DOUGHERTY v. WEINERT (2005)

Order (Geoffrey D. Wright, J.), entered November 22, 2004, reversed, with $10 costs, and plaintiff's motion denied.

Defendant was arrested in December 2002, following an incident on a subway platform.   Charged with felonious assault on a police officer, she ultimately pleaded guilty to resisting arrest, a misdemeanor.   In her plea allocution, she admitted to having interfered with the arrest of her brother, during which time she “struggled with the officer.”

Plaintiff, one of the arresting officers, subsequently brought the within action for assault and battery stemming from this incident.   In granting plaintiff's motion for summary judgment, the court equated defendant's “admitted struggle” while resisting arrest with an “unauthorized touching” sufficient to establish a civil assault and battery as a matter of law.

In order for a determination in one proceeding to have collateral estoppel effect in another, there must be a clear identity of issue between the two, i.e., no significant factual differences and an identical legal theory (Kaufman v. Lilly & Co., 65 N.Y.2d 449, 457, 492 N.Y.S.2d 584, 482 N.E.2d 63 [1985] ).   Caution is particularly advised where a conviction for a relatively minor criminal offense might preclude a defendant from disputing the merits in a subsequent, large-damage civil action arising from the same incident (see Gilberg v. Barbieri, 53 N.Y.2d 285, 441 N.Y.S.2d 49, 423 N.E.2d 807 [1981] ).

A person is guilty of resisting arrest when she intentionally prevents or attempts to prevent law enforcement personnel from carrying out an authorized arrest of herself or another (Penal Law § 205.30).   Civil assault, on the other hand, is defined as intentionally placing another in fear of imminent harmful or offensive contact, and civil battery is actually and intentionally making that wrongful physical contact without consent (United Natl. Ins. Co. v. Waterfront N.Y. Realty Corp., 994 F.2d 105, 108 [2d Cir.1993] ).   This is not the case of a criminal assault conviction precluding a defense against similar allegations in a civil assault action (see e.g. Olsson v. MacDonald, 16 A.D.3d 1017, 792 N.Y.S.2d 250 [2005] ), where the identity of issue is beyond question.   An ambiguous plea allocution admitting to a “struggle” in criminally resisting arrest is insufficient for collateral estoppel purposes in the context of a civil assault and battery action, without elevating that word to the status of a yet-undefined legal term of art.   There was no identity of issue here (see Charkhy v. Altman, 252 A.D.2d 413, 678 N.Y.S.2d 40 [1998] ).

I respectfully dissent.

The legal effect of a guilty plea in a subsequent civil action for collateral estoppel purposes is stated in Merchants Mutual Insurance Company v. Arzillo, 98 A.D.2d 495, 504, 472 N.Y.S.2d 97 [2d Dept.1984] “․ a guilty plea is equivalent to a conviction after trial for issue preclusion purposes and that a guilty plea precludes relitigation in a subsequent civil action of all issues necessarily determined by the conviction (citations omitted).”

The guilty plea allocution of the defendant for resisting arrest reads:

Assistant District Attorney:  Is it true that on December 1, 2002 at approximately 2:30 a.m. inside Christopher Street subway station in an attempt to interfere with or prevent the arrest of David Weinert, you did grab and/or struggle with Police Officer Jane Coyle?

Defendant:  I interfered with the arrest of my brother during which time I struggled with the officer ․ I interfered with the arrest of my brother during which time I struggled with the officer.  (R121)

The majority defines a battery as an unauthorized physical contact without consent.   The underlying criminal act which formed the basis for the guilty plea was the “struggle” with the plaintiff police officer which constituted an unauthorized physical contact without consent.   This was the identity of issue for collateral estoppel purposes.   The conduct which was the basis for the guilty plea controls and not the label of the Penal Law section.   The issues remaining for the trial are proximate cause as to the injury and if established, the amount of damages.

The Order should be affirmed granting partial summary judgment to the plaintiff.

PER CURIAM.