Herd v. Cnty. of San Bernardino

311 F.Supp.3d 1157

Alexander HERD, et al., Plaintiff,

v.COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO, et al., Defendants.

Case No. CV 17–02545–AB (SPx)

United States District Court, C.D. California.

Signed April 27, 2018

Dale K. Galipo, Renee V. Masongsong, Law Offices of Dale Galipo, Woodland Hills, CA, James Stephen Terrell, James S. Terrell Law Offices, Sharon J. Brunner, Law Offices of Sharon J. Brunner, Victorville, CA, for Plaintiff.

James H. Thebeau, San Bernardino, CA, Camille A. Sespene, S. Frank Harrell, Jesse Keenon Cox, Lynberg and Watkins APC, Orange, CA, Donna M. Dean, CAAG–Office of Attorney General California Department of Justice, Los Angeles, CA, for Defendants.

ORDER RE DEFENDANTS CITY OF FONTANA AND JASON PERNICIARO'S MOTION TO DISMISS AND/OR STRIKE PORTIONS OF PLAINTIFFS' COMPLAINT [37]

HONORABLE ANDRÉ BIROTTE JR., UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUDGE

Before the Court is Defendants City of Fontana and Jason Perniciaro's (collectively, "Defendants") Motion to Dismiss and/or Strike Portions of Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint, and/or Motion for a More Definite Statement. (Dkt. No. 37.) Plaintiffs Alexander Herd and A.G., by and through her guardian ad litem Amanda Addington, (collectively, "Plaintiffs"), filed an Opposition, (Dkt. No. 38), and Defendants replied, (Dkt. No. 40). After considering the papers filed in support of and in opposition to the instant Motion, the Court found this matter appropriate for decision without oral argument and took the matter under submission. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 78 ; C.D. Cal. L.R. 7–15. (Dkt. No. 42.) For the reasons stated below, Defendants' Motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

I. BACKGROUND

This case arises out of an officer-involved shooting that occurred on May 31, 2017 in Hesperia, California. (Dkt. No. 33 ("SAC") ¶ 28.) Plaintiffs allege that at approximately 8:00 a.m., Officer Brian Leyva and Officer Jason Perniciaro arrived at the Main Street Walmart parking lot in unmarked vehicles. (Id. ¶ 29.) Plaintiffs state that upon arriving, the officers used their vehicles to "box in" a parked car. (Id. ) The officers then approached the vehicle with their guns drawn. (Id. )

Plaintiffs allege that James Gleason was sitting in the driver's seat of the parked car and Plaintiff Herd was sitting in the front passenger seat. (Id. ) According to Plaintiffs, Officers Leyva and Perniciaro shot several times into the parked car, killing James Gleason and injuring Plaintiff Herd. (Id. ) Plaintiff A.G. is the minor daughter of and successor in interest to Mr. Gleason. (Id. ¶ 5.)

II. LEGAL STANDARD

a. Motion to Dismiss

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure ("Rule") 8 requires a "short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). The statement must provide enough detail to "give the defendant fair notice of what the ... claim is and the grounds upon which it rests." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). The complaint must also be "plausible on its face," allowing the court to "draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). "The plausibility standard is not akin to a ‘probability requirement,’ but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully." Id. Labels, conclusions, and "a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Twombly , 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955.

Under Rule 12, a defendant may move to dismiss a pleading for "failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). When ruling on the motion, "a judge must accept as true all of the factual allegations contained in the complaint." Erickson v. Pardus , 551 U.S. 89, 94, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007). But, a court is "not bound to accept as true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation." Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (2009).

The court generally may not consider materials other than facts alleged in the complaint and documents that are made a part of the complaint. Anderson v. Angelone , 86 F.3d 932, 934 (9th Cir. 1996). However, a court may consider materials if (1) the authenticity of the materials is not disputed and (2) the plaintiff has alleged the existence of the materials in the complaint or the complaint "necessarily relies" on the materials. Lee v. City of L.A. , 250 F.3d 668, 688 (9th Cir. 2001) (citation omitted). The court may also take judicial notice of undisputed facts that are contained in extrinsic materials. Mir v. Little Co. of Mary Hosp. , 844 F.2d 646, 649 (9th Cir. 1988) ; Lee , 250 F.3d at 689–90.

b. Motion to Strike

Under Rule 12(f), a party may move to strike any insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(f). A motion to strike is appropriate when a defense is insufficient as a matter of law. Kaiser Aluminum & Chem. Sales, Inc. v. Avondale Shipyards, Inc. , 677 F.2d 1045, 1057 (5th Cir. 1982). The grounds for a motion to strike must appear on the face of the pleading under attack, or from matters which the Court may take judicial notice. SEC v. Sands , 902 F.Supp. 1149, 1165 (C.D. Cal. 1995). The essential function of a 12(f) motion is to "avoid the expenditure of time and money that must arise from litigating spurious issues by dispensing with those issues prior to trial." Fantasy, Inc. v. Fogerty , 984 F.2d 1524, 1527 (9th Cir. 1993).

c. Motion for More Definite Statement

Under Rule 12(e), if a complaint is so vague or ambiguous that the opposing party cannot reasonably frame a responsive pleading, the party may move for a more definite statement before interposing a responsive pleading. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(e). "A motion for a more definite statement is used to attack unintelligibility, not mere lack of detail, and a complaint is sufficient if it is specific enough to apprise the defendant of the substance of the claim asserted against him or her." San Bernardino Pub. Employees Ass'n v. Stout , 946 F.Supp. 790, 804 (C.D. Cal. 1996).

A motion for a more definite statement must be considered in light of Rule 8's liberal pleading standards in federal court. See, e.g. , Bureerong v. Uvawas , 922 F.Supp. 1450, 1461 (C.D. Cal. 1996). Rule 8 requires only that the complaint provide "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). Hence, "[m]otions for a more definite statement are viewed with disfavor and are rarely granted because of the minimal pleading requirements of the Federal Rules." Sagan v. Apple Comput., Inc. , 874 F.Supp. 1072, 1077 (C.D. Cal. 1994).

III. DISCUSSION

Defendants point to numerous alleged deficiencies in Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint ("SAC"). The Court addresses each in turn.

a. Plaintiffs' SAC Provides Fair Notice to Defendants

First, Defendants complain that Plaintiffs' SAC fails "to adequately apprise Defendants of the nature of the liability theories they face in this action." (Dkt. No. 37 ("Mot.") at 3.) Defendants argue that Plaintiffs repeat and re-allege all previous allegations in each count, which apparently prevents the Defendants from understanding "who is suing whom, for what relief, on what theory, and with enough detail to guide discovery." (Id. at 4.) Plaintiffs respond that their claims are clearly presented and state exactly which defendants the claim applies to. (Dkt. No. 38 ("Opp'n") at 4.)

Defendants cite numerous cases where courts have dismissed a complaint on these grounds; however, these cases are largely distinguishable from the case at hand. For example, in McHenry v. Renne , the Ninth Circuit stated that the dismissed complaint was far from short and plain and instead was "argumentative, prolix, replete with redundancy, and largely irrelevant." 84 F.3d 1172, 1177 (9th Cir. 1996). The Court went on to explain that the complaint "consist[ed] largely of immaterial background information" that did not assist in the determination of who was being sued, for what relief, and on what theory. Id. at 1178. Similarly, in Salazar v. County of Orange , the court explained that it was unclear whether Plaintiff was bringing each claim against all or only some of the defendants, and instructed the Plaintiff to include the specific names of defendants in the header of each claim. No. SACV 11–1125 AG (MLGx), 2012 WL 12896364, at *2 (C.D. Cal. July 10, 2012).

Plaintiffs' SAC is unlike those in McHenry and Salazar . The background information is short and clearly lays out facts relevant to each claim for relief; no unnecessary or irrelevant information is included. Further, although Plaintiffs reincorporate previous allegations in each new claim, and reallege much of the background in each claim, the allegations are still clear.¹ Plaintiffs allege which defendant each claim applies to and whether Plaintiff A.G. asserts the claim in her individual or representative capacity.

Applying Rule 8's liberal pleading standard, the Court finds Plaintiffs' allegations sufficiently apprise Defendants of the claims and their bases and is far from unintelligible. Moreover, other defendants have already answered the SAC, which tends to refute Defendants' contention that the SAC is too confusing to answer. Thus, Defendants' Motion for a More Definite Statement is DENIED .

b. Plaintiff A.G. May Not Assert Claims for Excessive Force and Denial of Medical Care in her Individual Capacity

Second, Defendants argue that Plaintiff cannot assert her first and second claims for relief—excessive force and denial of medical care, respectfully—in her personal capacity. (Mot. at 6; see SAC ¶¶ 48, 61.) The United States Supreme Court has held that constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 are personal to the individual and may not be asserted by a third party. See Alderman v. United States , 394 U.S. 165, 89 S.Ct. 961, 22 L.Ed.2d 176 (1969) ;...