BEAUVIL et al v. CITY OF ASBURY PARK et al
Filing
21
OPINION filed. Signed by Judge Anne E. Thompson on 9/4/2018. (km)
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
MARISE BEAUVIL and JEAN BEAUVIL,
Plaintiffs,
Civ. No, 18-991
V.
R E C E I V E D
SEP O4 2018
OPINION
ROBERT McKEON, ADAN MAGANA, and
JOHN DOE CODE ENFORCEMENT
OFFICIALS,
AT 8 : 3 0 - ~ ~ ~ - M
WILLIAM T. WALSH
CLERK
Defendants.
THOMPSON, U.S.D.J.
INTRODUCTION
This matter comes before the Court on a Motion to Dismiss brought by Defendants
Robert McKeon and Adan Magana (collectively, "Defendants"). (ECF No. 17.) Plaintiffs
Matise Beauvil and Jean Beauvil (collectively, "Plaintiffs") oppose Defendants' Motion. (ECF
No. 19.) The Court has decided the Motion after considering the written submissions without
oral argument pursuant to Local Civil Rule 78.l(b). For the following reasons, Defendants'
Motion is granted in part and denied in part.
BACKGROUND
Plaintiff Marise Beauvil, a Black Haitian-American with dual citizenship, owns an
apartment building located at 1117 Sunset Avenue in Asbury Park, New Jersey (the "Sunset
Avenue property"). (Am. Compl. ff 1, 9, ECF No. 14.) Plaintiff Jean Beauvil, also a Black
Haitian-American with dual citizenship, is married to Plaintiff Matise Beauvil and possesses an
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equitable interest in the Sunset Avenue property. (Id. '1'12, 10.) The Sunset Avenue property is
subject to the City of Asbury Park's Code Enforcement Rules and Regulations. (Id.'][ 11.)
OJJ. or al;>out April 15, 2016, Defendant Adan Magana ("Defendant Magana"), a Code
Enforcement Officer for the City of Asbury Park, issued a "notice of violation and order to
correct identification" to Pl~ntiff Jean Beauvil for the Sunset Avenue property, requiring
compliance by April 21, 2016. (Id.
ff 5,
12.) On or about April 16, 2018, Defendant Robert M.
McKeon (''Defendant McKeon"), the Director of Property Improvement and Neighborhood
Preservation for the City of Asbury Park, placed a "red notice" on the door of the Sunset Avenue
property stating, in part, "THIS UNIT IS UNINHABITABLE and its Use or Occupancy has been
PROHIBITED and it shc:111 be µnlawful for any person to occupy these premises without written
permission from the Hearing Officer of the City of Asbury Park. All occupants and contents of
this building must be removed by 4/18/16.'' (Id. '1'14, 13.) At the time the notice was issued,
Plaintiff Jea]J. Beauvil had a Certificate of Occupancy for the property. (Id.'][ 14.) After
Defendant McKeon issued the notice, Defendant McKeoil returned to the Sunset Avenue
property and called Plaintiff Jean Beauvil, in his presence, a "slum landlord" and a "fucking
Haitian nigger.'' (Id.'][ 15.)
Plaintiffs filed their initial Complaint on January 24, 2018, bringing claims against
Defendants and the City of Asbury Park 1 under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, 42 U.S.C. § 1985, 42 U.S.C. §
1988, and the New Jersey Civil Rights Act ("NJCRA"). (See Compl. '1'119-24, ECF No. 1.)
Defendants and the City of Asbury Park moved to dismiss all Cou11ts on April 2, 2018. (ECF
No. 6.) On June 1, 2018, the Court issued an Opinion and Otdet granting in part and denying in
part the motioJJ. to dismiss. (See Opinion, ECF No. 12; Order, ECF No. 13.) First, the Court
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Plaintiffs elected not to rename the City of Asbury Park in their Amended Complaint.
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denied the motion to dismiss as to Defendants' procedural due process and substantive due
process claims under§ 1983 and also as to Defendants' claim under the NJCRA. (See Op. at 57, 13.) Second, the Court granted the motion to dismiss as to Defendants' claim for civil
conspiracy under§ 1985 (see id. at 11-12) and claim for attorneys' fees under§ 1988 (see id. at
12). Third, the Court granted the motion to dismiss as to the City of Asbury Park and dismissed
without prejudice all Counts against the City of Asbury Park, finding that Plaintiffs had failed to
describe any policy or custom that would abrogate the City of Asbury Park's immunity from
municipal liability under Monell v. Department of Social Services of the City of New York, 436
U.S. 658, 690-91 (1978). (See id. at 8-11.) However, the Court granted Plaintiffs leave to
-amend their complaint in order to cure the deficiencies in regard to Plaintiffs' (1) Monell claim
against the City of Asbury Park and (2) civil conspiracy claim against Defendants and the City of
Asbury Park. (See id. at 11, 12).
Plaintiffs subsequently filed their Amended Com.plaint on June 19, 2018. (ECF No. 14.)
Plaintiffs contend that Defendants issued the Notice of Uninhabitability without a hearing and in
violation of Plaintiffs' rights to procedural due process and substantive due process secured by
the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. (Id.
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