the sense that it could be characterized as
supervisory encouragement, condonation or acquiescence or gross negligence amounting to
deliberate indifference.” Pineda v. Toomey, 533 F.3d 50, 54 (1st Cir. 2008)(citation to quoted
case omitted). “The requirement of an ‘affirmative link’ between the behavior of a subordinate
and the action or inaction of his supervisor ‘contemplates proof that the supervisor’s conduct led
inexorably to the constitutional violation.’” Id. (citation to quoted case omitted). Where the
claim is one for excessive force, an officer, whether sued directly or in his supervisory capacity,
must have been in a position to prevent the physical harm perpetrated by another officer. Walker
v. Jackson, 56 F.Supp.3d. 89, 98 (D.Mass. 2014). Moreover, the First Circuit has noted that
liability for failure to act “has most often been found when the defendant is in a supervisory
position over the parties whose conduct plaintiff complains of.” Maldonado Santiago v.
Velazquez Garcia, 821 F.2d 822, 831 (1st Cir. 1987) (“Section 1983 imposes a causation
requirement similar to that of ordinary tort law”).
For purposes of this motion, Det. Carlson does not argue that the Plaintiffs’ constitutional
rights were not violated, rather he argues that Plaintiffs have not alleged any facts which establish
that any action or inaction on his part caused any such violations, either by him directly, or in his
supervisory capacity. Plaintiffs have made general allegations that Det. Carlson was a member of
the WPD vice squad involved in the Jackson investigation, had Jackson under surveillance at
another address, helped plan the raid, and “assisted” in carrying out the raid. Plaintiffs have not
pled any specific facts which link Det. Carlson, directly or indirectly, to any the alleged unlawful

7

conduct. Such bare-bones allegations are insufficient to establish a plausible Section 1983 claim
against Det. Carlson for illegal search and/or use of excessive force. Plaintiffs suggest that Det.
Carlson may be liable for the violations of their rights as a supervisor of those officers who were
involved in the raid. However, even assuming that Det. Carlson was the supervisor of the officers
who executed the raid, as to the excessive force claim, courts have extended section 1983 liability
only to those police supervisors who were physically present and either directed their subordinates
to violate others’ rights or failed to intervene to prevent their subordinates from violating others’
rights. As discussed above, Plaintiffs have not pled any facts which establish that Det. Carlson
was present at the Apartment, and, even if they had, they have not alleged that he directed his
subordinates to use force against them, or that he was in a position to intervene. Det. Carlson’s
mere presence, his planning and/or execution of the raid is insufficient “to create the affirmative
link necessary for a finding of supervisory liability.” Maldonado v. Fontanes, 568 F.3d 263, 275
(1st Cir. 2009).
As to Plaintiffs’ Section 1983 supervisory claim against Det. Carlson for illegal search and
seizure, as stated above, Plaintiffs’ barebones allegations fail to state a plausible claim against Det.
Carlson for a direct violation. As to the claim asserted against him in his supervisory capacity,
Plaintiffs have failed to link any action or inaction of Det. Carlson the behavior of a subordinate
which led to a constitutional deprivation. Instead, Plaintiffs rely on conclusory allegations and
unsupported speculation, which is insufficient to establish the affirmative link necessary to
establish the deliberate indifference on the part of Det. Carlson in his supervisory capacity.
For the reasons set forth above, I find that Plaintiffs have not alleged plausible Section
1983 claims against Det. Carlson for excessive force or illegal search and seizure. Therefore, those
claims are dismissed.

8

False Arrest (Count III)
In Count III of their Complaint, Plaintiffs assert a claim against Det. Carlson for false
arrest. Under Massachusetts law, “the tort of false imprisonment consists of (1) intentional and
(2) unjustified (3) confinement of a person, (4) directly or indirectly (5) of which the person
confined is conscious or is harmed by such confinement. Police officers may be liable for this
tort unless the police officer had a legal justification for the restraint. Such justification exists
where the officer had probable cause to arrest the suspect. The probable cause standard is a
relatively low threshold for police officers to establish. It is met when police officers, relying on
reasonably trustworthy facts and circumstances, have information upon which a reasonably
prudent person would believe the suspect had committed or was committing a crime.” Barbosa v.
Conlon, 962 F. Supp. 2d 316, 334–35 (D. Mass. 2013)(citations to quoted cases and internal
quotation marks omitted). The First Circuit has held that “[p]ersons other than those who
actually effect an imprisonment may be so related to the act or proceeding as instigators or
participants therein to be jointly liable, for all who aid, direct, advise, or encourage the unlawful
detention of a person are liable for the consequences.” Wagenmann v. Adams, 829 F.2d 196,
209-10 (1st Cir. 1987) (internal citations omitted). “[T]he arrest by the officer must be so
induced or instigated by the defendant that the act of arrest is made by the officer, not of his own
volition, but to carry out the request of the defendant.” Id. (emphasis added).
As with their Section 1983 claim, Plaintiffs have not asserted any facts which would
establish that Det. Carlson was at the Apartment as part of the police raid. On the contrary,
Plaintiffs detail the activities of other police officers during the raid, listing members of the entry
team and describing which officers entered each room and interacted with the Plaintiffs. In
contrast, as to Det. Carlson Plaintiffs simply assert that he “assisted in the raid” without any

9

specific description of any actions taken by him or directed to be taken by him. Consequently, I
find that Plaintiffs have failed to allege a plausible claim against Det. Carlson for false arrest and
therefore, this claim is dismissed.
Conspiracy (Count IV)
In Count IV, Plaintiffs allege that Det. Carlson and others engaged in a conspiracy to
violate their civil rights. In order to establish the existence of a conspiracy, a plaintiff must prove
that “a combination of two or more persons act[ed] in concert to commit an unlawful act, or to
commit a lawful act by unlawful means, the principal element of which is an agreement between
the parties to inflict a wrong against or injury upon another, and an overt act that results in
damages.” Estate of Bennett v. Wainwright, 548 F.3d 155, 178 (1st Cir. 2008) (internal citation
omitted). Where the claim is brought pursuant to Section 1983 for violation of the plaintiff’s civil
rights, the plaintiff must also show that the conspiracy resulted in “an actual abridgement of some
federally-secured right.” Nieves v. McSweeney, 241 F.3d 46, 53 (1st Cir. 2001); see Earle v. Benoit,
850 F.2d 836, 844 (1st Cir. 1988); see also 42 U.S.C. §1983 (requiring the deprivation of a federal
right). A conspiracy may be a “matter of inference[.]” Estate of Bennett, 548 F.3d at 178.
However, a claim of conspiracy to deprive a plaintiff of civil rights will not survive a motion to
dismiss if it makes conclusory allegations without making supporting factual assertions. Slotnick
v. Staviskey, 560 F.2d 31, 33 (1st Cir. 1977).
The Plaintiffs make various conclusory allegations about the mindsets of those involved
with the investigation. However, other than those legal conclusions which as a matter of law are
insufficient to state a claim, the Complaint does not contain any allegations that would support an
inference that there existed a concrete agreement between the officers involved in the investigation
to inflict any injury on or violate the rights of Plaintiffs. Moreover, the Complaint does not allege

10

anything about Det. Carlson’s actions following the raid, and thus does not plausibly establish that
he participated in a conspiracy to cover up any of the alleged unlawful events. Accordingly,
Plaintiffs’ claim against Det. Carlson for conspiracy to violate their civil rights is dismissed.
Assault and Battery; Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon (Counts V and VI)
In Count V, Plaintiffs assert a state tort law claim against Det. Carlson for assault and
battery. In Count VI, they asset a claim against him for assault and battery with a deadly weapon.2
Civil assault requires that a defendant “act[ed] intending to cause a harmful or offensive contact”
with a plaintiff, “or [acted to create] an imminent apprehension of such a contact,” and that a
plaintiff was “thereby put in such imminent apprehension.” Restatement (Second) of Torts §21
(1) (Am. Law Inst. 1965); see also Conley v. Romeri, 806 N.E.2d 933, 939 n. 6 (Mass. App. Ct.
2004) (citing Restatement). “The intent required [for civil assault] is the intent to make the victim
apprehensive of immediate physical harm.” Commonwealth v. Musgrave, 649 N.E.2d 784, 787
(Mass. App. Ct. 1995) (quoting Nolan & Sartorio, Tort Law §12(1) (2d ed. 1989)). The tort of
battery represents a completed assault in that the intention of a defendant to cause a harmful or
offensive contact resulted, directly or otherwise, in such a harmful or offensive contact. See Waters
v. Blackshear¸ 591 N.E.2d 184, 185-6 (Mass. 1992). “Under Massachusetts tort law, a defendant
need not ‘be able instantly to carry out the physical violence threatened by his conduct.’” Kennedy
v. Town of Billerica, 617 F.3d 520, 539 (1st Cir. 2010) (quoting Ginsberg v. Blacker, 852 N.E.2d
679, 684 n. 8 (Mass. App. Ct. 2006)). “[R]ather, ‘[i]t is enough that one is so close to striking
distance that he can reach [a plaintiff] almost at once.’” Id. (finding that the focus of Massachusetts
tort law is on those who actually committed the challenged conduct).

2

Plaintiffs have not cited to any law which would support a tort claim for assault and battery with a deadly
weapon distinct from their generic assault and battery claim. For that reason, this claim should be dismissed as
duplicative of their assault and battery claim. However, given that Plaintiffs have failed to allege any facts which
would support such a claim against Det. Carlson, the Court need not address the issue.

11

Claims of assault and battery can lie against police officers who use excessive force in the
discharge of official duties. See Raiche v. Pietroski, 623 F.3d 30, 40 (1st Cir. 2010) (holding that
defendant police officer used excessive force when he tackled motorcyclist who was pulled over
for not wearing helmet and for failing to stop when signaled to do so). In analyzing excessive
force claims, courts determine whether “the defendant officer employed force that was
unreasonable under the circumstances.” Jennings v. Jones, 499 F.3d 2, 11 (1st Cir. 2007).
Determining whether the force employed was unreasonable under the circumstances requires a
court to balance three non-exclusive factors: (1) “the severity of the crime at issue,” (2) “whether
the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of the officers or others,” and (3) “whether [the
suspect] is actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight.” Graham v. Connor,
490 U.S. 386, 396, 109 S.Ct. 1865 (1989).
As I found with respect to Plaintiffs’ Section 1983 excessive force claim against Det.
Carlson, they have not pled any facts which support a finding that Det. Carlson was part of the raid
team much less that he committed an assault and battery against them. Accordingly, these claims
are dismissed against Det. Carlson.
Count VII, Violations of the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act (Count VII)
In Count VII, Plaintiffs have asserted excessive force and illegals search and seizure claims
against Det. Carlson pursuant to the MCRA. To state a claim under the MCRA, a plaintiff must
show “that 1) his exercise or enjoyment of rights secured by the federal or state constitution or
laws 2) has been interfered with, or attempted to be interfered with, and 3) the interference or
attempted interference was by threats, intimidation, or coercion.” Stone v. Caswell, F. Supp. 2d
32, 37 (D. Mass. 2013) (quoting Haufler v. Zotos, 845 N.E.2d 322, 335 (Mass. 2006)). Courts
have said this last requirement – that the “interference or attempted interference was by threats,

12

intimidation, or coercion” – distinguishes a MCRA claim from a section 1983 claim. See Santiago
v. Keyes, 890 F. Supp. 2d 149, 154 (D. Mass. 2012); Bally v. Northeastern Univ., 532 N.E.2d 49,
52 (Mass. 1989). Other than this additional requirement, the MCRA is generally interpreted
coextensively with Section 1983. See Cocroft v. Smith, 95 F.Supp.3d 119, 128 (D.Mass. 2015). Since
I have determined that Plaintiffs have failed to state a claim against Det. Carlson under Section 1983,
their MCRA claims also fail.

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (Count VIII)
In Count VIII of their Complaint, Plaintiffs have asserted a state tort law claim against Det.
Carlson for intentional infliction of emotions distress. A plaintiff must establish four elements to
state such a claims: “(1) [defendant] intended to inflict emotional distress or that he knew or should
have known that emotional distress was the likely result of his conduct[;] (2) that the conduct was
extreme and outrageous, beyond all possible bounds of decency and was utterly intolerable in a
civilized community[;] (3) that the actions of the defendant were the cause of the plaintiff’s
distress[;] and (4) that the emotional distress sustained by the plaintiff was severe and of a nature
that no reasonable man could be expected to endure it.” Agis v. Howard Johnson Co., 355 N.E.2d
315, 318-9 (Mass. 1976) (internal citations and quotations omitted); see also Limon v. United
States, 579 F.3d 79, 94 (1st Cir. 2009). The standard for what qualifies as such conduct has been
set very high to “avoid litigation in situations where only bad manners and mere hurt feelings are
involved.” Doyle v. Hasbro, Inc., 103 F.3d 186, 195 (1st Cir. 1996) (quoting Agis, 355 N.E.2d at
318-9). This high bar requires “targeted and malicious” conduct directed towards the plaintiffs
advancing the claim. See Rua v. Glodis, 52 F. Supp. 3d 84, 100 (D. Mass. 2014) (failing to find
conduct necessary to sustain an IIED claim where plaintiff did not demonstrate defendants knew
or should have known that any serious harm would befall plaintiff); see also Henriquez v. City of
Lawrence, No. 14-cv-14710-IT, 2015 WL 3913449, *5 (D. Mass. 2015) (citing Nancy P. v.
13

D’Amato, 517 N.E.2d 824, 827 (Mass. 1998) (“[t]he focus of [Massachusetts] cases, and of cases
elsewhere, dealing with intentional infliction of emotional distress has been on the emotional
distress of a single person against whom the extreme and outrageous conduct was directed.”)).
At least one judge in this district has held that a plaintiff fails to state a claim for intentional
infliction of emotional distress where there was no allegation that a defendant “was present for or
took part in the [challenged] events” and no allegation that the defendant “engaged in any conduct
directed at” the plaintiff.” Henriquez, 2015 WL 3913449, at *5. I have previously found that
Plaintiffs have failed to assert facts which establish that Det. Carlson was at the Apartment and
therefore, they have not asserted specific facts which establish that he “engaged in any conduct
directed at” them, They have also failed to allege facts which would support a finding of intentional
(as opposed to negligent) conduct upon the part of Det. Carlson. For these reasons, I find that
Plaintiffs have failed to state a plausible claim against Det. Carlson for intentional infliction of
emotional distress.
Trespass (Count IX)
In Count IX of their Complaint, Plaintiffs assert a state law tort claim against Det. Carlson
for trespassing on their property. To state a claim for trespass, a plaintiff must show defendant
intentionally and illegally entered onto property over which he had actual possession. McCarty v.
Verizon New England, Inc., 731 F. Supp. 2d 123, 132 (D. Mass. 2010) (internal citation omitted).
Any actual possession of real estate is enough to allow a party in possession to bring a trespass
claim against a stranger who interferes with that possession. New England Box Co. v. C & R
Const. Co., 49 N.E.2d 121, 128 (Mass. 1943). Once again, Plaintiffs’ claim fails because they have
failed to allege facts which would support a finding that Det. Carlson was physically present at the
Apartment during the raid, or that he oversaw or directed those who did participate in the raid

14

(assuming that he could be held liable under some supervisory theory). Accordingly, this claim is
dismissed against Det. Carlson.
Conclusion
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
Defendant Jeffrey Carlson’s Motion To Dismiss (Docket No. 35) is granted.
/s/ Timothy S. Hillman_________
TIMOTHY S. HILLMAN
DISTRICT JUDGE

15