Ismail v. County of Orange

917 F. Supp. 2d 1060, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 188834, 2012 WL 7849081
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedOctober 18, 2012
DocketNo. CV11-01751-VBF
StatusPublished
Cited by59 cases

This text of 917 F. Supp. 2d 1060 (Ismail v. County of Orange) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ismail v. County of Orange, 917 F. Supp. 2d 1060, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 188834, 2012 WL 7849081 (C.D. Cal. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS ALL FEDERAL CLAIMS AGAINST COUNTY OF ORANGE AND ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY COSTELLO, AND DECLINING SUPPLEMENTAL JURISDICTION OVER ALL STATE-LAW CLAIMS AGAINST COUNTY OF ORANGE AND ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY COSTELLO

VALERIE BAKER FAIRBANK, District Judge.

Linda Kanter

[1064]*1064Courtroom Deputy

None Present

Court Reporter

For the reasons that follow, the Court finds it appropriate to dismiss all federal-law claims against defendants County of Orange and Orange County District Attorney Elizabeth Costello (collectively “the OC Defendants”) and to decline supplemental jurisdiction over all state-law claims against the OC Defendants.

This is a civil-rights action arising under both federal and state law, and the Court has subject-matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. The plaintiff, Niveen Ismail, filed the original complaint in November 2011 (Doc 1). In March 2012, she filed the first amended complaint, dropping District Attorney Beth Carmichael as a defendant (Doc 4).1 In July 2012, this Court granted the plaintiffs FED. R. CIV. P. 41(a)(1) motion to voluntarily dismiss all claims against defendants Kenneth Gordon and Lisa Gordon in both their official and individual capacities (Docs 51 and 57). On August 3, 2012, the Court dismissed defendant Robert Henry Young upon the joint stipulation of the parties (Docs 59-62).

On August 8, 2012, the plaintiff filed the second amended complaint (“SAC”), which is now her operative pleading, apparently purporting to assert the following federal claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983: illegal search and seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment, false arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, excessive bail in violation of the Eighth Amendment, and “Monell-related claims” against defendant City of Newport Beach and defendant Orange County alone (Doc 65). The SAC also appears to assert state-law claims for false arrest and false imprisonment, and a claim for civil conspiracy to deprive the plaintiff of her federal constitutional rights. See id. On all nine counts the plaintiff seeks punitive damages, along with other relief, see SAC at 20-23, and she demands a jury trial, see id. at 24.

The Court is in receipt of two motions: (1) the Motion to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint filed on September 12, 2012 by the OC Defendants (Doc 71); and (2) the Motion to Dismiss the Second Amended Complaint filed on September 10, 2012 by defendants City of Newport Beach, Newport Beach Police Department, Newport Beach Detective Penny Freeman, and Newport Beach Police Officer Neil Schuster, each in their official and individual capacities (collectively “the Newport Beach Defendants”) (Doc 69). The plaintiff has filed a separate brief opposing each motion, and each group of defendants has filed a reply brief in support of its motion. See Docs 72-75.

On October 9, 2012, this Court issued a order finding that these matters are appropriate for decision without oral argument and vacating the hearing previously scheduled. Today the Court will rule on the OC Defendants’ motion. The Court will rule on the Newport Beach Defendants’ motion in a separate Order.

Background and Procedural History.

In December 2009, plaintiff was charged with felony kidnapping and felony solicitation of the kidnapping of her biological son in violation of Cal.Penal Code §§ 207(a), 653F(a), and 664(a), following an investigation by defendant Newport Beach Police Department which she describes as “faulty.” See SAC ¶¶ 25 and 41. Namely, [1065]*1065plaintiff alleges that if defendant Officer Freeman had conducted a thorough investigation and interrogation of (dismissed defendant) Private Investigator Robert Young, he would have realized that Young was unreliable and untrustworthy. See id. ¶¶ 17 and 21.

The Office of the Orange County District Attorney (“OCDA”) recommended that the state court detain plaintiff without bail; the court set bail at $1 million but reduced it to $150,000 three months later in March 2010. See SAC ¶¶ 25-27. The OCDA prosecuted but a jury acquitted plaintiff of the felony kidnapping charges in Case Number 10-HM-08044 in December 2011. See SAC ¶¶ 25 and 29.

While plaintiff was out on bail in September 2010, the OCDA charged her with several misdemeanors based on a Newport Beach Police Officer’s allegation that plaintiff had violated a restraining order prohibiting her from having contact with her son A.I. See SAC ¶¶ 38-43. Some of the misdemeanor charges were dismissed before trial, and the state court ultimately issued a directed verdict in favor of plaintiff on the other misdemeanor charges in December 2011. See SAC ¶¶ 46-47.

Having been acquitted of all felony and misdemeanor charges, plaintiff now alleges that OCDA Elizabeth Costello violated and conspired to violate her federal civil rights by intentionally and maliciously arranging for plaintiffs arrest and detention, making false statements, fabricating evidence, and withholding exculpatory evidence in connection with the criminal cases against her. See SAC ¶¶ 43-44, 51. According to plaintiff, reasonable people in the position of Orange County, OCDA Costello, and the City of Newport Beach and its police officers, confronted with the same circumstances and evidence they faced, would have known that there was no probable cause to search, arrest, detain, or prosecute the plaintiff. See SAC ¶¶ 36, 50, 58.

Legal Standard: Dismissal Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) for Failure to State a Claim

Both of the OC Defendants seek dismissal of all claims against them pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), which authorizes the court to dismiss a claim for “failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted.” To avoid dismissal, a claim “must provide ‘more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.’ ” In re Rigel Pharms., Inc. Securities Lit., 697 F.3d 869, 875 (9th Cir.2012) (“Rigel”) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). The well-pled factual allegations of the complaint are assumed to be true, see Rigel, 697 F.3d at 872 (citing Zucco Partners, LLC v. Digimarc Corp., 552 F.3d 981, 989 (9th Cir.2009)), and they are construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, see Western Radio Servs. Co. v. Qwest Corp., 678 F.3d 970, 976 (9th Cir.2012) (“Western Radio II”), pet. cert. filed on other grounds, - U.S. -, 133 S.Ct. 758, 184 L.Ed.2d 499 (2012) (No. 12-266). However, the court need not accept as true a legal assertion couched as a factual allegation. See Harris v. County of Orange, 682 F.3d 1126, 1131 (9th Cir.2012) (citing Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009)); see also Papasan v. Allain, 478 U.S. 265

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917 F. Supp. 2d 1060, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 188834, 2012 WL 7849081, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ismail-v-county-of-orange-cacd-2012.