Banyan v. Sikorski

── Banyan v. Sikorski ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Date: April 21, 2026 Category: General 25-1425 Banyan v. Sikorski UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT SUMMARY ORDER RULINGS BY SUMMARY ORDER DO NOT HAVE PRECEDENTIAL EFFECT. CITATION TO A SUMMARY ORDER FILED ON OR AFTER JANUARY 1, 2007, IS PERMITTED AND IS GOVERNED BY FEDERAL RULE OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE 32.1 AND THIS COURT’S LOCAL RULE 32.1.1. WHEN CITING A SUMMARY ORDER IN A DOCUMENT FILED WITH THIS COURT, A PARTY MUST CITE EITHER THE FEDERAL APPENDIX OR AN ELECTRONIC DATABASE (WITH THE NOTATION “SUMMARY ORDER”). A PARTY CITING A SUMMARY ORDER MUST SERVE A COPY OF IT ON ANY PARTY NOT REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL. At a stated term of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, held at the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, in the City of New York, on the 21st day of April, two thousand twenty-six. Present: RICHARD C. WESLEY, MICHAEL H. PARK, Circuit Judges, ELIZABETH C. COOMBE, * District Judge. _________________________________________ JONATHAN C. BANYAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, 25-1425 v. POLICE OFFICER CRAIG SIKORSKI, POLICE OFFICER JOSEPH TENNARIELLO, LIEUTENANT IAN RULE, SERGEANT JOHN BECERRA, CITY OF NEW YORK, Defendants-Appellees. † ________________________________________ FOR PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT: JOSHUA L. RUSHING (James Fribley, Jack Mitchell, on the brief), Huth Reynolds LLP, Huntington, NY. * Judge Elizabeth C. Coombe, of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, sitting by designation. † The Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to amend the caption accordingly. 1 FOR DEFENDANTS-APPELLEES: SHANE MAGNETTI (Richard Dearing, Deborah A. Brenner, on the brief), for Muriel Goode-Trufant, Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, New York, NY. Appeal from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Liman, J., and Rochon, J.). UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the district court’s May 5, 2025 judgment is AFFIRMED. Defendants arrested Plaintiff Jonathan C. Banyan after an anonymous complainant (the “Complainant”) reported that someone had stolen his friend’s jacket and identified Banyan as the thief. Banyan got into a struggle with Defendants during his arrest, spurring two proceedings: a criminal case against Banyan in New York state court and this action by Banyan against Defendants. The criminal charges against Banyan were ultimately dismissed on speedy trial grounds after the First Department overturned Banyan’s conviction and remanded for a new trial based on an error in the jury instructions. People v. Banyan, 187 A.D.3d 643, 644 (1st Dep’t 2020). In this case, Banyan sued Defendants under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for excessive force and false arrest and under New York State law for malicious prosecution. The district court granted summary judgment to Defendants on all claims except Banyan’s excessive force claims against Defendants Joseph Tennariello and Craig Sikorski. Banyan went to trial on those claims, and the jury ruled against him on his claim against Sikorski but ruled in Banyan’s favor on his claim against Tennariello and awarded $1 in nominal damages. On a