Estate of Macias v. Lopez

• Citation: 42 F.Supp.2d 957
• Decision Date: 05 March 1999
• Docket Number: No. C-96-3658 DLJ.,C-96-3658 DLJ.
• Parties: ESTATE OF Maria Teresa MACIAS, Plaintiff, v. Deputy Sheriff Mark LOPEZ, County of Sonoma, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of California

42 F.Supp.2d 957

ESTATE OF Maria Teresa MACIAS, Plaintiff, v. Deputy Sheriff Mark LOPEZ, County of Sonoma, Defendants.

No. C-96-3658 DLJ.

United States District Court, N.D. California.

March 5, 1999.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Richard A. Seltzer, Seltzer and Cody, Oakland, CA, Dennis Cunningham, San Francisco, CA, for Plaintiff.

Michael D. Senneff, Senneff, Kelly, Kimelman & Miller, Santa Rosa, CA, for defendants.

ORDER

JENSEN, District Judge.

On December 23, 1998, the Court heard argument on defendants' motion for summary judgment. Michael D. Senneff appeared on behalf of defendants, and Richard A. Seltzer and Dennis Cunningham appeared on behalf of plaintiff. Having considered the arguments of counsel, the papers submitted, the applicable law and the record in this case, the Court hereby GRANTS defendants' motion.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

The deceased, Maria Teresa Macias, was shot and killed by her ex-husband Avelino Macias on April 15, 1996. Mr. Macias followed Ms. Macias to her place of employment, in the city of Sonoma, where he killed her and shot and injured her mother, Sara Hernandez, before shooting and killing himself. This action was brought by Ms. Macias's successors in interest, her minor children, who are represented by their Guardian, Sara Hernandez ("plaintiff"), who also brought suit on her own behalf for the injuries she sustained at the hands of Mr. Macias and for the wrongful death of her daughter.

Maria Teresa and Avelino Macias met in Mexico in 1980. They married in 1982 and settled in Sonoma County. Avelino was a legal resident of the United States, Maria Teresa was not. In March of 1995, Maria Teresa took her three children to a women's shelter in Ukiah, California. There she filed a report documenting the "aggravated physical, emotional and sexual abuse of herself and her children by her husband," which report was forwarded to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office for investigation.

On April 24, 1995, Maria Teresa filed a declaration in the Sonoma County Superior Court realleging the details of her earlier report. A temporary restraining order was issued against Avelino, and Maria Teresa was warned that if she was not able to keep Avelino away from her children, the children would be taken from her.

In May or June of 1995, despite the TRO, Avelino began residing again at Maria Teresa's home. Plaintiff alleges that Avelino "forced himself back into" the home through "mental and emotional abuse, physical intimidation and threats to report Maria Teresa to the INS." Second Amended Complaint ("SAC") ¶ 25. In June of 1995, because of Avelino's return, Sonoma County Child Protective Services removed the children from Maria Teresa's custody.

In September of 1995, Maria Teresa's mother, Sara Hernandez, who had recently moved to the United States from Mexico, assisted Maria Teresa in once again evicting Avelino from the home. However, according to the plaintiff, "Avelino's aggressions continued during the next four months, and he repeatedly stalked, threatened, and sexually assaulted Maria Teresa. Avelino also began to openly boast that he would kill Maria Teresa and her mother." Id. ¶ 27.

On January 22, 1996, Maria Teresa obtained a second restraining order against Avelino, based in part on his murderous threats against Maria Teresa and Sara Hernandez. Yet plaintiff maintains that Avelino was undeterred by the restraining order: "He would phone Maria Teresa, he would come to her home and force his way into the home, he would tailgate her in his vehicle, he blocked her from leaving places, he would make lurid threats to her face, and he continued to threaten to kill Maria Teresa and her mother Sara Hernandez." Id. ¶ 28.

Plaintiff further alleges that "[a]ll of this conduct was reported to the defendants in repeated calls and personal contacts. Maria Teresa provided sworn statements, interviews, eyewitness, and, later, a detailed, written chronology and other evidence, all documenting Avelino's crimes against her, and her helplessness and her fear." Id. ¶ 29. Finally, plaintiff alleges that prior to the murder "Avelino boasted to friends and others in the community that the deputy sheriffs were on his side, that the Sheriff protected him and not Maria Teresa. Avelino would torment Maria Teresa with the same gibe." Id. ¶ 30.

B. Procedural History

Plaintiff filed suit on October 9, 1996. As alleged in plaintiff's first amended complaint, defendants were the County of Sonoma, acting through its Sheriff's department, as well as Sheriff Mark Ihde and several of his deputies. Plaintiff alleged that Maria Teresa's death and Sara Hendandez's injuries were the result of a policy on the part of the Sonoma County Sheriff's department to discriminate against women, and in particular, women who are victims of gender-based violence, as well as against Latinos. Plaintiff alleged under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 that this policy deprived the deceased of her rights to due process and equal protection of law.

Defendants moved to dismiss plaintiff's first amended complaint on the ground that the complaint failed to make out either a due process or an equal protection cause of action against either the County or the individual defendants. In its Order of March 31, 1997, the Court granted in part and denied in part defendants' motion to dismiss.

The Court found that, as a matter of law, plaintiff could bring no due process cause of action for the alleged failure of the defendants to arrest Avelino Macias. The Court concluded that it was bound by the United States Supreme Court decision in DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services, 489 U.S. 189, 109 S.Ct. 998, 103 L.Ed.2d 249 (1989), as interpreted by the Ninth Circuit in Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Department, 901 F.2d 696, 698 (9th Cir.1990). In DeShaney, the Supreme Court ruled that "nothing in the language of the Due Process Clause itself requires the State to protect the life, liberty, and property of its citizens against invasion by private actors." DeShaney, 109 S.Ct. at 1003. The Ninth Circuit applied the DeShaney holding in the domestic violence context in Balistreri, finding that police did not violate the due process rights of a domestic violence victim by grossly mishandling her complaints of harassment and requests for protection. 901 F.2d at 700. The similarity between the police conduct alleged in Balistreri and the conduct alleged in this case compelled the Court to conclude that plaintiff had failed to state a due process claim upon which relief may be granted.

The Court also found in its March 31, 1997 Order that, although plaintiff had properly alleged an equal protection cause of action against Sonoma County, she had failed to meet the heightened requirements for pleading an equal protection cause of action against individual defendants. Plaintiff was given leave to amend her equal protection allegations against the individual defendants in order to establish a nonconclusory basis for her allegations that they intended to discriminate against women, victims of domestic violence and Latinos.

On April 30, 1997, plaintiff filed a second amended complaint ("SAC"), significantly streamlining her allegations. Sara Hernandez now sues only as a representative of her grandchildren. The second amended complaint drops each of the individual defendants except Deputy Sheriff Mark Lopez, the deputy who is alleged to have been most closely involved in Maria Teresa's complaints against her husband. As to Deputy Lopez, the SAC includes new allegations in order to satisfy the heightened pleading standard identified by the Court in its order of March 31, 1997.

Defendants Mark Lopez and the County of Sonoma again moved to dismiss plaintiff's complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). In an Order dated August 8, 1997, the Court granted in part and denied in part the motion. Specifically, the Court granted defendants' motion to dismiss plaintiff's allegation of discrimination against Latinos in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, but denied defendants' motion to dismiss allegations of discrimination against women and victims of domestic violence.

On October 31, 1997, the Court ordered discovery in this action to proceed in phases. The first phase was to be directed solely at the issue of whether or not the conduct of the defendants in this case caused the death of Maria Teresa Macias, or any injury to Sara Hernandez or the Macias children. The Court instructed the parties that it would hear a motion for summary judgment limited to the issue of causation following the completion of discovery on this issue.

Discovery on the issue of causation has now been completed. Pursuant to the Court's order, defendants filed a motion for summary judgment on the basis of causation on November 24, 1998. This motion is currently before the Court.

C. Legal Standard

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide for summary adjudication when "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(e).

In a motion for summary judgment, "[i]f the party moving for summary judgment meets its initial burden of identifying for the court those portions of the materials on file that it believes demonstrate the absence of any genuine issues of material fact," the burden of production then shifts so that "the nonmoving party must set forth, by affidavit or as otherwise provided in Rule 56, `specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'" T.W. Elec. Service, Inc. v. Pacific Elec. Contractors Ass'n, 809 F.2d 626, 630 (9th Cir.1987) (citing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)); Kaiser Cement Corp. v. Fischbach & Moore, Inc., 793 F.2d 1100, 1103-04 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 479...