Buckheit v. Dennis

• Decision Date: 18 May 2010
• Docket Number: Case No. C 09-5000 JCS.
• Parties: Jonathan B. BUCKHEIT, Plaintiff(s),v.Tony DENNIS, et al., Defendant(s).
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of California

713 F.Supp.2d 910

Jonathan B. BUCKHEIT, Plaintiff(s),v.Tony DENNIS, et al., Defendant(s).

Case No. C 09-5000 JCS.

United States District Court N.D. California.

May 18, 2010.

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Jerry Y. Fong, Robert E. Carey, Jr., Carey & Carey, Palo Alto, CA, for Plaintiff.

Jeffrey Michael Vucinich, Clapp Moroney Bellagamba Vucinich Beeman & Scheley A Professional Corporation, San Bruno, CA, Brian J. Wong, Office of the County Counsel, Redwood City, CA, for Defendant(s).

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS TO DISMISS [Docket Nos. 24, 31]

JOSEPH C. SPERO, United States Magistrate Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Jonathan Buckheit (hereafter “Plaintiff”) filed this action, alleging federal and state law claims arising out of his arrest and imprisonment resulting from a domestic dispute at his home. Defendant Town of Atherton and Officers Tony Dennis, Dean DeVlugt, and Anthony Kockler (hereafter “Town” and “Officer Defendants”) and Defendant County of San Mateo (hereafter “County”) filed separate Motions to Dismiss the First Amended Complaint in its entirety. Plaintiff opposes both motions.¹ The parties have consented to the jurisdiction of this court. A hearing was held on May 7, 2010 at 9:30 a.m., at which counsel for the parties appeared.

The Court has reviewed the papers submitted and the arguments of counsel at the hearing. For the reasons explained below, the Court GRANTS IN PART AND DENIES IN PART Defendants' Motions to Dismiss. Plaintiff will be given one opportunity to amend the First Amended Complaint, as discussed in greater detail below. Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint shall be filed within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order.

II. BACKGROUND ²

A. Factual Background

On the night of October 19, 2008, Plaintiff Jonathan Buckheit was at home located at 34 Selby Lane, Atherton in San Mateo County, California. First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) ¶ 12. Plaintiff telephoned “911” and sought the aid of the Atherton Police Department regarding a dispute with his then girlfriend/housemate. Id. ¶ 13. Defendants Tony Dennis, Dean DeVlugt and Anthony Kockler were, at all relevant times, police officers employed by the Town of Atherton Police Department. Id. ¶¶ 5-7. Officers Dennis and DeVlugt reported to Plaintiff's home in response to the call. Id. ¶ 14. After conducting an investigation, Defendants arrested Plaintiff for violating California Penal Code Section 273.5 against both his girlfriend and her minor son (willfully inflicting on a spouse or co-habitant corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition). Id. ¶ 15. According to Plaintiff, “[t]he arrest was wrongful, without probable cause, and in violation of Mr. Buckheit's 4th and 14th Amendment rights. The arrest and related recommendation for criminal prosecution were made solely or primarily on the basis of Mr. Buckheit's gender (a male) and for illegal discriminatory purposes.” Id. ¶ 15. Plaintiff posted bail and was released from the San Mateo County Jail on October 20, 2008. Id.

Subsequent to his release from custody “while still acting under color of law, [the Officer Defendants] unreasonably and unlawfully harassed, intimidated, and/or defamed Mr. Buckheit and inflicted physical and emotional pain and suffering.” Id. ¶ 16. The wrongful acts included an application for an order from San Mateo County Superior Court for Plaintiff to leave his home and stay away from his girlfriend. Id. In addition, the Officer Defendants reported the domestic violence incident to Child Protective Services, which “place[ed] him in jeopardy of being wrongfully listed in California's Child Abuse Central Index. All such wrongful acts defamed Mr. Buckheit.” Id. Plaintiff further alleges that Defendants retaliated against Plaintiff for his decision to “exercis[e] his First Amendment right of free speech and the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances in complaining to the Defendants and their superiors about the discriminatory treatment in the Defendants' investigation of the 911 call and their decision to arrest him without proper or reasonable cause.” Id. ¶ 32.

On January 12, 2010, the San Mateo County Superior Court granted Plaintiff's application for a finding of factual innocence. Id. ¶ 17 No criminal charges were ever filed against Plaintiff. Id.

B. Procedural History

Plaintiff filed his first Complaint on October 20, 2009. Thereafter, on January 5, 2010, Defendant County of San Mateo filed a motion to dismiss. Rather than oppose the motion, Plaintiff filed his First Amended Complaint on January 25, 2010, which added Defendant Kockler and added a claim for retaliation under the First Amendment. The Town Defendants and County have filed separate motions to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).

Plaintiff alleges that the Town of Atherton, the individual officers and the County of San Mateo violated his civil rights in that they arrested him in violation of the Fourth Amendment because his arrest was without probable cause, and also that he was arrested on the basis of his gender, in violation of the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Plaintiff also alleges that the Defendants violated the First Amendment by retaliating against him as a result of his complaints to Defendants and their superiors regarding the circumstances of his arrest and his request for a copy of the police report in this case. Plaintiff also alleges that the Defendants conspired to violate the above-mentioned civil rights.

C. The Defendants' Motions

The Town and Officer Defendants move to dismiss all claims against them, first on the ground that the First Amended Complaint as a whole, fails to satisfy the Supreme Court's most recent articulation of the federal pleading standard. See Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, --- U.S. ----, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1950, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). The Town and Officer Defendants also argue that Plaintiff's claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, including claims based upon the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, as well as the “defamation claim,” other state law claims, and conspiracy to violate civil rights claim fail to state claims upon which relief may be granted. The Town further argues that the second claim for municipal liability against the Town of Atherton cannot stand and that amendment would be futile. Finally, the Town and Officer Defendants argue that Defendants have “absolute and/or qualified immunity against Plaintiff's civil causes of action.” Town Motion at 2. Defendants argue that they are immune from suit- both state and federal claims-under California Government Code § 821.6. And for the first time in their reply brief, the Town and Officer Defendants also argue that California Penal Code § 11172 provides absolute immunity to the Officer Defendants based upon their status as mandatory reporters of suspected child abuse under state law.³

The County's Motion similarly asserts that the entire Complaint alleges conclusory facts and fails to link the Plaintiff's harm to any actions of the County. The County argues, further, that the claim for municipal liability fails to state a claim because the County and Town of Atherton are separate entities; the officer Defendants are not employed by the County. The County also argues that Plaintiff's allegations regarding agency, joint and several liability and conspiracy are mere legal conclusions and thus cannot be accepted as true on a motion to dismiss. The County contends that Plaintiff is barred under the doctrine of collateral estoppel from litigating the claim related to the Defendants' failure to provide Plaintiff with a copy of the police report based upon the Petition for Writ of Mandate that Plaintiff filed in Superior Court of San Mateo seeking to compel Defendants to provide him with a copy of the report pursuant to California Government Code § 6254(f).

III. ANALYSISA. Legal Standard-Motion to Dismiss

Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2), a pleading must contain a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” The complaint must give defendant “fair notice of what the claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. (internal quotation and modification omitted). To meet this requirement, the complaint must be supported by factual allegations. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1950. “While legal conclusions can provide the framework of a complaint,” neither legal conclusions nor conclusory statements are themselves sufficient, and such statements are not entitled to a presumption of truth. Id. at 1949-50.

A complaint may be dismissed for failure to state a claim for which relief can be granted under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Fed. R. Civ. P 12(b)(6). In order to survive a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), a complaint must “contain either direct or inferential allegations respecting all the material elements necessary to sustain recovery under some viable legal theory.” Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (quoting Car Carriers, Inc. v. Ford Motor Co., 745 F.2d 1101, 1106 (7th Cir.1984)) (internal quotations omitted; emphasis in original). Together Iqbal and Twombly represent “a two step process for evaluation of motions to dismiss. The court first identifies the non-conclusory factual allegations, and the court then determines whether these allegations, taken as true and construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, ‘plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief.’ ” Falcocchia v. Saxon Mortg., 709 F.Supp.2d 860, 2010 WL 582059 (E.D.Cal. Feb. 12, 2010) (citing Ashcroft v. Iqbal 129 S.Ct. at 1950); Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007). “Plausibility,” as used in Twombly and Iqbal, refers to whether...