Dorman v. Castro
Plaintiffs Dorman, Townsend, and Gustovson initiated a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action, alleging that unspecified Defendants violated their constitutional rights. The claims stemmed from their arrest for entering Long Beach, a New York state park, from the water, in protest of a New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historical Preservation (OPRHP) regulation that prohibited such entry and mandated land-based access. The Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim. District Judge Spatt granted the Defendants' motion, dismissing all of Plaintiffs' causes of action, which included claims for equal protection, free speech, substantive and procedural due process, and unlawful arrest, on the grounds that the regulations had a rational basis and the arrests were supported by probable cause. The court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state tort claims.