Graves v. Nye County

District Court, D. Nevada·Decided July 24, 2023·No. 2:20-cv-02359·Unknown

Opinion

DISTRICT OF NEVADA Estate of Nekiylo Dewayne Graves, et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-02359-CDS-DJA

Plaintiffs Order Granting in Part the Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss, Granting in Part v. Plaintiffs’ Motion to Strike, and Ordering Plaintiff to Show Cause Nye County, et al., [ECF Nos. 54, 69, 82] Defendants This is a wrongful-death action brought by Eureka Graves, on behalf of her deceased son, Nekiylo DeWayne Graves, against defendants Nye County, Nye County Deputy Sheriff John Kakavulias, SOC Nevada, and SOC employee Tre’Quis Harris. Nekiylo1 was lethally shot after he led SOC employees and Kakavulias on a car chase through the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) in Mercury, Nevada. The defendants filed two separate motions to dismiss the amended complaint,2 both of which Graves opposes. Graves also moves to strike Nye County and Kakavulias’ reply and their joinder to SOC’s dismissal motion. I grant in part and deny in part Graves’ motion to strike. I also grant both motions to dismiss Graves’ federal claims with prejudice. Finally, I order Graves to show cause why the pendent state-law claims may proceed. I. Background On January 28, 2019, Nekiylo drove up to the main gate of the NNSS to ask where he could get gas. Am. Comp., ECF No. 35 at 2, ¶¶ 46–52. Security guards employed by SOC and contracted by the state of Nevada met him there. Id. They confirmed that his vehicle was low on

1 Throughout this order, I refer to Nekiylo by his first name to distinguish him from his mother Eureka Graves, who is a named plaintiff. 2 The motions to dismiss and the oppositions thereto violate a number of local rules, which I address herein. While the motions could have been stricken based on the various violations, given the age of this case and the motions, I decline to do so at this time. However, counsel is cautioned that any future filings that violate the local rules may be stricken without further notice. gas, instructed him that there were no gas stations close by and that he could not be on the property, and directed him to leave. Id. at ¶ 58. Nekiylo initially complied with the directives and began to reverse away, but then asked, “[w]hat if I don’t?” and drove through the security gate. Id. at ¶ 60. Harris, an SOC employee, pursued Nekiylo in his vehicle. Id. at ¶ 64. Kakavulias, a Nye County Deputy Sheriff, quickly responded to join the chase. Id. at ¶ 68. A high-speed vehicle pursuit ensued for approximately eight miles, and then Nekiylo pulled over and briefly exited his vehicle. Pl.’s Resp., ECF No. 75 at 5; Investigation Report,3 ECF No. 69-4 at 8–9. He stood next to his vehicle, nonresponsive to the officers’ commands, before getting back into his vehicle. ECF No. 69-4 at 9. Kakavulias then fired a single round into the left-rear tire of Nekiylo’s car, but Nekiylo nonetheless restarted his car and attempted to drive farther down the road. ECF No. 35 at ¶¶ 80–83; ECF No. 69-4 at 9. After another minute of vehicular pursuit, Nekiylo pulled over a final time. ECF No. 35 at ¶ 82. Kakavulias and Harris pulled up behind him and took defensive positions behind Kakavulias’s driver-side car door. ECF No. 69-4 at 9; ECF No. 35 at ¶ 84. Nekiylo exited the car and began walking toward Kakavulias and Harris. ECF No. 35 at ¶ 85. There is some dispute as to whether Kakavulias could see Nekiylo’s hands as he ordered Nekiylo to “stop,” show his hands, and get on the ground. Compare ECF No. 35 at ¶ 88 with ECF No. 69-4 at 9. But all parties agree that Nekiylo walked in the officers’ direction and that, when he was within six to eight feet of them, Harris told Kakavulias that Nekiylo was getting “too close.” ECF No. 35 at ¶ 90; ECF No. 54 at 5. When Nekiylo continued toward them, both officers 3 I consider the Nevada Department of Public Safety’s Investigation Report at this stage because it forms the basis of Graves’ complaint and thus may be incorporated therein by reference. While I must accept as true all of the factual allegations contained in the plaintiff’s complaint in deciding motions to dismiss, I may also consider documents incorporated by reference in the complaint without converting the defendants’ motions to dismiss into motions for summary judgment. United States v. Ritchie, 342 F.3d 903, 908 (9th Cir. 2003). A document may be incorporated by reference into a complaint “if the plaintiff refers extensively to the document or the document forms the basis of the plaintiff’s claim.” Id. The defendant may offer such a document, and the court may treat such a document as part of the complaint, and thus may assume that its contents are true for purposes of a motion to dismiss. Id. The complaint refers to the Investigation Report for the purposes of identifying which officers fired their weapons at Nekiylo and his car, and it thus forms the basis of Graves’ claims. ECF No. 35 at ¶ 105. discharged their weapons. ECF No. 35 at ¶ 89, 92. Nekiylo died as a result of the gunshot wounds he sustained. Id. at ¶ 95. On December 31, 2020, Eureka Graves—both as special administrator of Nekiylo’s estate and in her individual capacity—initiated this action. She alleges: (1) an excessive-force claim under the Fourth Amendment against all defendants, brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (2) municipal liability against Nye County for ratification of Kakavulias’s actions; (3) municipal liability against Nye County for inadequate training; (4) an unconstitutional policy, practice, or custom against Nye County and SOC, brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (5) a substantive-due- process violation against all defendants, brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (6) a claim for negligent hiring, retention, and supervision against Nye County and SOC; (7) negligence in the form of a wrongful-death claim against all defendants; (8) battery in the form of a wrongful-death claim against all defendants; (9) a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress against all defendants; and (10) a claim of conspiracy against all defendants. ECF No. 35 at ¶¶ 137–217. Nye County and Kakavulias (the Nye County defendants) move to dismiss Graves’ claims. ECF No. 54. SOC and Harris (the SOC defendants) separately move to dismiss. ECF No. 69. Graves responds to both. ECF Nos. 75, 96. She also moves to strike the Nye County defendants’ reply (ECF No. 81) and their joinder to the SOC defendants’ motion to dismiss (ECF No. 76). ECF No. 82. II. Graves’ motion to strike (ECF No. 82) is granted in part and denied in part. Graves moves to strike the Nye County defendants’ joinder to the SOC defendants’ motion to dismiss, as well as their reply to their own motion to dismiss. She argues that the reply should be stricken because it improperly includes, for the first time, a new argument regarding federal enclaves. ECF No. 82 at 3–4. I agree that raising new argument in reply is improper as it deprives the opposing party with adequate opportunity to respond. Zamani v. Carnes, 491 F.3d 990, 997 (9th Cir. 2007); see also United States ex rel. Giles v. Sardie, 191 F. Supp. 2d 1117, 1127 (C.D. Cal. 2000) (“It is improper for a moving party to introduce new facts or different legal arguments in the reply brief than those presented in the moving papers.”). Normally, I would grant the motion to strike and not consider any new argument raised for the first time in a reply. But this case presents a unique consideration because the improper, new argument challenges subject-matter jurisdiction. Contrary to Graves’ assertion that the SOC defendants’ failur

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