Bresaz v. County of Santa Clara

136 F. Supp. 3d 1125, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134347, 2015 WL 5726470
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedSeptember 30, 2015
DocketCase No. 14-CV-03868-LHK
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 136 F. Supp. 3d 1125 (Bresaz v. County of Santa Clara) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bresaz v. County of Santa Clara, 136 F. Supp. 3d 1125, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134347, 2015 WL 5726470 (N.D. Cal. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART MOTION TO DISMISS AND ORDER CONTINUING CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE

LUCY H. KOH, United States District Judge

. Plaintiffs Laurel Bresaz, Donna Hayes, and Steven Marshall (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) bring this action against the County of Santa Clara, Aldo Groba, Kristin Anderson, Julian Quinonez, Mark Carrasco, Paula McAllister, and Does 4-50 (collectively, “Defendants”). Plaintiffs allege that Defendants violated the. United States Constitution and various federal and state statutes in connection with an incident on December 10,2013, that led to the death of Brandon Marshall (the “Decedent”). Before the Court is Defendants’ motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ Second Amended Complaint. See ECF No. 86 (“Mot.”). The Court finds Defendants’ motion suitable for decision .without oral argument pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7-l(b). Accordingly, the Court VACATES the hearing set for October 1, 2015, at 1:30 p.m. In addition, the Court hereby CONTINUES the Case. Management Conference, currently set for October 1, 2015, at 1:30 p.m. to November [1128]*112818, 2015, at 2:00 p.m. Having considered the parties’ submissions, the relevant law, and the record in this case, the Court hereby GRANTS in part and DENIES in part Defendants’ motion to dismiss.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

Plaintiffs are relatives of the Decedent. Laurel Bresaz (“Bresaz”) is the wife and successor in interest to the Decedent. ECF No. 69 (“SAC”) ¶ 5. Donna Hayes is the mother of the Decedent, and Steven Marshall (“Marshall”) is ihe Decedent’s father. Id. ¶¶ 6-7. Aldo Groba (“Groba”) and Kristin Anderson (“Anderson”) are both deputies employed by the Santa Clara County Sheriffs Office (“SCCSO”), the local sheriffs department for the County of Santa Clara. Id. ¶¶ 9-11; Julian Quinonez (“Qui-nonez”), Marc Carrasco (“Carrasco”), and Paula McAllister (“McAllister”) are detective sergeants employed by the SCCSO. Id. ¶¶ 12-14.

This lawsuit stems from an incident that occurred on December 10, 2013. Id. ¶ 18. Decedent was an employee at Roku, Inc. (“Roku”) in Saratoga, California. Id. Plaintiffs allege that the Decedent “lost touch with reality and began to suffer from delusional beliefs” on December 10, 2013. Id. ¶ 19. Decedent may have been taking prescription medication on this date. Id. ¶ 20.

At some point in the late’ morning or early afternoon óf December 10, 2013, the Decedent entered a conference room in the Roku offices where a meeting was in progress. Id. The Decedent “appeared emotionally distressed and disoriented.” Id. While in the conference room, the Decedent called Marshall and requested that Marshall “pick him up from work' right away because he was having a problem.” Id. One or more Roku employees also called 911 to request help for the Decedent. No Roku employees who witnessed the Decedent’s behavior reported that the Decedent posed a threat of violence or criminal behavior. Id.

The Decedent then left the building and went to the Roku parking lot. Id. ¶ 21. At some point, employees with the Santa Clara County Fire Department arrived on the scene and spoke with the Decedent. Id. According to Fire Department employees, the Decedent appeared “manic.” Id. The Decedent voluntarily agreed to go to the hospital. Id. Subsequently, paramedics arrived on the scene and advised the Decedent that he could have a family member take him to the hospital. Id. ¶ 22. After the Decedent agreed to this proposal, a paramedic called Marshall on the Decedent’s mobile phone. Id. The paramedic told Marshall that the Decedent was not feeling well and needed to be taken to the hospital. Id. Marshall expressed at least twice to the paramedic a desire to take the Decedent to the hospital. Id. ¶¶ 22-23.

Subsequent to the arrival of the parar medics, Deputies Groba and Anderson arrived at the scene. Id. ¶ 24. A paramedic from the Santa Clara Fire Department “approached Anderson and informed her that [the Decedent] was a psychiatric patient, that he was experiencing á medication imbalance, and that he was agitated.” Id. ¶ 25. Plaintiffs allege that Groba and Anderson knew or should have known that “they were responding to a call seeking help for an emotionally distressed individual,” and that the Decedent “was experiencing mental health issues that required specialized medical assistance, procedures, and tactics.” Id. ¶ 28. Plaintiffs also allege that Groba and Anderson knew or should have known that the paramedics and other County personnel were “making arrangements ... to get appropriate medical care for [the Decedent].” Id. ¶ 30.

Anderson, “[d]espite lacking a reasonable belief that [the Decedent] presented any threat of harm to anyone...ap[1129]*1129proached [the Decedent] from behind, when [the Decedent’s] back was to her, and began interacting with [the Decedent].” Id. ¶ 32. This caused the Decedent to become “even more upset and agitated.” Id. ¶ 34. Plaintiffs allege, that, during the Decedent’s interactions with Anderson and the Fire Department crew, “it was readily apparent that he was not perceiving reality accurately and that he was suffering from delusional beliefs.” Id. ¶ 33.

At some point, the Decedent “started to fidget with his keychain, which had keys on one end of the chain and a short, thin, rounded aluminum rod at the other.” Id. ¶ 35. When Anderson asked the Decedent if the Decedent’s keychain was a weapon, the Decedent responded in the affirmative. Id. During this interaction, Deputy “Gro-ba overreacted and moved quickly towards [the Decedent] with his gun drawn,” “possibly causing [the Decedent] to fear for his life.” Id. ¶ 36. The Decedent, possibly in self-defense, swung his keychain at Groba and Anderson. Id. Groba then shot the Decedent in the stomach. Id.

At the time Groba shot the Decedent, Marshall was on the phone with one of the paramedics at the scene. Id. ¶ 39. Marshall heard the gunshot over the phone, and heard the Decedent cry out in pain. Id. Marshall heard the Decedent cry out a second time before the paramedic ended the call. Id.

Either Groba or Anderson, or both deputies, proceeded to restrain the Decedent’s legs with zip ties. Id. ¶ 40. Plaintiffs also claim that Groba and Anderson otherwise “delay[ed] critical medical treatment for the gunshot wound.” Id. Santa Clara County Emergency Medical Services eventually transported the Decedent to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, where Bresaz, Marshall, and Hayes, as well as other members of the Decedent’s family, subsequently arrived. Id. ¶ 42. Plaintiffs were “repeatedly told that staff were stabilizing [the Decedent’s] condition.” Id. However, at approximately 3:45 p.m., on December 10, 2013, a hospital surgeon informed Plaintiffs that the Decedent had died. Id. According to Plaintiffs, after the Decedent’s death, “deputies of the-SCCSO insensitively pressed [the] family for information.” Id. ¶ 44. Some of these conversations, Plaintiffs allege, were secretly recorded. Id.

B. Procedural History

On August 26, 2014, Plaintiffs filed the instant lawsuit in this Court, alleging eleven causes of action under the U.S.

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136 F. Supp. 3d 1125, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134347, 2015 WL 5726470, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bresaz-v-county-of-santa-clara-cand-2015.