Free Complaint - District Court of Delaware - Delaware

Case 1:07-cv-00742-GMS

Document 1

Filed 11/20/2007

Page 1 of 4

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE

MICHELE

"""

Plaintiff, v.
NEW CASTLE COU)HY; RICHARD TRALA

INDNIDUALL
CAPACITY;

Defendants.
COMPLAINT

) ) )) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )) ) ) ))
)

COY

AIS,

)

Civil Action No.

Y

AND

IN

HIS

OFFICIAL

)

)

TRIAL DEMANDED

Parties

1.

Plaintiff

Michele

Covais

is,

and

at

all

times

relevant

JURY

hereto

was,

a

resident

of

Castle

County,

Delaware.

2.

Defendant

New

Castle

County

I

is

a

county

in

the

State

of

Delaware,

New

..-=

..",-'

"

responsible

for

the

New

Castle

Co~ty

Division

of

Police

(hereinafter

"NCC

3.

~efendant

Richard

Trala,

individually

and

in

his

official

capacity,

Police").

was

an

in

the

NCC

Police

on

November

21,2005.

..<'

Jurisdiction
Court for the District of Delaware has jurisdiction over
4. The United States District

the parties and the claims by virtue of the pendency of a federal claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983

and 28 US.C. §§ 1331 and 1343,and under the principles of ancillary and pendentjurisdiction
as well as the supplemental jurisdiction provisions of28 U.S.C.

§ 1367.

~

officer

and

Case 1:07-cv-00742-GMS

Document 1

Filed 11/20/2007

Page 2 of 4

Facts

ttack.

COUNT I
Violation of Civil Ri2hts under Color of State Law. 42 U.S.C. §

Violation of the Fourth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constituion (deprivation of liberty. unlawful seizure. denial of equal protection. denial of due process. denial of privile2es and immunities)

Paragraphs to 10 arerestatedasifmore fully set forth herein. 1

2

~

1983-

Case 1:07-cv-00742-GMS

Document 1

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Page 3 of 4

12.

The

actions

of

Officer

Trala,

acting

under

color

of

state

law,

constituted

a

violation of his responsibilities and a violation of the Constitutional rights and of the physical person of plaintiff Michele Covais.
-",
13. As a result of the wrongful actions of the defendants, Ms. Covais suffered

attendant physical injuries, mental anguish and trauma, and pain and suffering, lost wages, and
loss of future wages and earning capacity, and was deprived of her right to liberty and to be free

,

from

unlawful

seizure,

and

was

denied

the

equal

protection

of

the

laws

and

further

denied

gross

right

to

due

process

under

law,

and

was

denied

the

privileges

and

immunities

due

her

under

Constitution and laws of the United States, as granted by the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution.

COUNTII
Violation of Civil Ri2hts under Colo'r of State Law. 42 V.S.C. § 1983

Failure"to train and/or supervise. and/or maintenance of wron2ful customs. practices and polices

14.

Paragraphs

1-13

are

restated

as

ifmore

fully

set

forth

15.

Acting

under

color

of

state

law,

the

defendant

New

herein.

Castle

County

has

-

failed

the

the

properly train or supervise its officers including Officer Richard Tra1a, and/or has maintained
."

wrongful customs, practices, and policies such that the hideous conduct of Officer Richard Tra1a occurring on November 21, 2005 was not prevented.
16. As a result of the wrongful actions of the defendants, Ms. Covais suffered

attendant physical injuries, mental/anguishand trauma,and pain and suffering, lost wages,and loss of future wagesand earningcapacity,and was deprivedof her right to liberty andto be free
from unlawful seizure, and was denied the equal protection of the laws and further denied the

3

to

Case 1:07-cv-00742-GMS

Document 1

Filed 11/20/2007

Page 4 of 4

right

to

due

process

under

law,

and

was

denied

the

privileges

and

immunities

due

her

under

Constitution

and

laws

of

the

United

States,

as

granted

by

the

Fourth

and

Fourteenth

to the Constitution.

COUNTIII
Assault

Paragraphs 1-16 arerestatedasif more fully setforth herein. "", ,

"

The a~oresaidactions of the defendants constitute intentional unpermitted contact an assault upon the person of plaintiff Michele Covais that was hideous and

WHEREFORE,. plaintiff

demands that judgment be entered in her favor against

defendants on the above claims, including awards of compensatory damages, punitive damages, costs of suit, interest, attorneys' fees under 42 US.C. § 1988 and any other appropriate or
relevant statutory or common law basis, and such other and further relief as this Court may deem

appropriate.

."'

DATE: November

20, 2007 By:
Herbert G. Feuerhake, Esq.

The

Law

Office

ofH.

G.

521

West

Wilmington,

Street

Delaware

19801

(302) 658-6101 Atty. ill No. 2590

4

Feuerhake

Amendments

the

Case 1:07-cv-00742-GMS

Document 1-2

Filed 11/20/2007

Page 1 of 2

~JS 44 (Rev. 11/04)

CIVIL
(SEE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE REVERSE OF THE FORM.)

SHEET

The JS 44 civil cover sheetand the information contained herein neither replace nor supplement the filing and service of pleadings or other papers asrequired by law, except asprovided by local rules of court. This form, approved by the Judicial Conference of the United Statesin September 1974, is required for the use of the Clerk of Court for the purpose of initiating
the civil docket sheet.

Co VtO..\ s
(b)
County of Residence of First Listed Defendant.
(IN
U.S. PLAINTIFF CASES ONLY)

COVER

N~
USE THE LOCATION

(""

f{...

Co

NOTE:

IN

LAND

CONDEMNATION

CASES,

OF

LAND

(c) Attorney' Na~ess,and ~(Firnl Telephone Number)
!>O).

-

Attorneys (If Known)

"

tiI-

b

{

0

H~r~\
01

~~

S>'T.

u.s. Government Plaintiff

"f:i1

r

Federal Question (U.S. Government Not a Party)

"b~

\

INVOLVED.

Citizen of This State

DEF

Incorporated or Principal Place of Business In This State Incorporated and Principal Place of Business In Another State

U.S. Government Defendant

0 4 Diversity
(Indicate Citizenship of Parties in Item III)

02 03

01

0 2
0 3

0 0

5 6

THE

05 06

Citizen

of

Another

State

ForeignNation

V. ORIGIN
0 01 Original Proceedin

(Place

an

"X"

in

One

Box

Only)

Appeal

to

2

0

3

0

4

0

5

Transferred

from

06

0

7

Judge

Removed

from

Remanded

from

Reinstated

or

another

district

Multidistrict

State

Court

A

ellate

Court

Reo

ened

s

ecif

Liti

ation

Jud

Magistrate

Cite the U,S, ~v£
'

Sttu!"lnder~ti'ilf

~are

filing

(Do not cite jurisdictional

statutes

unless diversity):

fd
escnp

'

t

'
IOn 0

f
cause: Se,cV~

1'1
c::tH4II'.t..&.l t V £:,1) oW' If\ ..JJ S (4 ,)

VI.

CAUSE

OF

ACTION

B

ne

IN
RELATED
IF ANY

0

CHECKIF THIS IS A CLASS ACTION
UNDER F.R.C,P. 23 .

DEMAND $ ~
0..-"""

CHECKYES only if demanded complaint: in
JURY DEMAND: )f Yes 0 No

VII.

COMPLAINT:

REQUESTED

VIII.

CASE(S)

(See instructions): JUDGE
DOCKET NUMBER

DATE

RECEIPT #

AMOUNT

APPLYING

IFP

MAG.

~

JUDGE

JUDGE

,

ent

from

District

-]

)....

Case 1:07-cv-00742-GMS
JS 44 Reverse (Rev. 11104)

Document 1-2

Filed 11/20/2007

Page 2 of 2

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ATTORNEYS COMPLETING CIVIL COVER SHEET FORM JS 44
Authority For Civil Cover Sheet

The JS 44 civil cover sheet and the information contained herein neither replaces nor supplements the filings and service of pleading or other papers as required by law, except as provided by local rules of court. This form, approved by the Judicial Conference of the United States in September 1974, is required for the use of the Clerk of Court for the purpose of initiating the civil docket sheet. Consequently, a civil cover sheet is submitted to the Clerk of Court for each civil complaint

filed. The attorney filing a case should complete the form as follows:

Enternames (last,first, middleinitial) of plaintiff anddefendant. Ifthe plaintiff or defendant a government is agency, only use
If the plaintiff or defendant is an official within a government agency, identify first the agency and then the official, giving

I.

(a)

the full name or standard abbreviations.

both nameandtitle.
(b) County of Residence. For each civil casefiled, except U.S. plaintiff cases,enter the name ofthe county where the first listed plaintiff residesat the time of filing. In U.S. plaintiff cases,enter the name of the county in which the first listed defendantresides at the time of filing. (NOTE: In land condenmationcases,
the county of residence of the "defendant" is the location, of the tract of land involved.) If there are several attorneys, list them on an attachment, noting (c) Attorneys. Enter the firm name, address, telephone number, and attorney of record. in this section "(see attachment)".

II. Jurisdiction. Thebasisofjurisdic;Xion setforth underRule 8(a),F.R.C.P., is whichrequires jurisdictionsbe shownin pleadings. that Place "X" in one an of theboxes.If thereis morethanoneblSis of jurisdiction,precedence givenin theordershownbelow. is
United Statesplaintiff. (1) Jurisdiction based on 28 U.S.C. 1345 and 1348. Suits by agenciesand officers of the United Statesare included here. United Statesdefendant. (2) When the plaintiff is suing the United States,its officers or agencies,place an "X" in this box. Federal question. (3) This refers to suits under 28 U.S.C. 1331, where jurisdiction arises under the Constitution of the United States, an amendment to the Constitution, an act of Congressor a treaty of the United States. In caseswhere the U.S. is a party, the U.S. plaintiff or defendant code takesprecedence,and box I or 2 should be marked. Diversity of citizenship. (4) This refers to suits under 28 D.S.f:. 1332, wh~re parties are citizens of different states. When Box 4 is checked,the citizenship of the different parties must be checked. (See Section III below; federal question actions take precedenceover diversity cases.) III. Residence (citizenship) of Principal Parties. This section of the IS 44 is to be completed if diversity of citizenship was indicated above. Mark this section
for each principal party.

IV. Nature of Suit. Place an "X" in the appropriate box. If the nature of suit cannot be determined, be sure the causeof action, in Section VI below, is sufficient to enable the deputy clerk or the statistical clerks in the Administrative Office to determine the nature of suit. If the cause fits more than one nature of suit, select
the most

V.
Original

Origin. Placean "X" in oneof the seven boxes. Cases which originatein theUnited States districtcourts.
Proceedings. (I)

Removed from State Court. (2) Proceedings initiated in state courts may be removed to the district courts under Title 28 D.S.C., Section 1441. When the petition for removalis grat1ted,'check this box.

Remanded from Appellate

definitive.'

Plaintiffs-Defendants.

Court.

(3) Check t~is box for casesremanded to the district court for further action. Use the date of remand as the filing date.

Reinstated or Reopened. (4) Check this box for casesreins'tatedor reopened in the district court. Use the reopening date as the filing date. Transferred from Another District. (5) For casestransferred under Title 28 D.S.C. Section 1404(a). Do not use this for within district transfers or multidistrict
litigation transfers.

Multidistrict Litigation. (6) Check this box when a multidistrict caseis transferred into the district under authority of Title 28 D.S.C. Section 1407. When this box
is checked, do not check (5) above.

to District Judge from Magistrate Judgment.(7) Checkthis box for an appeal from a magistrate judge's decision.
Cause of Action. Report the civil statute directly related to the causeof action and give a brief description of the cause. Do not cite jurisdictional statutes
diversity. Example: u.S. Civil Statute: 47 USC 553

VI.
unless

Appeal

Brief Description:

UnauthorIzed reception of cable service
23, F.R.Cv.P.

VII.

Requested in Complaint. Class Action. Place an "X" in this box if you are filing a class action under Rule

Demand. In this spaceenter the dollar amount (in thousands of dollars) being demandedor indicate other demand such as a preliminary injunction.
Jury Demand. Check the appropriate box to indicate whether or not a jury is being demanded.

VIII.

Related Cases. This section of the IS 44 is~usedto reference related pending casesif any. If there are related pending cases,insert the docket numbers

and the corresponding judge names for such cases.

Date and Attorney Signature. Date and sign the civil cover sheet.

Case 1:07-cv-00742-GMS

Document 1-3

Filed 11/20/2007

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