Bias v. Moynihan

• Decision Date: 29 November 2007
• Docket Number: No. 05-16752.,05-16752.
• Citation: 508 F.3d 1212
• Parties: Alice BIAS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Frank MOYNIHAN, San Leandro Police Officer; City of San Leandro; Joseph Kitchen, San Leandro Police Chief, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

508 F.3d 1212

Alice BIAS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Frank MOYNIHAN, San Leandro Police Officer; City of San Leandro; Joseph Kitchen, San Leandro Police Chief, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 05-16752.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted October 18, 2007.

Filed November 29, 2007.

Barry K. Tagawa, San Francisco, CA, for the appellant.

Joseph M. Quinn and Tricia Hynes (argued), Meyers, Nave, Riback, Silver & Wilson, Oakland, CA, for the appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California; Saundra B. Armstrong, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-04-00615-SBA.

Before: ARTHUR L. ALARCÓN and RICHARD C. TALLMAN, Circuit Judges, and KEVIN THOMAS DUFFY,^* Senior Judge.

ALARCÓN, Circuit Judge:

Alice Bias appeals from the order of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Officer Frank Moynihan, Police Chief Joseph Kitchen, and the City of San Leandro. She contends that the district court erred in concluding that she failed to demonstrate that there were genuine issues of facts in dispute regarding whether the Appellees detained her for psychiatric evaluation without probable cause in violation of her federal and state law rights. Ms. Bias also claims that the district court abused its discretion in its evidentiary and procedural rulings. We affirm because we conclude that probable cause existed to justify detaining her on two occasions, and the district court's evidentiary and procedural rulings do not compel a reversal of the judgment.

I

A

The record shows that in May 2002, Ms. Bias was the plaintiff in a civil action before Alameda County Superior Court Judge Kenneth Burr. She wrote a letter dated May 22, 2002, to Judge Burr in which she stated: "If I lose this case, I shall kill myself."

On or about May 23, 2002, the Alameda Sheriff's Office requested that the San Leandro Police Department contact Ms. Bias. Officer Moynihan was dispatched to interview Ms. Bias about her letter to Judge Burr. Officer Moynihan alleged in his declaration that when he asked Ms. Bias if she was going to kill herself if she lost her case, she responded that "she would do what she wanted to herself when her case was over." She appeared to be depressed and emotional. Officer Moynihan observed that Ms. Bias did not have anyone in her home to watch her. Officer Moynihan became concerned that Ms. Bias might hurt herself. Ms. Bias testified during her deposition that she told the interviewing officer that she was "very depressed" and that she could "not guarantee" whether an "Arab terrorist" might "kill" her. Officer Moynihan detained Ms. Bias pursuant to California Welfare and Institutions Code section 5150.¹ He reported his observations in an application for emergency psychiatric detention and signed the report.² Ms. Bias was transported to a psychiatric hospital and released later that same evening after being examined.

On May 14, 2003, Officer Moynihan was parked near a shopping center. Ms. Bias approached Officer Moynihan as he sat in the driver's seat of a marked police vehicle. She appeared to be extremely agitated. She asked Officer Moynihan to take a report about her neighbors. She reported that they "were out to get her for disturbing a meeting" and "were plotting against her and mistreating her." Officer Moynihan spoke with Ms. Bias's neighbor who reported that Ms. Bias constantly accused her "of plotting to ruin [Ms. Bias's] life."

As Officer Moynihan questioned Ms. Bias, she became increasingly agitated and visibly angry. Officer Moynihan asked her to calm down. Instead, she began grabbing at him. Officer Moynihan stated in his declaration that at this point a bystander became alarmed. Officer Moynihan concluded that Ms. Bias's paranoid and angry behavior could escalate to the point that she would attempt to injure herself or harm others. As a result of these observations, Officer Moynihan determined that she should be evaluated by a mental health professional as being a danger to herself or others. As he filled out the application for emergency psychiatric detention, Ms. Bias attempted to run away.

Ms. Bias's behavior caused Officer Moynihan to recall that he had been asked on or about May 23, 2002 to determine whether Ms. Bias should be detained for medical evaluation for being a danger to herself or others because she had stated she would kill herself if Judge Burr ruled against her. Based on Ms. Bias's behavior on May 14, 2003, and his earlier interactions with Ms. Bias regarding her threat to commit suicide, Officer Moynihan again detained Ms. Bias pursuant to section 5150.³ Ms. Bias was examined at a psychiatric hospital and released later that same evening.

B

On November 17, 2003, Ms. Bias filed a pro se complaint against Appellees in Alameda Superior Court. Appellees removed the case to federal court. On June 4, 2004, Ms. Bias filed an amended complaint in which she alleged violations of her federal constitutional rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and state law causes of action for assault and battery, false arrest, illegal imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and racial discrimination pursuant to California Civil Code section 51.7.

On June 14, 2005, Ms. Bias filed a motion to compel the deposition testimony of Officer Moynihan. On June 21, 2005, Appellees filed a motion for summary judgment. Ms. Bias filed an opposition to the motion for summary judgment without filing an affidavit, a declaration, a deposition, answers to interrogatories, or responses to requests for admissions showing that there is a genuine issue of material fact for trial. In her opposition to summary judgment, Ms. Bias objected to the admission of three exhibits: the application for emergency psychiatric detention dated May 14, 2003; her medical records; and her deposition testimony. On July 19, 20, and 22, 2005, Appellees filed notices of errata concerning two of the exhibits filed in support of Appellees' motion for summary judgment. On July 25 and 26, 2005, Ms. Bias filed two sur-replies which the district court did not consider because she had filed them without prior approval from the district court as required by Northern District of California Civil Local Rule 7-3(d). On July 26, 2005, the district court overruled Ms. Bias's objections to the three exhibits and granted summary judgment in favor of the Appellees.

Ms. Bias filed a timely notice of appeal.⁴ We have jurisdiction to review the district court's final order pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291.

II

Ms. Bias contends that the district court erred in determining that Officer Moynihan was entitled to summary judgment based on the doctrine of qualified immunity with respect to her § 1983 claim. She claims that there are genuine issues of material facts in dispute regarding whether Officer Moynihan had probable cause to detain her for a psychiatric evaluation on both May 23, 2002 and May 14, 2003.

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, we "review de novo a district court's decision to grant or deny summary judgment." Prison Legal News v. Lehman, 397 F.3d 692, 698 (9th Cir.2005). We also "review a grant or denial of qualified immunity de novo." Id.

To evaluate whether Officer Moynihan has demonstrated that he is entitled to the defense of qualified immunity with regard to the § 1983 claim, we must first determine whether there are genuine issues of material facts in dispute. If there are no disputed material facts, we must then determine if, based on the undisputed facts, in the light most favorable to Ms. Bias, a reasonable officer could believe that he had probable cause to detain Ms. Bias. See Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 201, 121 S.Ct. 2151, 150 L.Ed.2d 272 (2001) ("A court required to rule upon the qualified immunity issue must consider, then, this threshold question: Taken in the light most favorable to the party asserting the injury, do the facts alleged show the officer's conduct violated a constitutional right?").

A

Ms. Bias argues that Officer Moynihan was not the officer who detained her on May 23, 2002. She also argues that her statement that she would "kill herself" if she lost her case was hyperbole. Regarding the May 14, 2003 incident, Ms. Bias maintains that there are genuine issues of material facts in dispute as to whether Officer Moynihan "twisted" what she told him about people trying to "get her." She also disputes Officer Moynihan's statement regarding when she grabbed him.

Summary judgment is proper where there is no genuine issue of material fact in dispute and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c). In opposing summary judgment, a nonmoving party must "go beyond the pleadings and, by her own affidavits, or by the `depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,' designate `specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'" Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)).

To avoid summary judgment, Ms. Bias was required to present "`significant probative evidence tending to support'" her allegations. Gen. Bus. Sys. v. N. Am. Philips Corp., 699 F.2d 965, 971 (9th Cir. 1983) (quoting First Nat'l Bank of Ariz. v. Cities Serv. Co., 391 U.S. 253, 290, 88 S.Ct. 1575, 20 L.Ed.2d 569 (1968)). As noted above, Ms. Bias failed to present any evidence to support her opposition to the Appellees' motion for summary judgment.

Ms. Bias concedes that she did not present any evidence to the district court to support the claims in her amended complaint. Appellant's Reply Br. at 24-25, 28. She maintains, however, that as a pro se litigant the district court should have searched the entire record to discover whether there was any evidence that supports her claims. We disagree. A district court does not have a duty to search for evidence that would create a factual dispute. See ...