Loeber v. United States of America

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedDecember 29, 2022
Docket3:21-cv-03866
StatusUnknown

This text of Loeber v. United States of America (Loeber v. United States of America) 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
Loeber v. United States of America, (N.D. Cal. 2022).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 San Francisco Division 11 DONALD LOEBER and MARIE LOEBER Case No. 21-cv-03866-LB by and through her successor in interest, 12 MICHELLE LOEBER, ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND 13 Plaintiffs, DENYING IN PART MOTIONS TO DISMISS 14 v. Re: ECF No. 54 15 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 16 Defendant. MARC GOLICK and M.G. by and through Case No. 21-cv-03870-LB 17 her guardian ad litem MARC GOLICK,

18 Plaintiffs, Re: ECF No. 61 19 v. 20 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 21 Defendant. 22

23 INTRODUCTION 24 In March 2018, Albert Wong — a combat veteran suffering from severe mental-health issues 25 — shot and killed two therapists, Jennifer Golick and Christine Loeber, at The Pathway Home, a 26 residential-treatment program at the veterans’ home in Yountville, California. In two separate 27 lawsuits, members of their families sued the United States under the Federal Torts Claims Act 1 (FTCA) for failure to report, warn, and protect and negligence.1 In a third lawsuit in state court, 2 the plaintiffs settled with the State of California.2 3 The United States moved in both cases under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) to dismiss 4 the plaintiffs’ claims for damages on the ground that the plaintiffs settled in state court with the 5 State of California, Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 877 prohibits double recovery, and the plaintiffs must 6 plead that their damages exceed the settlement to establish standing and a claim for damages. In 7 Loeber, the parties agree that the United States is the only proper defendant, but the complaint 8 caption identifies other defendants.3 9 The court denies the motion to dismiss the claims for damages. Any issues about whether the 10 plaintiffs were made whole cannot be determined at the pleadings stage. Also, the United States is 11 the only proper defendant. The court dismisses the other federal employees with prejudice and will 12 amend the docket to reflect that only the United States is a defendant. 13 14 STATEMENT 15 Mr. Wong was an “Army combat veteran suffering from severe mental injuries and PTSD.” In 16 April 2017, he became a resident at The Pathway Home. Ms. Golick was the Clinical Director there 17 and Ms. Loeber was the Executive Director. In December 2017, while hospitalized at the San 18 Francisco VA Medical Center for mental-health problems, Mr. Wong allegedly told hospital 19 employees (who are United States employees) that he had firearms. He also “expressed homicidal 20 thoughts” towards Ms. Golick and Ms. Loeber. No one told Ms. Golick or Ms. Loeber about the 21 threats or Mr. Wong’s possession of firearms. Instead, they were told that Mr. Wong “did not pose 22 an immediate threat to himself or others.” No one told local law enforcement about the threats 23 24 25 1 Loeber First Am. Compl. (FAC), No. 21-cv-03866-LB – ECF No. 46; Golick FAC, No. 21-cv-03870- 26 LB – ECF No. 52. Citations refer to material in the Electronic Case File (ECF); pinpoint citations are to the ECF-generated page numbers at the top of documents. 27 2 Loeber Stipulation – ECF No. 43; Golick Stipulation – ECF No. 50. 1 either. After the hospital stay, Mr. Wong bought more firearms, and on March 9, 2018, he shot and 2 killed Ms. Golick and Ms. Loeber at The Pathway Home.4 3 The plaintiffs filed “[a] case arising from these same underlying facts” in Napa County 4 Superior Court. That case “completely settled as to the State of California defendant.”5 5 The Loeber plaintiffs are Ms. Loeber’s surviving father Donald and sister Michelle.6 The 6 Golick plaintiffs are Ms. Golick’s surviving spouse Marc and daughter M.7 In both cases, the 7 plaintiffs sued under the FTCA, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671–80, and they claim failure to report, warn and 8 protect, Cal. Civ. Code § 43.92, and negligence.8 Among other forms of relief, they request 9 “special or economic damages.”9 10 The court has subject-matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b)(1). All parties, including 11 the non-appearing parties, consented to magistrate-judge jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 636.10 The 12 court held a hearing on December 22, 2022. 13 14 STANDARD OF REVIEW 15 1. Subject-Matter Jurisdiction — Rule 12(b)(1) 16 A complaint must contain a short and plain statement of the grounds for the court’s 17 jurisdiction. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(1). The party asserting jurisdiction has the burden of establishing 18 jurisdiction. Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377 (1994); Ass’n of Am. 19 Med. Colls. v. United States, 217 F.3d 770, 778–79 (9th Cir. 2000); Farmers Ins. Exch. v. Portage 20 La Prairie Mut. Ins. Co., 907 F.2d 911, 912 (9th Cir. 1990). 21 A defendant’s Rule 12(b)(1) jurisdictional attack can be facial or factual. White v. Lee, 227 22 23 4 Loeber FAC – ECF No. 46 at 3–6 (¶¶ 6–14); Golick FAC – ECF No. 52 at 2–5 (¶¶ 3, 10–15, 17). 24 5 Loeber Stipulation – ECF No. 43 at 2; Golick Stipulation – ECF No. 50 at 2. 25 6 Loeber FAC – ECF No. 46 at 2 (¶ 3). 26 7 Golick FAC – ECF No. 52 at 1 (¶ 1). 8 Loeber FAC – ECF No. 46 at 6–12 (¶¶ 15–40); Golick FAC – ECF No. 52 at 4–8 (¶¶ 16–34). 27 9 Loeber FAC – ECF No. 46 at 14; Golick FAC – ECF No. 52 at 9. 1 F.3d 1214, 1242 (9th Cir. 2000). “A ‘facial’ attack asserts that a complaint’s allegations are 2 themselves insufficient to invoke jurisdiction, while a ‘factual’ attack asserts that the complaint’s 3 allegations, though adequate on their face to invoke jurisdiction, are untrue.” Courthouse News 4 Serv. v. Planet, 750 F.3d 776, 780 n.3 (9th Cir. 2014). 5 If the defendant mounts a factual attack, it “becomes necessary for the party opposing the 6 motion to present affidavits or any other evidence necessary to satisfy its burden of establishing 7 that the court, in fact, possesses subject matter jurisdiction.” St. Clair v. City of Chico, 880 F.2d 8 199, 201 (9th Cir. 1989). In such cases, “[t]he district court obviously does not abuse its discretion 9 by looking to this extra-pleading material in deciding the issue, even if it becomes necessary to 10 resolve factual disputes.” Id. 11 “In resolving a factual attack on jurisdiction, the district court may review evidence beyond the 12 complaint without converting the motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment.” Safe 13 Air for Everyone v. Meyer, 373 F.3d 1035, 1039 (9th Cir. 2004). The party opposing a motion to 14 dismiss under Rule 12(b)(1) “must furnish affidavits or other evidence necessary to satisfy its 15 burden of establishing subject matter jurisdiction.” Id. 16 Dismissal of a complaint without leave to amend should only be granted where the jurisdictional 17 defect cannot be cured by amendment. Eminence Cap., LLC v. Aspeon, Inc.,

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Bluebook (online)
Loeber v. United States of America, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/loeber-v-united-states-of-america-cand-2022.