GRODJESKI v. TOWNSHIP OF PLAINSBORO

Civ. No. 83-664.

577 F.Supp. 67 (1983)

Michael GRODJESKI, Plaintiff, v. The TOWNSHIP OF PLAINSBORO, a municipal corporation of the State of New Jersey, The Plainsboro Township Police Department, Clifford Maurer, Gary R. Coderoni, Larry Runge, J. Rosiak and others individually and officially in their respective capacities as officers of the Plainsboro Township Police Department, The Trenton Times, a Delaware Corporation, Allbritton Communications Co. and Joseph Allbritton, W. Dean Singleton, Walter Herring and Kurt Heine, individually and in their official respective capacities as owners, president, managing editor and reporter for the Trenton Times, The Capitol City Publishing Co., Inc., a New Jersey Corporation doing business as The Trentonian, Ralph Ingersoll, Edward Hoffman, Emil Slaboda, Robert Zera and Ed Leefeldt, individually and in their official respective capacities as owner, publisher, editor, managing editor and reporter for The Trentonian, The Princeton Packet, a Delaware Corporation, The Princeton Packet, Inc., James Kilgore, Richard Willever and James Greiff, individually and in their official respective capacities as publisher, owner, executive editor and reporter for the Princeton Packet, The Associated Newspaper Carriers of New Jersey, a New Jersey Corporation doing business as The Associated Press, Michael Bezdek and Thomas Slaughter, individually and in their official respective capacities as editor and chief of bureau for the Associated Press, and John Coe, Mary Doe and Stephen Roe, 1-20, and other individuals as yet unknown, names being fictitious, individually and as agents, servants and employees of the Trenton Times, The Trentonian, The Princeton Packet and The Associated Press, Defendants.

United States District Court, D. New Jersey.

June 16, 1983.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Alan G. Kelley, Greenberg, Kelley & Prior, Trenton, N.J., for plaintiff.

Edward R. Hannaman, Stonaker & Stonaker, Princeton, N.J., for defendants The Township of Plainsboro—including its Township Police Department—punitive damages only.

John S. Fitzpatrick, Haggerty & Donohue, Union, N.J., for defendants The Township of Plainsboro—including its Township Police Department and individual officers Mauer, Coderoni, Runge and Rosiak—compensatory damages only.

Dennis S. Brotman, Brotman & Felsenfeld, Trenton, N.J., for defendant Mauer, individually.

Daniel G. Graziano, Stockman, Mancino, Smithson, O'Donnell, Sypek, Trenton, N.J., for defendant Coderoni, individually.

E. John Wherry, Wherry & Yostembski, Trenton, N.J., for defendant Runge, individually.

R. Douglas Hoffman, Piepszak & Hoffman, Trenton, N.J., for defendant Rosiak, individually.

Douglas G. Sanborn, Jamieson, McCardell, Moore, Peskin & Spicer, Trenton, N.J., for defendant The Trenton Times.

Gerald A. Hughes, Lawrenceville, N.J., for defendant The Trentonian.

Gerard H. Hanson, Brener, Wallack & Hill, Princeton, N.J., for defendant The Princeton Packet.

Thomas J. Cafferty, Seiffert, Frisch, McGimpsey & Cafferty, North Brunswick, N.J., for defendant Associated Press.


OPINION

ANNE E. THOMPSON, District Judge.

This lawsuit arose out of plaintiff Michael Grodjeski's arrest in February 1982 for allegedly making harassing telephone calls and otherwise acting as a "Peeping Tom" in a series of incidents. Plaintiff claims that a number of police officials ["police defendants"] wrongfully assaulted, arrested, and searched him. Grodjeski also asserts that the police defendants and a variety of news organizations reporting the...

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