Valle v. City Of Houston

• Decision Date: 30 July 2010
• Docket Number: No. 09-20624.,09-20624.
• Citation: 613 F.3d 536
• Parties: Jose VALLE, Individually and as Representative of the Estate of Omar Esparza; Asuncion Valle, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. CITY OF HOUSTON, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

613 F.3d 536

Jose VALLE, Individually and as Representative of the Estate of Omar Esparza; Asuncion Valle, Plaintiffs-Appellants,

v.CITY OF HOUSTON, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 09-20624.

United States Court of Appeals,Fifth Circuit.

July 30, 2010.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED.

Roger Alan Rider (argued), Rider Law Firm, Sugar Land, TX, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Andrea Chan, Senior Asst. City Atty. (argued), Houston, TX, for Defendant-Appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Before JOLLY and GARZA, Circuit Judges and STARRETT ^* , District Judge.

EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judge:

Omar Esparza was shot and killed by Houston police officers during an incident at his family's home. His parents, Plaintiffs-Appellants Jose and Asuncion Valle (the “Valles”), individually and as representatives of their son's estate, sued the City of Houston (“City”) seeking relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The district court granted summary judgment in the City's favor on all claims. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM.

I

On the day of the incident, Esparza-who apparently had been suffering from depression and anxiety in the preceding months-became upset and locked himself inside the family home and refused to allow his parents to enter. After about an hour, the Valles called 911 for assistance and requested a Spanish-speaking operator because neither of them spoke English. The Valles apparently hoped that the 911 call would bring medical assistance for their son.

The 911 dispatcher sent police officers to the Valles' home. The Valles allegedly showed the first officer on the scene, Officer Duarte, papers from their previous attempts to get Esparza admitted to a hospital for psychiatric treatment and requested that he help them get medical care for their son. Duarte then approached the front door of the house and conversed with Esparza (both Duarte and Esparza spoke English). Officers Walsh, Seay, and Chaisson then arrived and spoke with Esparza, who stated he would not come out of the house and would not let anyone in. The officers contacted their supervisor, Sergeant Bryant, who assumed control of the situation upon his arrival. After unsuccessfully attempting to communicate with Esparza, Sergeant Bryant contacted police headquarters to report the situation and seek orders. Captain Williams of the Special Weapons and Tactical/Hostage Negotiation Team (“SWAT”) directed Sergeant Bryant to get a Crisis Intervention Team (“CIT”) special officer to negotiate with Esparza. CIT Officer Broussard was called to the scene. She negotiated with Esparza for about thirty to forty minutes, but was unable to get him to come out of the house or allow officers into the house. The other non-CIT officers, without consulting Officer Broussard, sought and received permission from Captain Williams to forcefully enter the house. Esparza was not a suspect in any criminal activity, nor had he threatened the officers or himself. Nonetheless, Captain Williams authorized the entry and seizure, although he was neither present at the scene nor had any direct communication with CIT Officer Broussard.

Sergeant Bryant and three other officers armed themselves with a Taser, a shotgun loaded with soft-impact bean bags, and their sidearms. While CIT Officer Broussard was still conversing with Esparza through the front door, Sergeant Bryant and Officers Chaisson, Duarte, and Walsh forcibly entered a side door of the house. The City alleged that Esparza was in possession of a hammer and charged at the officers when they entered. Less than thirty seconds after entry, the officers began discharging their weapons. Sergeant Bryant fired three blasts of non-lethal soft-impact beanbags from the shotgun he was carrying but was, apparently, unable to stop Esparza. Walsh fired his Taser and missed Esparza. Chaisson then fired his 40-caliber automatic pistol six times at Esparza-three bullets struck him. After the assault subsided, Mrs. Valle entered the home and saw her son lying on the floor; she saw no hammer. ¹ Esparza died from his wounds.

SWAT Captain Williams was disciplined by the police department for his role in approving entry into the Valles' home. He successfully appealed his reprimand on the basis that he had acted within the policies and procedures of the police department.

The Valles sued the City ² pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments flowing from the officers' warrantless forcible entry into their home and lethal seizure of Esparza. The Valles alleged that the officers exercised excessive force in entering their home and seizing Esparza pursuant to a City policymaker's orders, and that the City was liable under § 1983 for failure to properly train the officers who entered their home. The district court granted the City's first motion for summary judgment, finding that the decision to enter the Valles' home was not made by a City policymaker, and thus no City policy was a moving force in causing the Valles' injuries. The district court also granted the City's second motion for summary judgment finding that, although the Valles raised a material fact issue as to the City's failure to train the officers, the Valles failed to show that a city policymaker acted with deliberate indifference and that the allegedly inadequate training was a moving force in bringing about the constitutional violation.

II

We dispose first of the City's claim that the Valles lack standing. The City argues that Esparza may have had a son, which would require administration of Esparza's estate under Texas law, thereby raising a question whether Appellant Jose Valle is the proper party to administer the estate.

We find the City's arguments without merit. Texas law provides that when a person dies intestate, as Esparza did, the decedent's estate immediately vests in his heirs at law, subject to the payment of any debts of the estate. Tex. Prob.Code Ann. § 37. Title to any estate passes equally to the decedent's parents in the absence of a spouse or children. Id. at § 38(a)(2), (b)(2). Administration of the estate is necessary if “two or more debts exist against the estate.” Id. at § 178(b). As required, the Valles submitted evidence demonstrating that an estate administration was neither pending nor necessary. See Shepherd v. Ledford, 962 S.W.2d 28, 31-32 (Tex.1998) (holding that heirs at law may maintain a wrongful death or survival suit without administration of the estate if they allege and prove that there is no administration pending and none necessary). Even if Esparza did have a son, a point that the parties contest, the Valles still have standing under Texas law to recover wrongful death damages on behalf of themselves and all others entitled to recover under the wrongful death statute. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.Code Ann. § 71.004(b). The City's conclusory allegation that Esparza's estate requires administration is insufficient. Accordingly, the district court's determination that the Valles have standing to sue was correct.

III

This court reviews a grant of summary judgment de novo. Mack v. City of Abilene, 461 F.3d 547, 555 (5th Cir.2006) (citing Morris v. Dillard Dep't Stores, 277 F.3d 743, 747 (5th Cir.2001)). Summary judgment is appropriate only if no genuine issue of material fact exists. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. All facts and inferences are construed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Murray v. Earle, 405 F.3d 278, 284 (5th Cir.2005).

IV

A

The Valles argue that the City is liable for entering their home in violation of the Fourth Amendment and for using excessive force to seize their son, which resulted in his death. The Valles assert that Captain Williams was acting as the City's final policymaker with respect to arrests and seizures when he authorized entry into the Valles' home, and thus his actions constitute City policy for the seizure at issue here.

It is well established that a city is not liable under § 1983 on the theory of respondeat superior. Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 694, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). A municipality is liable only for acts directly attributable to it “through some official action or imprimatur.” Piotrowski v. City of Houston, 237 F.3d 567, 578 (5th Cir.2001). To establish municipal liability under § 1983, a plaintiff must show the deprivation of a federally protected right caused by action taken “pursuant to an official municipal policy.” See Monell, 436 U.S. at 691, 98 S.Ct. 2018. A plaintiff must identify: “(1) an official policy (or custom), of which (2) a policymaker can be charged with actual or constructive knowledge, and (3) a constitutional violation whose ‘moving force’ is that policy or custom.” Pineda v. City of Houston, 291 F.3d 325, 328 (5th Cir.2002) (citing Piotrowski, 237 F.3d at 578).

The existence of a policy can be shown through evidence of an actual policy, regulation, or decision that is officially adopted and promulgated by lawmakers or others with policymaking authority. Burge v. St. Tammany Parish, 336 F.3d 363, 369 (5th Cir.2003). “[A] single decision by a policy maker may, under certain circumstances, constitute a policy for which a [municipality] may be liable.” Brown v. Bryan County, 219 F.3d 450, 462 (5th Cir.2000). However, this “single incident exception” is extremely narrow and gives rise to municipal liability only if the municipal actor is a final policymaker. Bolton v. City of Dallas, 541 F.3d 545, 548 (5th Cir.2008) (citing Woodard v. Andrus, 419 F.3d 348, 352 (5th Cir.2005)).

Under the second prong, “[a]ctual or constructive knowledge of [a] custom must be attributable to the governing body of the municipality or to an official to whom that body has delegated policy-making authority.” Webster v. City of Houston, 735 F.2d 838, 842 (5th Cir.1984) (en banc); see also Piotrowski, 237 F.3d at 579. This circuit has long distinguished...