Perez v. City of Escondido
| Decision Date | 06 August 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV. 01-0410 K(AJB).,CIV. 01-0410 K(AJB). |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of California |
| Parties | Javier PEREZ, a minor; Yesenia Perez, a minor; and Estela Perez, an individual, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF ESCONDIDO, a governmental entity; Escondido Police Department, a governmental entity; Duane White, an individual; Officer J. Murphy, an individual; Sergeant Lanigan, an individual; and Does 1 through 10, Defendants. |
Leon Saad, San Diego, CA, for Estela Perez.
Carl Lewis, La Jolla, CA, for Javier and Yesenia Perez.
Mark Waggoner, Escondido, CA, for defendants.
In two separate applications Plaintiff Estela Perez, on her own behalf and on behalf of her minor children Javier and Yesenia Perez, petitions the Court under California Government Code § 946.6 for relief from the claim requirement pursuant to the California Tort Claims Act. Defendants have filed an opposition as to both petitions and Plaintiffs have filed separate reply briefs. A hearing was held before Magistrate Judge Battaglia on August 2, 2001. Leon Saad appeared for Plaintiff Estela Perez and Carl Lewis appeared for Plaintiffs Javier and Yesenia Perez. Mark Waggoner appeared on behalf of Defendants. For the reasons set forth herein, Defendants' argument that this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the pending petitions is rejected and the petitions are GRANTED.
The complaint filed on March 8, 2001 alleges violation by Defendants of Plaintiffs' civil rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The complaint alleges that Escondido Police Officers White and Murphy shot Plaintiff Javier Perez on the evening of March 10 or early morning of March 11, 2000 [Complaint, ¶¶ 18, 20, 21]. Plaintiff Javier Perez was, at the time of the incident and at the time of the filing of the complaint, a minor. According to the complaint, the shooting occurred while Plaintiff Javier Perez was on the phone seeking assistance from a 911 operator [Complaint, ¶ 18]. When the operator told him to proceed out the front door of his home where there would be people waiting to help him, Plaintiff Javier Perez did so and was shot by the Defendant police officers [Complaint, ¶ 19]. As a result of the shooting, Javier Perez underwent brain surgery and suffered a stroke, resulting in substantial and permanent neurological and cognitive impairment [Declaration of Estela Perez in Support of Petition for Relief, ¶¶ 6-7].
Plaintiff Yesenia Perez is also a minor and is Plaintiff Javier Perez's sister [Complaint, ¶¶ 47-48]. Plaintiff Estela Perez is Plaintiff Javier Perez's mother [Complaint, ¶ 65-66]. According to the Complaint, both Yesenia and Estela Perez were in the immediate vicinity of the shooting and actually witnessed the shooting of Javier [Complaint, ¶¶ 45-46, 69-70]. Plaintiffs seek various remedies under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Plaintiffs also note that they will seek to obtain relief from the claim filing requirement under the California Code provisions, and will then request this Court to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over California statutory and common law tort claims.
With regard to Plaintiffs' attempts to comply with the California Tort Claims Act, Plaintiffs' petitions set forth the following facts. After the shooting of Javier Perez on March 10-11, 2000, Javier was continuously hospitalized for a forty-five day period [Declaration of Estela Perez in Support of Petitions, ¶ 9]. Thereafter, Javier received additional treatment and assessment for his injuries on both an inpatient and out-patient basis [Perez Decl., ¶ 10]. In addition to the physical injuries suffered by Javier, Yesenia Perez who was in the immediate vicinity of the shooting, had to undergo counseling for the trauma suffered as a result of the events [Perez Decl., ¶ 11].
During the months following the shooting, Estela Perez was overwhelmingly concerned for both her son's life and her daughter's emotional health [Perez Decl., ¶ 12]. In addition, Estela Perez was extremely concerned about the large medical bills incurred as a result of the shooting [Perez Decl., ¶ 13]. As a result of all these factors, Estela Perez was unable to think about anything other than her children's well-being and how to cope with her family's daily needs [Perez Decl., ¶ 14]. During the period from March through September 2000, Estela Perez was overwhelmed and emotionally unable to focus on anything other than her son's survival [Perez Decl., ¶ 15]. In addition, as a single parent, she was required to continue working full time while trying to obtain care for her children in the period following the shooting and through late September [Id.].
Estela Perez began trying to retain a lawyer to assist her in late September of 2000 relative to the mounting medical bills but was unable to secure anyone's assistance until October 27, 2000 [Perez Decl., ¶ 16]. Prior to obtaining legal assistance, Estela Perez was unaware of what legal rights she and her children had as against the Defendants, and was unaware of the claims requirement and time to present those claims [Perez Decl., ¶ 17]. Within a week of obtaining counsel, a claim was presented to the City of Escondido on behalf of all Plaintiffs on November 3, 2000 [Perez Decl., ¶ 18]. That claim was rejected on November 6, 2000 [Perez Decl., ¶ 19]. An application to present a late claim was then made on behalf of Estela Perez under section 911.6 of the California Government Code on November 16, 2000. A similar petition was made on behalf of Plaintiffs Javier and Yesenia Perez on December 6, 2000. These applications were denied on January 3 and January 23, 2001, respectively [Perez Decl., ¶¶ 20 and 21].
After this complaint was filed on March 8, 2001, Plaintiffs filed their petitions for relief under Cal. Gov.Code § 946.6 on June 29, 2001.
Initially, Defendants oppose the petitions on the grounds that this Court is without jurisdiction to adjudicate the petition for relief. As to Plaintiffs Javier and Yesenia Perez, Defendants offer no substantive opposition. As to Plaintiff Estela Perez, Defendants argue that she has not demonstrated sufficient grounds for relief.
Relying on two published opinions from district courts in the Northern and Central Districts of California, Defendants conclude that this Court is without jurisdiction to adjudicate a petition for relief from the requirements of the California Tort Claims Act. The California Tort Claims Act provides judicial relief for those whose application for leave to present a late claim has been denied as follows:
(a) Where an application for leave to present a claim is denied or deemed to be denied pursuant to Section 911.6, a petition may be made to the court for an order relieving the petitioner from Section 945.4. The proper court for filing the petition is a court which would be a competent court for the trial of an action on the cause of action to which the claim relates and which is located in a county or judicial district which would be a proper place for the trial of the action, and if the petition is filed in a court which is not a proper court for the determination of the matter, the court, on motion of any party, shall transfer the proceeding to a proper court.
Cal. Gov.Code § 946.6. The granting of a petition under section 946.6 allows the petitioner to bypass the claims procedure altogether, and does not then require the re-filing of a late claim. See Los Angeles City School Dist. v. Superior Court, 9 Cal. App.3d 459, 467-68, 88 Cal.Rptr. 286 (1970). Based upon an interpretation of the italicized portion of the above statutory provision, two federal district courts have determined that federal courts are without jurisdiction to hear and determine a petition under section 946.6.
In Luers v. Smith, 941 F.Supp. 105 (C.D.Cal.1996), Plaintiffs were the minor sons of a man shot and killed by Riverside County/City of Moreno Valley sheriffs deputies. Plaintiffs brought suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and included supplemental tort claims. The court in Luers concluded that the claims requirements of section 946.6 were jurisdictional, such that the state tort claims could not be brought in any court until there had been compliance with the California Tort Claims Act. Luers, 941 F.Supp. at 107. The court went on to conclude that "Section 946.6 contemplates a petition for relief in a separate civil proceeding, not a motion in an action which has already been filed in either state or federal court" and that "[t]his court does not have federal subject matter or supplemental state claim jurisdiction over such a petition." Id. at 107-08.
Finally, the court concluded that even if jurisdiction could be established, the language of section 946.6 () was not intended to include a federal court. The Luers court pointed to language in the Law Revision Commission Comments to section 946.6 indicating that the "proper court" language was inserted to eliminate a "State venue problem" created by previous provisions allowing a petition seeking relief against the State to be brought only in a county where the Attorney General maintains an office, "i.e. at that time, Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles." Luers, 941 F.Supp. at 108.
This Court finds the court's decision in Luers to be unpersuasive. First, the Luers court's conclusion that compliance with section 946.6 is jurisdictional is incorrect. The California Supreme Court has explicitly held that "compliance with the claim statute is...
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... ... Passenger Corp. (Amtrak), 2009 WL 1883756, *4 (N.D.Cal. Jun. 30, 2009) (granting jurisdiction for claims arising under § 946.6); ... Perez v. Escondido, 165 F.Supp.2d 1111, 1115 (S.D.Cal.2001) (same) ... But see, e.g., ... Hernandez v. McClanahan, 996 F.Supp. 975, 978 ... ...
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