Willson v. Cagle

• Decision Date: 22 September 1988
• Docket Number: No. C-88-0328 RFP.,C-88-0328 RFP.
• Citation: 711 F. Supp. 1521
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of California
• Parties: S. Brian WILLSON, Holley Rauen, David Duncombe, Duncan Murphy, and Michael Kroll, Plaintiffs, v. Lonnie F. CAGLE, John M. Banta, Clayton Y.K. Ching, Edward W. Hubbard, Ralph Dawson, David Humiston, and Robert Mayfield, Defendants.

711 F. Supp. 1521

S. Brian WILLSON, Holley Rauen, David Duncombe, Duncan Murphy, and Michael Kroll, Plaintiffs, v. Lonnie F. CAGLE, John M. Banta, Clayton Y.K. Ching, Edward W. Hubbard, Ralph Dawson, David Humiston, and Robert Mayfield, Defendants.

No. C-88-0328 RFP.

United States District Court, N.D. California.

September 22, 1988.

Thomas Steel, Law Offices of Thomas Steel, APC, Doron Weinberg, Larson & Weinberg, Mark Coby, San Francisco, Cal., Linda Fullerton, Point Richmond, Cal., A.J. Kutchins, Berkeley, Cal., for plaintiffs.

Paul Wolfe, John Penrose, Asst. U.S. Attys., Anne B. Nash, Jeffrey J. Parish, Rosenblum, Parish & Bacigalupi, San Francisco, Cal., John M. Kelson, Malcolm Sher, Wilson, Sher, Marshall & Peterson, Paul A. Elizondo, King, Johnson & Shapiro, Oakland, Cal., Jerry K. Cimmet, William F. Murphy, Eric L. Nordskog, Dillingham & Murphy, San Francisco, Cal., Arthur Leinwohl, Foster City, Cal., for defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER REGARDING DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS TO DISMISS

PECKHAM, Chief Judge.

INTRODUCTION

The parties in this action all participated in the events that lead up to a tragic incident at the Concord Naval Weapons Station on September 1, 1987. On that date, a munitions train operated by employees of the United States Navy collided with a group of demonstrators outside of the weapons station. The plaintiffs in this action seek to recover for personal injuries they received as a result of that collision.

The defendants, who are being sued in their individual capacities, were all either officers or employees of the United States Navy at the time of the incident. Captain Lonnie F. Cagle was the commanding officer of the weapons station. John M. Banta was the station's security manager. Commander Clayton Y.K. Ching was the public works officer at the station, responsible for overseeing railroad operations. Edward Hubbard was employed at the station as the railroad operation foreman. The crew of the train involved in the collision was composed of David Humiston, as engineer, Ralph Dawson, as conductor, and Robert Mayfield, as brakeman.

The complaint sets forth eight causes of action against each of the seven defendants. The first three causes of action are based on Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971), which allows suits against federal officials individually for damages caused by the officials' violation of federally-protected rights. Count one of the complaint alleges that the defendants violated the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights to freedom of association, free speech, and peaceful assembly, and to petition their government for a redress of grievances. Count two alleges that the defendants violated the plaintiffs' Fifth Amendment right to be free from the deprivation of liberty without due process of law. Count three alleges that the defendants' actions constituted an unlawful search and seizure within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. The remaining causes of action assert pendent state law claims for battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, violation of the Ralph Civil Rights Act, Cal.Civ.Code § 51.7, and negligence.

The defendants now move to dismiss the complaint. They argue that (1) Bivens is inapplicable to the present case; (2) the defendants, as government officials, have qualified immunity against the plaintiffs' Bivens actions; (3) the complaint does not contain specific factual allegations that the defendants acted with unlawful intent; and (4) the defendants, as federal employees, are absolutely immune from the plaintiffs' state law claims. The defendants have also moved to strike certain language from the complaint.

ALLEGATIONS

For the purposes of these motions, the factual allegations in the plaintiffs' complaint must be taken as true. The complaint alleges that there has been a long history of demonstrations at the weapons station. Since January of 1986, protesters have been in the habit of notifying authorities at the station of planned protests. On August 21, 1987, plaintiff Willson sent a letter to defendant Cagle notifying him that protesters planned to conduct a forty-day fast on the tracks outside the station. It was anticipated that any protester who attempted to block the passage of a train would be arrested and removed from the tracks. See Complaint ¶¶ 19-21.

Defendant Cagle forwarded copies of Willson's letter to defendants Banta and Ching. Despite knowledge of the plaintiff's intention to obstruct the passage of trains, defendants Cagle, Banta, and Ching allegedly failed to prepare plans for the safe passage of trains, and allegedly failed to instruct defendants Hubbard, Humiston, Dawson, and Mayfield on how to proceed in the event that protesters attempted to block the train. Defendant Banta did contact the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office and agree to give the Sheriff one half-hour notice of train movements so that the Sheriff could arrest demonstrators and remove them from the tracks. However, this alleged agreement was not kept. See Complaint ¶¶ 22-24.

The complaint contains the following account of the events of September 1, 1987:

26. ... at approximately 11.40 a.m., Plaintiffs and other protesters gave additional notice to Concord Naval Weapons Station personnel of the plan to blockade the loaded munitions train which was waiting, stationary, behind the Inland Gate of the Concord Naval Weapons Station. A delegation of demonstrators headed to the main gate of the Weapons Station while Plaintiffs Willson, Duncombe, and Murphy took their places on the railroad tracks in front of the large banner which was stretched across the tracks. Plaintiff Kroll stood next to the tracks, holding up the banner.

27. While Plaintiffs were assembling on the railroad tracks, the delegation of demonstrators reached the security office near the Inland Gate and approached MAC McAlpin, the Chief Master-At-Arms, who was stationed inside. They handed her a copy of Plaintiff Willson's August 21, 1987 letter, and informed her that demonstrators were sitting on the tracks and intended to block the train which was waiting behind the gate, and that they did not intend to move from the tracks. McAlpin immediately delivered this letter to Defendant Banta and told Banta that the demonstrators intended to block the train. The delegation of demonstrators then approached Defendant Hubbard, who was standing near the gate and holding a two-way radio. They informed Defendant Hubbard that demonstrators were on the tracks and intended to block the train. The delegation of demonstrators then gave the same message to a group of United States Marine Corps guards who were seated in a van near the Gate.

28. Despite notice that demonstrators were seated on the tracks and intended to block passage of the train, and despite the fact that a large group of protesters, including Plaintiffs, were grouped on and near the tracks with a large blue banner stretched across the tracks, in clear view of Defendants Banta, Hubbard, Dawson, Humiston, and Mayfield, said defendants caused the loaded munitions train to proceed across Port Chicago Highway into the group of protesters. The speed limit at the area where the collision occurred is 5 M.P.H. Defendants operated the train at approximately 16 M.P.H. at the time of the incident. Defendants made no attempt to arrest or remove Plaintiffs from the tracks, and made no effort to warn Plaintiffs or any other protesters, that the train would not stop for the demonstrators. Instead, they caused the train to proceed toward the demonstrators at a speed far in excess of the speed limit. As the train crossed Port Chicago Highway, Plaintiff Rauen waved her arms and shouted to Defendants Dawson, Mayfield, and Humiston to stop the train. Both the demonstrators and their banner stretched across the tracks were clearly and continuously visible to the train crew from a distance in excess of 500 feet before impact. Said Defendants, nevertheless, made no effort whatever to slow or stop the train until after it struck and ran over Plaintiff Willson.

Complaint ¶¶ 26-28. The complaint goes on to describe the injuries sustained by the plaintiffs as a result of the collision. The most serious injuries were sustained by plaintiff Willson, who lost both his legs as a result of the collision. See Complaint ¶¶ 29-34.

DISCUSSION

In order to prevail on their motions, the defendants bear the burden of demonstrating "beyond doubt that the plaintiffs can prove no set of facts in support of their claim which would entitle them to relief." Gibson v. United States, 781 F.2d 1334, 1337 (9th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 1054, 107 S.Ct. 928, 93 L.Ed.2d 979 (1987) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 101-02, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957)). The facts alleged in the complaint, and set forth above, must be considered true for the purposes of these motions, and the complaint must be read in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs. See Western Mining Council v. Watt, 643 F.2d 618, 624 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 1031, 102 S.Ct. 567, 70 L.Ed.2d 474 (1981). The plaintiffs are not required to plead their evidence or set forth "specific factual details not ascertainable in advance of discovery." Gibson, 781 F.2d at 1340. In determining whether the defendants have carried their burden, we first examine the plaintiffs' Bivens claims, and then turn to the plaintiffs' state law claims.

1) Availability of Relief Under Bivens

In Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971), the Supreme Court held that people whose constitutional rights are violated by federal agents may sue the wrongdoers in their individual capacities. The Court cautioned that such a remedy should not be made available if there were "special factors counselling hesitation in the absence of affirmative action by...