Avina v. United States

• Decision Date: 12 June 2012
• Docket Number: No. 11–55004.,11–55004.
• Citation: 681 F.3d 1127,12 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 6422,2012 Daily Journal D.A.R. 7758
• Parties: Thomas AVINA; Rosalie Avina; B.F.A., a minor; B.S.A., a minor, Plaintiffs–Appellants, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant–Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

681 F.3d 1127

12 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 6422

2012 Daily Journal D.A.R. 7758

Thomas AVINA; Rosalie Avina; B.F.A., a minor; B.S.A., a minor, Plaintiffs–Appellants,

v.UNITED STATES of America, Defendant–Appellee.

No. 11–55004.

United States Court of Appeals,Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted May 9, 2012.

Filed June 12, 2012.

Raymond Buendia, Law Office of Raymond Buendia, San Diego, CA, for the plaintiffs-appellants.

Lindsey Powell, Department of Justice Civil Division, Washington, D.C., for the defendant-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, Thomas J. Whelan, Senior District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. 3:08–cv–01302–W–WMC.

Before: HARRY PREGERSON, SUSAN P. GRABER, and MARSHA S. BERZON, Circuit Judges.

OPINION

PREGERSON, Circuit Judge:

In 2008, Thomas Avina and Rosalie Avina and their two minor daughters, B.F.A. and B.S.A., filed a complaint in federal district court against the United States government, alleging causes of action under the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”), see28 U.S.C. §§ 2671–2680. Specifically, the Avinas alleged that agents from the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) committed the torts of assault and battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress when they executed a search warrant at the Avinas' mobile home. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the United States, holding that DEA Agents used reasonable force when they executed the search warrant. The Avina family appeals the district court's adverse summary judgment ruling.

As discussed below, we agree with the district court that there is no genuine issue of material fact regarding whether DEA Agents' use of force against the adult members of the Avina family (Thomas Avina and Rosalie Avina) was reasonable. But we disagree with the district court's conclusion that there is no genuine issue of material fact regarding whether DEA Agents used reasonable force against eleven-year-old B.S.A. and fourteen-year-old B.F.A. Accordingly, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.

BACKGROUND

A. DEA Agents Obtain a Search Warrant for the Avina Home

On January 19, 2007, DEA Agents obtained a search warrant for the mobile home located at 1601 Drew Road, space # 14, in Seeley, California. At the time the warrant was issued, DEA Agents believedthat a vehicle belonging to suspected drug trafficker Luis Alvarez was registered at the Avina residence. After executing the search warrant on January 20, 2007, the agents discovered they had inadvertently written down a license number of a vehicle belonging to Thomas Avina instead of a vehicle belonging to Luis Alvarez.

B. The January 20, 2007 Search of the Avina Home

Because this case comes to us on summary judgment in favor of the United States, we must view the record in the light most favorable to the Avinas, who are the non-moving parties. Brown v. City of Los Angeles, 521 F.3d 1238, 1240 (9th Cir.2008) (per curiam). Many of the key facts that we will recite here are disputed, including the specific nature of the officers' actions toward the minor plaintiffs.

On the morning of January 20, 2007, Plaintiffs Thomas and Rosalie Avina and their daughters were asleep in their mobile home. At approximately 7:00 a.m., DEA Agents approached the front door of the home. The agents banged loudly on the front door and yelled “police.” They waited briefly and then used a battering ram to break through the front door. The agents then entered the Avinas' home with their guns drawn.

Upon entering the Avina home, the agents first encountered Thomas and Rosalie Avina. Thomas was standing in an area between the living room and his bedroom, and Rosalie was lying on a couch in the living room. One of the agents approached Thomas and told Thomas to “get down on the [fuck]ing ground.” Thomas told the agent that he was “making a mistake.” After hearing Thomas's response, another agent “forcefully pushed” Thomas to the ground, pointed his gun at Thomas's face, and told Thomas, “Don't you [fuck]ing move.” Both Thomas and Rosalie were placed in handcuffs. When Rosalie noticed agents approach the rooms of her daughters, Rosalie screamed at the agents, “Don't hurt my babies. Don't hurt my babies.”

1. The Search of Fourteen–Year–Old B.F.A.'s Room

At the time of the search, fourteen-year-old B.F.A. was lying on her bed in her room. She heard a loud bang on the front door of the mobile home followed by shouts of “police, open up. Open up.” B.F.A. then heard agents enter her home and shout at her father to “[g]et down on the ground.” B.F.A. also heard the agents use profanity towards her father. Agents then entered fourteen-year-old B.F.A.'s room with their guns drawn.¹ The agents told B.F.A. to “[g]et down on the f[uck]ing ground.” In response to the agents' commands, B.F.A. rolled off her bed. The agents then handcuffed B.F.A.

2. The Search of Eleven–Year–Old B.S.A.'s Room

At the time of the search, eleven-year-old B.S.A. was asleep in her room. Agents entered B.S.A.'s room with their guns drawn. The agents yelled at B.S.A. to “[g]et down on the f[uck]ing ground.” B.S.A. initially refused to get down on the ground because she was “frozen in fear.” The agents then pulled eleven-year-old B.S.A. to the ground and handcuffed her. After the agents handcuffed B.S.A., the agents pointed their guns at eleven-year-old B.S.A.'s head “like they were going to shoot [her].” The agents then picked up B.S.A. and moved her to B.F.A.'s room.

Once the agents transported B.S.A. to B.F.A.'s room, the agents forced eleven-year-old B.S.A. and fourteen-year-old B.F.A. to lie facedown on the ground with their hands cuffed behind their backs. B.S.A. and B.F.A. were forced to lie face-down with their hands cuffed behind their backs for “a while.”

Sometime later, agents moved B.S.A. and B.F.A. into the living room, with their hands still cuffed behind their backs. At this point, eleven-year-old B.S.A. began to cry because she could not find her father. At some point, B.S.A. noticed her father lying on the floor. According to B.S.A., the agents unhandcuffed her about thirty minutes after they first entered her bedroom.

3. Agents Leave the Avina Home

The agents searched the Avina home for approximately two hours. At approximately 9:00 a.m., agents left the Avina home.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

We review de novo the district court's grant of summary judgment. FTC v. Stefanchik, 559 F.3d 924, 927 (9th Cir.2009). A party is entitled to summary judgment if “the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c) (2010).

In cases involving the reasonableness of force by law enforcement officers, “the reasonableness of force used is ordinarily a question of fact for the jury.” Liston v. Cnty. of Riverside, 120 F.3d 965, 976 n. 10 (9th Cir.1997). “Because the excessive force inquiry nearly always requires a jury to sift through disputed factual contentions, and to draw inferences therefrom, we have held on many occasions that summary judgment or judgment as a matter of law in excessive force cases should be granted sparingly.” Glenn v. Washington Cnty., 673 F.3d 864, 871 (9th Cir.2011) (brackets and internal quotation marks omitted). With these principles in mind, we turn to the facts of this case.

DISCUSSION

I. The Federal Tort Claims Act and California Law

The Avinas' complaint contains two tort claims against the United States Government under the FTCA. The Avinas allege claims for: (1) assault and battery; and (2) intentional infliction of emotional distress. Because the Avinas' tort claims are brought under the FTCA, and the events at issue occurred in California, we apply California tort law. See Richards v. United States, 369 U.S. 1, 7, 82 S.Ct. 585, 7 L.Ed.2d 492 (1962).

Under California law, to prevail on the tort of assault, the plaintiff must establish that: (1) the defendant threatened to touch the plaintiff in a harmful or offensive manner; (2) it reasonably appeared to the plaintiff that the defendant was about to carry out the threat; (3) the plaintiff did not consent to the defendant's conduct; (4) the plaintiff was harmed; and (5) the defendant's conduct was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff's harm. Judicial Council of Cal., Civil Jury Instructions No. 1301 (“Assault”) (2012); Tekle v. United States, 511 F.3d 839, 855 (9th Cir.2007) (defining civil assault under California law).²

To prevail on a claim of battery under California law, a plaintiff must establish that: (1) the defendant touched the plaintiff or caused the plaintiff to be touched with the intent to harm or offend the plaintiff; (2) the plaintiff did not consent to the touching; (3) the plaintiff was harmed or offended by defendant's conduct; and (4) a reasonable person in plaintiff's situation would have been offended by the touching. Judicial Council of Cal., Civil Jury Instructions No. 1300 (“Battery”) (2012); Ashcraft v. King, 228 Cal.App.3d 604, 278 Cal.Rptr. 900, 903–04 (1991) (defining civil battery under California law).³

To prevail on a claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress under California law, a plaintiff must establish: “(1) extreme and outrageous conduct by the defendant with the intention of causing, or reckless disregard of the probability of causing, emotional distress; (2) the plaintiff's suffering severe or extreme emotional distress; and (3) actual and proximate causation of the emotional distress by the defendant's outrageous conduct.” Hughes v. Pair, 46 Cal.4th 1035, 95 Cal.Rptr.3d 636, 209 P.3d 963, 976 (2009) (internal quotation marks omitted).

In addition, because the Avinas' claims concern the conduct of peace officers acting in their official capacities, the Avinas must also establish, for each cause of action, that the officers used ...