Kauffman v. Barbagello et al

Filing 114

ORDER - IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT: 1. MJ Carlsons R&R (Doc. No. 101), isADOPTED in full; 2. Deft Bivenss motion for judgment on the pleadings (Doc. No. 61), is GRANTED IN PART as detailed in the R&R; 3. Defts motion for leave to file a sur-reply bri ef (Doc. No. 110), is DENIED AS MOOT; 4. The Clerk of Court is directed to terminate Deft Bivens from this lawsuit; and 5. This case is referred back to MJ Carlson for further pre-trial management. 61 101 61 Signed by Honorable Yvette Kane on 3/15/16. (sc)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
CARL R. KAUFFMAN III,
Plaintiff
v.
DANIEL BARBAGELLO, et al.,
Defendants

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ORDER

No. 13-cv-00659
(Judge Kane)
(Magistrate Judge Carlson)

THE BACKGROUND OF THIS ORDER IS AS FOLLOWS:
On October 8, 2015, Magistrate Judge Carlson issued a Report and Recommendation in
which he recommends granting Defendant State Trooper James Bivens’s motion for summary
judgment on the basis of qualified immunity. (See Doc. No. 101.) In particular, in the course of
the traffic stop and detention of Plaintiff that gave rise to this litigation, Defendant Bivens’s codefendant law enforcement officers are alleged to have conducted the initial traffic stop, taken
Plaintiff into custody, brought him to a state police barracks where Defendant Bivens conducted
a non-invasive drug screening, and brought Plaintiff to see mental health treatment at a local
hospital after the screening. (Id. at 3-6.) Defendant Bivens is alleged only to have used
specialized training to evaluate Plaintiff for the presence of drugs – an evaluation that indicated
that Plaintiff was not under the influence of drugs. (Id.) Magistrate Judge Carlson found that
Defendant Bivens’s involvement in the underlying stop and detention was minimal and routine,
so Defendant Bivens should be entitled to qualified immunity on Plaintiff’s federal claims
against him. (See id. at 19.)
Plaintiff has objected to the Report and Recommendations, arguing that: (1) Defendant
Bivens violated Plaintiff’s clearly established Fourth Amendment rights by detaining him
pending his substance evaluation; and that (2) Defendant Bivens violated Plaintiff’s clearly
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established Fourth Amendment rights when he furthered and failed to intervene in his codefendant officers’ use of excessive force and unlawful detention. (See Doc. No. 105 at 5-17.)
Defendant argues in opposition to Plaintiff’s objections that Plaintiff has not included a
claim for excessive force or failure to intervene in his amended complaint, so Plaintiff’s
objections as to those causes of action are without merit. (Doc. No. 108 at 10-11) (citing Doc.
No. 36). The Court agrees. As to Plaintiff’s other objections, the Court finds that Magistrate
Judge Carlson correctly and comprehensively addressed the substance of Plaintiff’s objections in
the Report and Recommendations itself. (See e.g., Doc. No. 101 at 19) (“[N]othing could have
alerted [Defendant Bivens] that, by examining [Plaintiff] and exonerating him of any illegal drug
use, he had violated ‘clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable
person would have known.’”) (quoting Wilson v. Lane, 526 U.S. 603, 609 (1999)). Accordingly,
the Court will not write separately to address these objections.
AND SO, on this 15th day of March 2016, upon review of the record and the applicable
law, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
1. Magistrate Judge Carlson’s Report and Recommendation (Doc. No. 101), is
ADOPTED in full, and the Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over
Plaintiff’s state law claims against Defendant Bivens;
2. Defendant Bivens’s motion for judgment on the pleadings (Doc. No. 61), is
GRANTED IN PART as detailed in the Report and Recommendation;
3. Defendant’s motion for leave to file a sur-reply brief (Doc. No. 110), is DENIED AS
MOOT;
4. The Clerk of Court is directed to terminate Defendant Bivens from this lawsuit; and
5. This case is referred back to Magistrate Judge Carlson for further pre-trial management.

S/ Yvette Kane
Yvette Kane, District Judge
United States District Court
Middle District of Pennsylvania
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