Estate of Mendez v. City of Ceres

390 F.Supp.3d 1189

ESTATE OF Carmen MENDEZ, Jorge Mendez, Sr., Jorge Mendez, Jr., Kyland Riley, Rosario Sanchez, Bertha Mendez, and Domingo Mendez, Plaintiffs,

v.CITY OF CERES, Ceres Police Department, Brent Smith, and Does 1 to 50, Defendants.

1:18-CV-01677-LJO-BAM

United States District Court, E.D. California.

Signed June 28, 2019

Andrew Peter Rausch, Jr., Law Offices of A. Peter Rausch, Jr., Lodi, CA, Mark E. Merin, Paul Hajime Masuhara, III, Law Office of Mark E. Merin, Sacramento, CA, for Plaintiffs.

Allen Christiansen, Bruce Daniel Praet, Ferguson Praet and Sherman, Santa Ana, CA, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART MOTION FOR JUDGMENT ON THE PLEADINGS

(ECF No. 9)

Lawrence J. O'Neill, UNITED STATES CHIEF DISTRICT JUDGE

I. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT TO PARTIES AND COUNSEL

Judges in the Eastern District of California carry the heaviest caseloads in the nation, and this Court is unable to devote inordinate time and resources to individual cases and matters. Given the shortage of district judges and staff, this Court addresses only the arguments, evidence, and matters necessary to reach the decision in this order. The parties and counsel are encouraged to contact the offices of United States Senators Feinstein and Harris to address this Court's inability to accommodate the parties and this action. The parties are required to reconsider consent to conduct all further proceedings before a Magistrate Judge, whose schedules are far more realistic and accommodating to parties than that of U.S. Chief District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill, who must prioritize criminal and older civil cases.

Civil trials set before Chief Judge O'Neill trail until he becomes available and are subject to suspension mid-trial to accommodate criminal matters. Civil trials are no longer reset to a later date if Chief Judge O'Neill is unavailable on the original date set for trial. Moreover, this Court's Fresno Division randomly and without advance notice reassigns civil actions to U.S. District Judges throughout the Nation to serve as visiting judges. In the absence of Magistrate Judge consent, this action is subject to reassignment to a U.S. District Judge from inside or outside the Eastern District of California.

II. INTRODUCTION

On August 18, 2018, a City of Ceres police officer fatally shot fifteen-year-old Carmen Mendez following pursuit of a vehicle in which Mendez was a passenger. ECF No. 1 at ¶¶ 18-19. Relatives, including decedent's father (collectively, "Plaintiffs"), brought suit against the City of Ceres, the Ceres Police Department, Brent Smith (Chief of Police for Ceres), and Does 1-50 (collectively, "Defendants"), alleging various claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and under the constitution and laws of California. Before the Court is a Motion for Judgement on the Pleadings filed by Defendants. ECF No. 1. The Court finds it appropriate to rule on Defendant's motion without oral argument. See Local Rule 230(g). For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART the motion.

III. BACKGROUND

On August 18, 2018, fifteen-year-old Carmen Mendez ("Carmen") was a passenger in a vehicle being pursued by police for reasons not stated in Plaintiffs' complaint. See ECF No. 1 at ¶ 19. According to the allegations, when the vehicle eventually came to a stop, Carmen exited and ran on foot toward a nearby orchard. Id. at ¶ 20. It is further alleged that, while he ran, Carmen was unarmed and "non-threatening," but, nonetheless, Carmen was shot in the back several times by at least one police officer. Id. at ¶¶ 21-22. The complaint additionally alleges that "[o]ther law enforcement officers at the scene reacted with anger to [the] unnecessary shooting" of Carmen. Id. at ¶ 25. Carmen succumbed to his injuries. Id. at ¶ 26.

On December 10, 2018, Carmen's father, two brothers, aunt, grandmother, and grandfather filed suit against Defendants, with Carmen's father, Jorge Mendez, Sr., also filing on behalf of Carmen's estate, as one of Carmen's successors-in-interest. ECF No. 1 at ¶¶ 5-11. The Plaintiffs' suit alleges three claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (" § 1983"), one claim under California's constitution, and four claims under California state law. See generally ECF No. 1. Absent from the lawsuit is Carmen's mother, Stephanie Beidleman, though she did serve, separate from this action, a notice of tort claims on the City of Ceres and others.¹ ECF Nos. 9-1 at 1-2, 13-1 at Ex. 1.

On February 21, 2019, Defendants filed their Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings ("motion"), alleging nine deficiencies in Plaintiffs' suit that, they claim, entitle Defendants to judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c). See generally ECF No. 9-1. Defendants urge this Court to find: that Plaintiffs have failed to meet the pleading standard under Twombly / Iqbal throughout their complaint;² that Plaintiffs have failed to join a necessary party; that certain claims and parties are duplicative; that certain Plaintiffs are ineligible for relief under certain claims; and that certain novel claims have no legal basis. Id. On March 7, 2019, Plaintiffs responded, denying each ground raised by Defendants and urging this Court to allow their suit to proceed as filed. ECF No. 11. Defendants' Reply was filed on March 14, 2019. ECF No. 13.

IV. LEGAL STANDARD

Rule 12(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure states that "[a]fter the pleadings are closed— but early enough not to delay trial—a party may move for judgment on the pleadings." Fed. R. Civ. P. 12. A motion filed under Rule 12(c) and one filed under Rule 12(b) are "functionally identical," with timing being the "principal difference" between them. Dworkin v. Hustler Magazine Inc. , 867 F.2d 1188, 1192 (1989). Because the motions are functionally identical, the standard of review under both is the same. Gregg v. Hawaii, Dept. of Pub. Safety , 870 F.3d 883, 887 (2017). "A judgment on the pleadings is properly granted when, taking all the allegations in the pleadings as true, the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Nelson v. City of Irvine , 143 F.3d 1196, 1200 (1998). Like a motion brought under Rule 12(b)(6), leave to amend a pleading "should be granted even if no request is made unless amendment would be futile." Pac. W. Grp., Inc. v. Real Time Sols., Inc. , 321 F. App'x 566, 569 (2008) (emphasis original).

V. ANALYSIS

Defendants urge this Court to find that Plaintiffs' Complaint is substantially deficient on nine grounds. ECF No. 9-1. Specifically, Defendants argue that: (1) Plaintiffs have failed throughout their complaint to allege sufficient facts under Twombly / Iqbal ; (2) the case must be stayed because Plaintiffs failed to join a necessary party, Carmen's mother; (3) the Ceres Police Department must be dismissed from the action since naming it and the City of Ceres is duplicative; (4) the Ceres Chief of Police, Brent Smith ("Smith"), must be dismissed from the action because naming him in his official capacity is duplicative and no allegations support naming him in his individual capacity; (5) any Monell claims³ have been insufficiently pled and must be dismissed; (6) Plaintiffs' two claims for right of intimate association are duplicative, and in any event are inapplicable to any relative other than Carmen's father and brothers; (7) Plaintiffs' cause of action brought under California's constitution fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; (8) Plaintiffs' Bane Act claim fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted and can only be brought on behalf of Carmen's estate; and (9) Plaintiffs include duplicative, superfluous language in their Bane Act claim that should be stricken. Id.

Each argument is addressed in turn below.

A. Joinder of Carmen's Mother

1. Contentions

Defendants urge this Court to find that Plaintiffs failed to join a necessary party—Carmen's mother—under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19 and that, as a result, this case must be stayed until she is joined. ECF Nos. 9-1 at 1-2, 13 at 3-4. Defendants base their assertion on the fact that Carmen's mother is a successor-in-interest of Carmen's estate, together with Carmen's father, as Carmen was a minor at the time of his death. Id.

Plaintiffs respond that Defendants' objection fails for two procedural reasons: Defendants have failed to parse which claims they believe require joinder of Carmen's mother, and Defendants' objection was waived when Defendants failed to raise the issue in their first responsive pleading. ECF No. 11 at 2. Plaintiffs also contend, substantively, that Carmen's mother is not a necessary party because Carmen's mother can bring a claim against Carmen's estate should Carmen's father, as successor-in-interest, prevail in this action. Id. at 2-3. As a final matter, Plaintiffs argue that, should the Court find Carmen's mother a necessary party, the cure is to name her as a nominal defendant. Id. at 3.

2. Law and Analysis

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 19 requires joinder of necessary parties, with certain exceptions. Fed. R. Civ. P. 19. "A Rule 19 motion poses three successive inquiries," E.E.O.C. v. Peabody W. Coal Co. , 610 F.3d 1070, 1078 (9th Cir. 2010) (internal quotations and citation removed), which were not briefed or analyzed fully by the parties here. The first inquiry requires determining whether a party is necessary pursuant to the rule. Id. That inquiry involves a two-pronged analysis, pursuant to which the Court examines first "whether complete relief can be afforded if the action is limited to the existing parties," and second, "whether the absent party has a legally protected interest in the subject of the action, and if so, whether the party's absence will impair or impede the party's ability to protect that interest or will leave an existing party subject to multiple, inconsistent legal obligations with respect to that interest." White v. Univ. of Cal. , 765 F.3d 1010, 1026 (9th Cir. 2014) (internal quotations...