Michel v. Hartford, 226 Conn. App. 98 (2024)

Citation: Michel v. Hartford, 226 Conn. App. 98 (2024)
Parent Document: Michel v. Hartford, 226 Conn. App. 98 (2024)
Jurisdiction: Connecticut (state)
Effective Date: 2024-06-11
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10131855/michel-v-hartford/ ↗

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to be characterized as municipal policymakers. Pem-
          baur v. Cincinnati, supra, 475 U.S. 483–84. Moreover,
          the ‘‘pattern’’ of misconduct alleged by the plaintiff was
          directed only at the plaintiff himself. The plaintiff did
          not allege other constitutional violations, or that the
          officers’ conduct was directed at anyone else, in order
          to establish that the defendant had a custom or practice
          of infringing on constitutional rights. See Reynolds v.
          Giuliani, supra, 506 F.3d 192 (misconduct by subordi-
          nate municipal employee other than policymaker must
          be ‘‘sufficiently persistent or widespread’’ as to indicate
          pattern ‘‘acquir[ing] the force of law’’); see also St. Louis
          v. Praprotnik, 485 U.S. 112, 128, 108 S. Ct. 915, 99 L. Ed.
          2d 107 (1988) (plaintiff’s failure to allege that relevant
          conduct ‘‘was ever directed against anyone other than
          himself’’ supported conclusion that city could not be
          held liable under Monell); Dean v. Wexford Health
          Sources, Inc., 18 F.4th 214, 240 (7th Cir. 2021) (‘‘[c]onsis-
          tent with the Supreme Court’s guidance, we have
          repeatedly rejected Monell claims that rest on the plain-
          tiff’s individualized experience without evidence of
          other constitutional violations’’); Jones v. East Haven,
          691 F.3d 72, 82 (2d Cir. 2012) (there must be ‘‘sufficient
          instances of tolerant awareness’’ by supervisors of abu-
          sive conduct to support inference that they had policy,
          custom or usage of acquiescence in such abuse), cert.
          denied, 571 U.S. 940, 134 S. Ct. 125, 187 L. Ed. 2d 255
          (2013). Accordingly, the plaintiff failed to sufficiently
          allege an official policy, practice or custom as required
          for municipal liability under § 1983. Therefore, we con-
          clude that the plaintiff’s § 1983 claim was properly
          stricken.
                                       II
            The plaintiff also claims that the court improperly
          granted the defendant’s motion to strike counts two
          and three of his operative complaint asserting claims
          of retaliation in violation of § 31-51q for the exercise
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