Karina Sigalovskaya v. Special Agent Abigail Braden, et al.

Brooklyn, New York personal injury lawyers represented the Plaintiff on a civil rights violation claim.



Karina Sigalovskaya brought claims of false arrest, malicious prosecution, abuse of process, and the denial of a fair trial against Abigail Braden, Luann Walter, Megan Buckley, and Robert Mancene (collectively, "Defendants”), four special agents of the Homeland Security Investigations ("HSI”) unit within the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS”). These claims arose from a 2013 incident in which the HSI special agents allegedly unlawfully entered and searched Sigalovskaya's home, separated her from her children, and fabricated evidence by falsely accusing her of making a confession that ultimately resulted in Sigalovskaya's arrest and subsequent pretrial detention. Following summary judgment, three claims and two defendants remained: false arrest and malicious prosecution claims against Braden and a failure-to-intervene claim against Mancene. Before trial was set to commence,

Defendants moved for judgment on the pleadings, contending that the Supreme Court’s decision in Egbert v. Boule, 596 U.S. 482 (2022), foreclosed Sigalovskaya’s remaining claims. The district court granted the motion, concluding that following Egbert, Sigalovskaya has no cause of action under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971). See Sigalovskaya v. Braden, No. 15- CV-34 (LDH), 2023 WL 6385761, at *4–7 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 29, 2023). On appeal, Sigalovskaya challenges the district court’s dismissal of her false arrest and malicious prosecution claims.



The judgment of the district court was affirmed.