Archuleta v. LaCuesta

• Citation: 128 N.M. 13,988 P.2d 883
• Decision Date: 02 July 1999
• Docket Number: No. 19,299.,19,299.
• Court: Court of Appeals of New Mexico
• Parties: Rose ARCHULETA, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Marvin Archuleta, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Wesley LACUESTA, Ronald Hensinger, John Denko, The New Mexico State Police and The New Mexico Department of Public Safety, Defendants-Appellees, and New Mexico Association of Counties, New Mexico Municipal League, The City of Albuquerque, The Regents of the University of New Mexico and The New Mexico Medical Society, Intervenors.

988 P.2d 883

128 N.M. 13

Rose ARCHULETA, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Marvin Archuleta, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Wesley LACUESTA, Ronald Hensinger, John Denko, The New Mexico State Police and The New Mexico Department of Public Safety, Defendants-Appellees, and New Mexico Association of Counties, New Mexico Municipal League, The City of Albuquerque, The Regents of the University of New Mexico and The New Mexico Medical Society, Intervenors.

No. 19,299.

Court of Appeals of New Mexico.

July 2, 1999.

Certiorari Denied August 12, 1999.

Robert R. Rothstein, John L. Sullivan, Rothstein, Donatelli, Hughes, Dahlstrom, Cron & Schoenburg, LLP, Santa Fe, Robert M. Ortiz, Glass and Quintana, Albuquerque, William H. Carpenter, Carpenter & Chavez, Ltd., Albuquerque, for Appellant.

John E. DuBois, Robert Lohbeck, Risk Management Division, The State of New Mexico, Santa Fe, for Appellees.

Certiorari Denied, No. 25,869, August 12, 1999.

OPINION

WECHSLER, Judge.

{1} The Estate of Marvin Archuleta (Estate) appeals the district court's grant of partial summary judgment and the denial of its motion for reconsideration under Rule 1-060(B)(1) NMRA 1999. Partial summary judgment was granted to New Mexico State Police Officers Wesley LaCuesta, Ronald Densinger, and John Denko for the Estate's 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1994) claim that the officers violated Archuleta's Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizure in using excessive force resulting in Archuleta's death. We hold that there are genuine issues of material fact concerning what occurred the night of the shooting and reverse the order granting summary judgment for Officer LaCuesta. We also reverse and remand for reconsideration the order of summary judgment for Officers Hensinger and Denko because it appears that the district court did not assess these claims independently from the claim against Officer LaCuesta.

Background

{2} On the night of March 3, 1994, Officers LaCuesta and Hensinger were pursuing Archuleta after responding to a domestic-disturbance call from Archuleta's wife. During the pursuit, Officer LaCuesta fired his gun and mortally wounded Archuleta. The Estate's complaint alleged two counts. The first count was against Officers LaCuesta, Hensinger, Denko (then Chief of the New Mexico State Police), the New Mexico State Police, and the New Mexico Department of Public Safety under the Tort Claims Act, NMSA 1978, §§ 41-4-1 to -27 (1976, as amended through 1996). The second count was against Officers LaCuesta, Hensinger, and Denko in their individual capacities, alleging violation of Archuleta's constitutional right against unreasonable seizure under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

{3} Officers LaCuesta, Hensinger, and Denko filed motions for summary judgment asserting the defense of qualified immunity against the 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim. The Estate filed separate responses to the motions for summary judgment, asserting that there existed genuine issues of material fact precluding summary judgment. In opposing summary judgment, the Estate also filed affidavits, depositions, reports of several experts, and a transcript of the tape recording made by Officer LaCuesta the night of the shooting. Officers LaCuesta and Hensinger filed replies to the Estate's response to their motions for summary judgment.

{4} On May 2, 1997, the district court granted the three officers' motions for summary judgment on the 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims on the basis of qualified immunity but allowed the Estate's claim under the Tort Claims Act to proceed to trial. At the hearing on the motions for summary judgment, the district court explained its ruling in part by stating that it believed there was evidence to support Officers LaCuesta and Hensinger's version of what happened. After the conclusion of the May 1997 trial on the Tort Claims Act claims, the Estate filed a motion under Rule 1-060(B)(1) for relief from the May 2, 1997 order. The district court denied this motion by interlocutory order because no final order regarding the jury verdict awarding damages to the Estate for the Tort Claims Act claim had been entered.¹ The Estate filed an application for an interlocutory appeal, which this Court granted.

Summary Judgment, Qualified Immunity, and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 "Deadly Force" Claims

{5} The Estate's Rule 1-060(B) motion was essentially a motion to reconsider the district court's earlier grant of partial summary judgment on the 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim. Although a Rule 1-060(B) motion cannot be used to extend the time for appealing the order sought to be set aside by the motion, see Deerman v. Board of County Comm'rs, 116 N.M. 501, 505-06, 864 P.2d 317, 321-22 (Ct.App.1993),

the partial summary judgment was not a final order and the time for appeal had not yet begun to run. Accordingly, we treat the appeal of the denial of the Rule 1-060(B) motion as encompassing an appeal of the original partial summary judgment.

{6} We review de novo the district court's grant of summary judgment. See Hasse Contracting Co. v. KBK Fin., Inc., 1999-NMSC-023, ¶ 9, 127 N.M. 316, 980 P.2d 641 (1999); Latta v. Keryte, 118 F.3d 693, 697 (10th Cir.1997). In reviewing the record, we view the evidence presented in the light most favorable to the party opposing summary judgment. See Blackwood & Nichols Co. v. New Mexico Taxation & Revenue Dep't, 1998-NMCA-113, ¶ 5, 125 N.M. 576, 964 P.2d 137

; Latta, 118 F.3d at 697.

{7} A person acting under color of state law who violates the rights of a plaintiff established by the United States Constitution or federal statutes may be held personally liable for his or her action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See Moongate Water Co. v. State, 120 N.M. 399, 403-04, 902 P.2d 554, 558-59 (Ct.App.1995)

. Such a person is entitled to qualified immunity from suit, however, if his or her action was objectively reasonable in light of clearly established law. See Yount v. Millington, 117 N.M. 95, 98, 869 P.2d 283, 286 (Ct.App.1993). The framework for reviewing appeals of summary judgment orders granting qualified immunity has been succinctly stated by our Supreme Court:

First, a court must look at the undisputed facts and those facts adduced by the party opposing summary judgment to see if there is any evidentiary support for finding a possible violation of law. Second, if the law may have been violated, a court must ask if that law was clearly established at the time of the alleged violation.

Romero v. Sanchez, 119 N.M. 690, 692, 895 P.2d 212, 214 (1995); see also Flores v. Danfelser, 1999-NMCA-091, ¶ 24, 127 N.M. 571, 985 P.2d 173 (App.1999)

.

{8} The Estate has alleged that Officers LaCuesta, Hensinger, and Denko violated Archuleta's constitutional right to be free from unreasonable seizures under the Fourth Amendment by using excessive force to restrain him. The United States Supreme Court has clearly established that a police officer's use of deadly force is reasonable only if "the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others." Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1, 3, 105 S.Ct. 1694, 85 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985); see also Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 396, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989)

. Whether an officer's action was reasonable is heavily fact dependent. See Graham, 490 U.S. at 396,

109 S.Ct. 1865; Wilson v. Meeks, 52 F.3d 1547, 1553 (10th Cir.1995). The reasonableness of the use of deadly force in any particular situation is an objective test from the perspective of the officer on the scene, with the understanding that officers must often make split-second decisions in difficult situations about what force is necessary.

See Graham, 490 U.S. at 396-97,

109 S.Ct. 1865.

{9} With the premise that the question of qualified immunity is not simply whether the action violated the constitutional standard, but whether a competent officer could have reasonably believed that the action was lawful in light of clearly established constitutional principles, see Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 641, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987),

we turn to the question of whether summary judgment was properly granted based on the evidence before the district court.

Disputed Facts Concerning the Reasonableness of Officer LaCuesta's Actions

{10} The issue regarding Officer LaCuesta, is whether there are any material disputed facts bearing on whether Officer LaCuesta's action in shooting Archuleta was objectively reasonable under the circumstances. The reasonableness of Officer LaCuesta's shooting Archuleta depends on whether he had probable cause to believe Archuleta posed a significant threat of death or serious physical injury.

{11} The parties do not dispute that Archuleta was "seized" for purposes of Fourth Amendment analysis when he was shot. See California v. Hodari D., 499 U.S. 621, 626-27, 111 S.Ct. 1547, 113 L.Ed.2d 690 (1991)

(holding that a seizure occurs only when a fleeing suspect is physically touched by the police or when he or she submits to a show of police authority). The relevant evidence is evidence that immediately prior to the shooting, Officer Hensinger may have moved to within twelve feet of where Archuleta had stopped and that Archuleta may have made a threatening gesture toward Officer Hensinger. This evidence directly bears on whether Officer LaCuesta had probable cause to believe that Officer Hensinger was in danger and whether shooting Archuleta was reasonable under the circumstances. Even assuming that Archuleta had a knife and was taking flight from the scene of a domestic-disturbance call, if the officers were a sufficient distance from him, or, if he was not making any threatening gesture toward the officers when he was shot, a reasonable officer in Officer LaCuesta's position would not have probable cause to believe that Archuleta posed a significant threat of death or serious injury. Officers LaCuesta, Hensinger, and Denko do not argue that Archuleta posed...