From an opinion in Valentin v. Wysock handed down Wednesday by Third Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas, sitting by designation in the District of Delaware:
I have already written two opinions describing this case's facts. Here is the gist: Valentin and Matos played Spanish music at home. Their neighbors, Michael and Patricia Wysock, disliked hearing it, so they complained to the police. After the police visited Valentin and Matos's home fourteen times, officer Christopher Hewlett arrested Valentin for violating a county noise ordinance. Ultimately, the county dismissed the charge. Upset, Valentin and Matos then sued the Wysocks, Hewlett, and the county. I dismissed the claims against the county. There are still a few claims left against the Wysocks and Hewlett….
First things first: the claims against the Wysocks are based on state law. Though the Wysocks happen to be police officers, the complaint "does not allege that they were acting under the color of state law, as [42 U.S.C.] § 1983 requires." Valentin and Matos do not dispute this. See D.I. 54; D.I. 60, at 2. So Delaware law governs.
And Delaware does not recognize either a statutory or common-law cause of action for harassment. In Delaware, statutory harassment is a crime. 11 Del. C. § 1311. As the Delaware Supreme Court has explained, criminal statutes like § 1311 "impose general prohibitions," suggesting that they do not "create rights for a particular group of citizens, but … protect the public at large." Given § 1311's "penal focus," it "cannot be stretched to include civil redress for personal damages." So Valentin and Matos cannot sue the Wysocks for harassment under this statute.
