Gregory v. Fresno Cnty.
| Decision Date | 06 September 2018 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 1:18-cv-00524-LJO-SAB |
| Parties | MATTHEW G. GREGORY, et al., Plaintiffs, v. FRESNO COUNTY, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of California |
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS RECOMMENDING GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART STATE DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS AND GRANTING COUNTY DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS
(ECF Nos. 21-22, 25, 50-57, 58, 59)
ORDER SETTING PAGE LIMITATION FOR OBJECTIONS TO FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
On April 16, 2018, Plaintiffs Matthew G. Gregory, Danella J. Gregory, Gina D. Gregory, Matthew J. Gregory, Wounded Warriors Support Group ("WWSG"), and Central Coast Equine Rescue & Retirement ("CCERR") (collectively "Plaintiffs") filed this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Defendants Fresno County, Lisa Smittcamp, and Jeffrey Dupras (collectively "County Defendants"), and Xavier Becerra, Julianne Mossler, Elizabeth S. Kim, Tanya M. Ibanez, The Registry of Charitable Trusts ("RCT"), Kamala Harris, David Eller, Walter Garcia, and the Department of Justice ("DOJ") (collectively "State Defendants"). Currently before the Court are two motions to dismiss filed by the County Defendants and the State Defendants.
The Court heard oral argument on the motions to dismiss on August 15, 2018. Counsel Gina Gregory appeared for Plaintiffs. Counsel Brande Gustafson appeared on behalf of the County Defendants; and counsel Diana Esquivel appeared on behalf of the State Defendants. Having considered the moving, opposition and reply papers, the declarations and exhibits attached thereto, arguments presented at the August 15, 2018 hearing, as well as the Court's file, the Court issues the following findings and recommendations.
On April 16, 2018, Plaintiffs filed this action against the State and County Defendants. (ECF No. 1.) On June 6, 2018, State Defendants filed a request for an extension of the page limitation in filing a motion to dismiss. (ECF No. 18.) The district judge granted the request and extended the page limitation for both State Defendants' motion to dismiss and Plaintiffs' opposition to the State's motion. (ECF No. 20.) On June 27, 2018, State Defendants filed a motion to dismiss and request for judicial notice. (ECF Nos. 21 and 22.) On June 29, 2018, the State's motion to dismiss was referred to the undersigned for the preparation of findings and recommendations. (ECF No. 23.)
On July 3, 2018, County Defendants filed a motion to dismiss. (ECF No. 25.) On July 5, 2018, the County's motion to dismiss was referred to the undersigned for the preparation of findings and recommendations. (ECF No. 26.) On July 17, 2018, Plaintiffs filed a request for an extension of the page limitations for their oppositions which was opposed by Defendants and was denied. (ECF Nos. 36, 37, 38.)
On August 1, 2018, Plaintiffs filed two oppositions; a notice of judicial notice of additional facts discovered; declarations of Gina Gregory; Matthew G. Gregory, and Matthew J. Gregory; and two notices of intent to appear in opposition to the motions to dismiss. (ECF Nos. 41-48.) On August 2, 2018, Plaintiffs' oppositions were stricken from the record for failure to comply with the page limitations in the June 12, 2018, and July 19, 2018 orders. (ECF No. 49.) On August 6, 2018, Plaintiffs refiled all documents in opposition to the motions to dismiss. (ECF Nos. 50-57.) Accordingly, the Court shall disregard the documents filed on August 1,2018. (ECF No. 43, 44-48.) Plaintiffs also filed two notices of intent to appear in opposition of the motions. (ECF No. 53, 54.) While the local rules require that a motion be noticed on the motion calendar, there is no requirement for an attorney to file a notice of intent to oppose the motion. Therefore, Plaintiffs' notices of intent to oppose the motions shall be disregarded as unnecessary.
On August 10, 2018, the County Defendants and State Defendants filed reply briefs. (ECF Nos. 58, 59.)
Plaintiff Matthew G. Gregory is the President of the WWSG and CCERR. (Compl. ¶ 3, ECF No. 1.) He holds a general contractors license from the State of California and owns and operates Gregory Construction and Gregory Motorsports. (Id.) CCERR is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in California which rescues horses from abusive and neglectful homes, provides care for rescue and retired horses, and educates the public about animal neglect and abuse. (Id.) CCERR has been active from 2011 to the present providing fulltime care to rescued horses. (Id.) WWSG is also a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in California whose purpose is to educate the public about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ("PTSD"), veteran plight and homelessness, and veteran's poverty. (Id.) WWSG began a therapeutic horseback riding program for United States veterans. (Id.) Plaintiff Matthew G. Gregory has a vision to found the Carmel Healing Center for Wounded Warriors ("Healing Center") which would be a retreat where veterans could receive treatment for PTSD by specialists and psychotherapists. (Id.) At the Healing Center, riding arenas and barns would be available for veterans to take therapeutic horseback riding lessons without interruption or restrictions from other horse enthusiasts or stable owners. (Id.)
Plaintiff Danella Gregory is Plaintiff Matthew G. Gregory's wife and secretary, officer, and director of WWSG and CCERR. (Compl. ¶ 4.)
Plaintiff Matthew J. Gregory is the son of Plaintiffs Matthew G. Gregory and Danella Gregory. (Compl. ¶ 5.) He is the treasurer, officer, and director of WWSG and CCERR. (Id.)He also owns and operates The Bug Dash and Colic Gard. (Id.)
Plaintiff Gina Gregory is the daughter of Plaintiffs Matthew G. Gregory and Danella Gregory. (Compl. ¶ 6.) She is an attorney admitted to the California Bar in June 2014. (Id.) She became certified by the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship ("PATH") in 2015. (Id.) She offered lessons to veterans on flyers throughout the Bay Area after becoming PATH certified. (Id.)
Plaintiffs bring this action against the following defendants. Defendant Fresno County is a local government entity and oversees and monitors the functions of the Fresno County District Attorney and her staff. (Compl. ¶ 8.) Defendant Lisa Smittcamp has been the Fresno County District Attorney since 2014. (Compl. ¶ 16.) She oversees Defendant Jeffrey Dupras who was an assistant district attorney during 2015. (Compl. ¶ 15.)
Defendant Xavier Becerra has been the Attorney General of California since January 24, 2017, and is charged with enforcing California's statutes. (Compl. ¶ 9.) He directs and controls the DOJ and is responsible for the operations of the RCT. (Id.) He is responsible for administering California's Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act. (Id.)
Defendant Kamala Harris was the Attorney General from 2011 to 2017. (Compl. ¶ 12.) In this capacity she administered California's Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act. (Id.)
Defendant DOJ is interchangeable with the Office of the Attorney General. (Compl. ¶ 11.) It is the Attorney General's law enforcement division which is comprised of sworn law enforcement officers, criminalists/forensic scientists and professional personnel. (Id.)
Defendant Walter Garcia works at the Office of the Attorney General as Defendant Becerra's press secretary. (Compl. ¶ 13.) In this capacity, he communicates with the press. (Id.)
Defendant Julianne Mossler was acting as a deputy attorney general for Defendant Becerra starting on January 24, 2017, and previously worked for Defendant Harris. (Compl. ¶ 14.)
Defendant Tanya Ibanez works for the Office of the Attorney General in Los Angeles,California. (Compl. ¶ 17.)
Defendant Elizabeth Kim is a supervising deputy attorney general at the DOJ and Office of the Attorney General. (Compl. ¶ 18.)
Defendant RCT has an online database that contains information about charitable registrants of the State of California. (Compl. ¶ 10.) It is accessible to the public at large, free of charge, through search engines such as Google and Bing. (Id.) Defendant David Eller works as Staff Services and Registrar for the RCT. (Compl. ¶ 19.)
Plaintiffs are suing Defendants Becerra, Harris, Garcia, Mossler, Dupras, Smittcamp, Ibanez, Kim, and Eller in their official and individual capacities. (Compl. ¶¶ 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.)
Plaintiffs allege that based on false allegations from the County Defendants, and Defendants Harris, the DOJ, and Defendant Mossler; and without properly investigating those allegations, Defendants Mossler, the DOJ, Defendant Garcia and Defendant Becerra made false allegations and defamatory out of court statements that criminal acts were committed by Plaintiffs. (Compl. ¶ 24.) Due to these statements, various press and media sources published damaging and sensationalistic stories about Plaintiffs. (Compl. ¶ 25.) In February 2018, Plaintiffs discovered that Defendant Becerra had emailed false and defamatory statements about Plaintiffs to the press and reporters. (Id.)
In January 2018, Plaintiffs Gina Gregory and Danella Gregory became aware that letters addressed to WWSG and CCERR and notations that contain allegations of criminal conduct were recorded into the RCT and were available for the public to view free of charge. (Compl. ¶ 26.) This information contains false and defamatory statements made by Defendants RCT, DOJ, Mossler, Dupras, and Eller which caused reputational harm to Plaintiffs. (Id.) Plaintiff Matthew J. Gregory received a letter dated May 21, 2015 from Defendant Dupras in the mail and asked Defendant Dupras to remove the letter shortly thereafter. (Id.) Upon being told about the Dupras letter, Plaintiff Matthew G. Gregory had a phone conversation with Defendant Dupras in which he requested that the May 21, 2015 letter be removed from the database. (I...
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