Galen v. County of Los Angeles

• Decision Date: 19 January 2007
• Docket Number: No. 04-55274.,No. 04-56148.,04-55274.,04-56148.
• Parties: Jeffrey M. GALEN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES; Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department; Anna Barrier; Marian Holland; Glenn Heinrich, Defendants-Appellees. Jeffrey M. Galen, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. County of Los Angeles; Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department; Anna Barrier; Marian Holland; Glenn Heinrich, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

477 F.3d 652

Jeffrey M. GALEN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES; Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department; Anna Barrier; Marian Holland; Glenn Heinrich, Defendants-Appellees.

Jeffrey M. Galen, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. County of Los Angeles; Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department; Anna Barrier; Marian Holland; Glenn Heinrich, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 04-55274.

No. 04-56148.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted November 15, 2005.

Filed January 19, 2007.

Amended January 19, 2007.

Alan S. Gutman and Elizabeth L. Bradley, Law Offices of Alan S. Gutman, Beverly Hills, CA, for the appellant.

John J. Collins, Tomas A. Guterres, Douglas Fee, and Catherine C. Mason, Collins, Collins, Muir & Stewart, LLP, South Pasadena, CA, for the appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California; Dale S. Fischer, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-02-08115-DSF.

Before KIM McLANE WARDLAW and RICHARD A. PAEZ, Circuit Judges, and JAMES K. SINGLETON,^* District Judge.

ORDER AMENDING OPINION AND AMENDED OPINION

WARDLAW, Circuit Judge.

ORDER

The opinion filed November 7, 2006 is amended as follows:

1) Insert the following text at the end of footnote four: "We specifically leave open for another day the question of whether a litigant who actually challenged their bail at the time, or who asserted a procedural due process claim, may be entitled to a burden-shifting presumption, since in the absence of a public record, the Commissioner is uniquely aware of the ratio decidendi."

No further petitions for rehearing or petitions for rehearing en banc may be filed.

OPINION

In this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Jeffrey Galen claims that the $1,000,000 bail set upon his arrest for domestic violence was excessive in violation of the Eighth Amendment. He asserts that the district court erred by granting summary judgment in favor of the County of Los Angeles and its officers on the basis of qualified immunity. Because we agree with the district court that Galen failed to adduce evidence that peace officers caused unconstitutionally excessive bail to be set, we affirm the summary judgment. However, we hold that the district court abused its discretion in part in awarding attorneys' fees to the County and its officers.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

On the morning of October 26, 2001, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Deputies Bausmith and Heinrich arrested Galen at his Encino, California law office on suspicion of violating Penal Code section 273.5, California's domestic violence statute. Sergeant Barrier approved the arrest. The alleged victim, Galen's then-fiancée, previously had sought protection against Galen from sheriff's deputies and had shown them photographs of injuries she claimed Galen had inflicted on her, including large bruises on her arms and legs and a seven-inch laceration on her upper arm.

After sheriff's deputies booked Galen at the Lost Hills Sheriff Station, Sergeant Barrier and Deputy Bausmith discussed requesting an increase in Galen's bail from $50,000, the default amount for a section 273.5 violation. Sergeant Barrier believed Galen could easily post $50,000 bail because he was an attorney and lived in a "fairly nice house." She knew there previously had been problems between Galen and his fiancée and was concerned Galen "could quite possibly have gone and caused some further physical harm to[his fiancée], or worse," if he were released on bail. Sergeant Barrier's concerns were enhanced by the statement in the Probable Cause Declaration ("PCD") for Galen's arrest, which other deputies involved in the investigation had partially prepared and which Deputy Heinrich later completed, that "the victim was in fear for her safety." Sergeant Barrier, who had never before sought a bail enhancement for a section 273.5 arrestee, wanted bail set high enough to prevent Galen from posting bail.

Deputy Bausmith instructed Deputy Heinrich to fill out a Bail Deviation Form and contact the County Probation Department's Bail Deviation Unit to request an increase in Galen's bail over the default amount. On the Bail Deviation Form, Deputy Heinrich requested that Galen's bail be enhanced to $1,000,000. This enhancement request was based solely on what Deputy Bausmith had told Deputy Heinrich and was intended to ensure the safety of Galen's fiancée. Deputy Heinrich indicated on the form that Galen's offense was likely to continue, that the "[i]njury to[the] victim required medical treatment," and that Galen had waived his bail deviation phone call. Deputy Heinrich had never met Galen's fiancée or seen evidence of her injuries; the information he entered on the form came from Deputy Bausmith, the PCD, and his own inferences based on the urgency of Galen's arrest.

To request the enhancement, Deputy Heinrich spoke to De'anna English, an aide at the Bail Deviation Unit. Deputy Heinrich related the facts of the case as he understood them from Deputy Bausmith and the PCD. He told the aide that Galen's fiancée feared for her safety and had been vague with sheriff's deputies, that he believed the crime would likely continue if Galen were released, and that Galen was an attorney and could easily post $50,000 bail. Deputy Heinrich also faxed the PCD to the Bail Deviation Unit, but he never provided the Unit with the Bail Deviation Form, nor was a separate PCD ever prepared for the bail enhancement request. The bail aide completed a form in response to Deputy Heinrich's request that included substantially all the information Deputy Heinrich provided her. The record is bereft of any evidence concerning what information the bail aide provided to the Bail Commissioner or what factors went into the Commissioner's decision to enhance Galen's bail.

At noon, Bail Commissioner (now Superior Court Judge) Kelvin Filer set Galen's bail at $1,000,000. Galen already had spoken with his attorney and begun the process of securing bail when he learned that his bail had been enhanced. It was a Friday, and Galen feared he would spend the weekend in jail if he did not post bail immediately. Galen called his lawyer and a bail bond company and obtained a bail bond of $1,000,000 in return for paying a $50,000 premium.

Later, after he had secured bail, Galen was shown the Bail Deviation Form and notified of his right to challenge the enhancement. He signed the form, acknowledging that he had read it and understood he had a right to apply for a bail reduction. Galen was released at 5 p.m. He never requested a bail reduction or otherwise challenged the amount of his bail while in custody. Detective Holland investigated the suspected abuse, but Galen's fiancée, after speaking with Galen, signed a "Request Not To Prosecute." No charges were filed.

In October 2002, Galen filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against the County of Los Angeles, Sergeant Barrier, and Detective Holland, seeking damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment violations allegedly resulting from the bail enhancement. Galen also sought damages under Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978), alleging that the County knowingly maintained a policy or practice of disregarding California bail law in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Galen added Deputy Heinrich as a defendant shortly after filing his complaint and did not actively pursue his suit against Detective Holland.¹

All claims except the Eighth Amendment excessive bail claim were dismissed on the County's motion. The County then moved for summary judgment, asserting that no constitutional violation had occurred; Sergeant Barrier and Deputy Heinrich did not cause Galen's bail to be enhanced and were entitled to qualified immunity; and the County was not liable under Monell. The district court held that Galen's bail was not excessive, and that even if it was excessive, neither Sergeant Barrier nor Deputy Heinrich caused the Eighth Amendment violation and both were entitled to qualified immunity. Galen v. County of Los Angeles, 322 F.Supp.2d 1045, 1051-57 (C.D.Cal.2004). The court also entered judgment in favor of the County on Galen's Monell claim, finding that the County had no policy, custom, or practice designed to ensure or resulting in the setting of excessive bail. Id. at 1057-59.

The County subsequently moved for $79,890 in attorneys' fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988, alleging that Galen's suit had been frivolous. The district court found that it had become clear once discovery was completed that Galen's suit was meritless, and that he should have ceased litigating at that point. Id. at 1060-64. The court awarded the County attorneys' fees of $23,400 for the post-discovery period. Id. at 1064. Galen timely appeals both the grant of summary judgment on his Eighth Amendment claim against the individual defendants and the award of attorneys' fees. He does not appeal the grant of summary judgment on the Monell claim.

II. Standard of Review

We review a district court's decision to grant or deny summary judgment based on qualified immunity de novo. Prison Legal News v. Lehman, 397 F.3d 692, 698 (9th Cir.2005). We review a district court's decision to grant attorneys' fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988 for an abuse of discretion. Empress LLC v. City and County of San Francisco, 419 F.3d 1052, 1057 n. 4 (9th Cir.2005). Legal analysis involved in the decision to grant attorneys' fees is reviewed de novo, while relevant factual findings are reviewed for clear error. Thomas v. City of Tacoma, 410 F.3d 644, 647 (9th Cir.2005).

To withstand summary judgment, Galen must make a showing sufficient to establish a genuine dispute of material fact regarding the existence of the essential elements of his case that he must prove at trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 321-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, ...