Loescher v. County of Plumas

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedSeptember 13, 2024
Docket2:19-cv-01984
StatusUnknown

This text of Loescher v. County of Plumas (Loescher v. County of Plumas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Loescher v. County of Plumas, (E.D. Cal. 2024).

Opinion

6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

9 LYNNE LOESCHER, No. 2:19-cv-01984-DJC-CSK

10 Plaintiff, v.

11 ORDER MACLOUD LUNTEY and DOES 1–50,

12 Defendants.

15 Defendant, a California Highway Patrol officer, moves for summary judgment as

16 to Plaintiff’s sole claim against him for violations of her civil rights under the Fourth,

17 Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments stemming from her arrest for driving while

18 under the influence. Defendant argues that Plaintiff’s civil rights were not violated

19 because reasonable suspicion existed for the stop of Plaintiff’s vehicle for committing

20 traffic infractions and the attendant detention of Plaintiff while Defendant investigated

21 whether Plaintiff was driving under the influence, and that probable cause existed for

22 the arrest of Plaint iff for driving under the influence. Notably, Defendant points to a 23 video of the traffic stop which he argues establishes Plaintiff was weaving in her lane 24 and touching or crossing the double yellow line on the highway for approximately two 25 minutes before she was pulled over, supporting Defendant’s reasonable suspicion. 26 Having considered the Parties’ briefings and arguments, the Court finds that the 27 video does not clearly demonstrate Plaintiff was committing traffic infractions. 28 Accordingly, the Court will DENY summary judgment as to Plaintiff’s Fourth 1 Amendment claim. However, as discussed at the hearing, Plaintiff has failed to

2 adequately plead Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment claims against Defendant.

3 Accordingly, the Court will GRANT summary judgment on Plaintiff’s Eighth and

4 Fourteenth Amendment claims.

5 BACKGROUND

6 On August 30, 2018, Defendant Officer MaCloud Luntey (“Officer Luntey”) of

7 the California Highway Patrol (“CHP”) was on duty patrolling Highway 89.

8 (Defendant’s Statement of Undisputed Facts (“Def.’s SOF”) (ECF No. 62-4) ¶ 1.) Officer

9 Luntey began following Plaintiff Lynne Loescher’s vehicle and states he saw Plaintiff’s

10 vehicle weave to touch or cross the highway’s double yellow line on multiple

11 occasions over a two-minute period. (Id. ¶¶ 2–3; Walter Decl., Ex. A (“MVARS1 Video”)

12 (ECF No. 67-2) at 00:01–02:00.) Officer Luntey pulled Plaintiff over based on her

13 pattern of driving. (Def.’s SOF ¶ 4.)

14 Once Plaintiff pulled over, Officer Luntey approached her vehicle, and began

15 interviewing her at approximately 8:22 P.M. (Luntey Dep. (ECF No. 59-3) at 28:16–18,

16 31:4–33:8.) Officer Luntey smelled the odor of alcohol as Plaintiff was speaking with

17 him. (Def.’s SOF ¶ 5.) Officer Luntey also noticed that Plaintiff’s eyes appeared red

18 and watery, and that her speech sounded slurred. (Id. ¶ 6.) After informing Plaintiff

19 why he pulled her over, Officer Luntey asked Plaintiff to step outside her vehicle to

20 conduct a driving under the influence investigation. (Luntey Dep. at 33:6–8.)

21 Officer Luntey performed three field sobriety tests once Plaintiff stepped out of

22 her vehicle: a Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test, a Modified Romberg’s test, and a

23 Preliminary Alcohol Screening test. (Def.’s SOF ¶ 7.) The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus

24 test revealed that Plaintiff’s eyes lacked smooth pursuit, and Officer Luntey noticed

25 distinct and sustained nystagmus, or an involuntary ticking of the eye, at maximum 26 27

28 1 MVARS stands for Mobile Video Audio Recording System. 1 deviation, both of which are signs of impairment.2 (Id. ¶ 8.) The Modified Romberg’s

2 test involves the subject tilting their head backwards, closing their eyes, and then

3 estimating when 30 seconds has passed before telling the officer to stop. (Luntey

4 Dep. at 40:9–13.) When Officer Luntey performed this test, Plaintiff underestimated

5 the time by 5 seconds, which he considered to be reasonably close. (Def.’s SOF ¶ 9;

6 Luntey Dep. at 40:17–41:1.) Finally, Officer Luntey performed three Preliminary

7 Alcohol Screening tests using a hand-held testing device which read Plaintiff’s blood

8 alcohol content as either .077 or .078. (Def.’s SOF ¶ 11.) Based on the totality of

9 Plaintiff’s performances on the field sobriety tests, and Officer Luntey’s observations of

10 Plaintiff, Officer Luntey arrested Plaintiff for driving under the influence. (Id. ¶ 12.)

11 While speaking to Officer Luntey, Plaintiff admitted she had had at least one

12 alcoholic drink, but told Officer Luntey she may have had two because the drink she

13 consumed was larger than a standard drink. (Id. ¶¶ 13–14.) Plaintiff also admitted to

14 taking several prescription medications earlier in the day. (Id. ¶ 15.) One of these

15 medications was Effexor, which Plaintiff testified she typically does not mix with

16 alcoholic beverages because it affects her ability to tell the effects of alcohol on her.

17 (Loescher Dep. (ECF No. 59-2) at 32:6–20.)

18 Following her arrest, Officer Luntey drove Plaintiff to a CHP office where she

19 underwent two breathalyzer tests which both revealed that Plaintiff’s blood

20 concentration levels were .05. (Def.’s SOF ¶ 16; Luntey Dep. at 61:5–19, 63:7–9, 64:4–

21 65:14.) Officer Luntey conferred with his supervisor following the results of these

22 tests. (Luntey Dep. at 66:8–68:9.) Based on Officer Luntey’s observations of Plaintiff’s

23 driving and her performance on the field sobriety tests, Officer Luntey determined

25 26

27 2 Plaintiff told Officer Luntey that she has Horner’s Syndrome, which causes her pupils to be unequal and affected by the nerves in her eyes. (Plaintiff’s Statement of Undisputed Facts (“Pl.’s SOF”) (ECF No. 28 67-1) ¶ 5.) 1 that Plaintiff had been driving under the influence and arrested her for violating

2 California Vehicle Code § 23152(a).3 (Def.’s SOF ¶ 17.)

3 Officer Luntey drove Plaintiff to the Plumas County Jail (“Jail”) and released her

4 to the custody of the Plumas County Sheriff. (Luntey Dep. at 65:8–66:11, 68:10–24.)

5 Plaintiff spent the night in a holding cell at the Jail and was released at 6:30 am on

6 August 31, 2018. (Loescher Dep. at 41:5–42:5). Plaintiff was not prosecuted for

7 violating section 23152. (Loescher Dep. at 51:4–18).

8 Plaintiff filed her operative Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”) on October

9 30, 2020, against Defendants the County of Plumas, Sheriff Greg Hagwood, Officer

10 Luntey, and Does 1–50 (“Doe Defendants”). (ECF No. 35.) The SAC alleges two

11 causes of action: (1) violations of Plaintiff’s civil rights related to her arrest and

12 detention at the Jail under the Fourth Amendment, Eighth Amendment, and

13 Fourteenth Amendment against Sheriff Hagwood and Officer Luntey, and

14 (2) municipal liability under Monell v. Department of Social Services of New York, 436

15 U.S. 658 (1978) against the County of Plumas. (Id.) On January 14, 2022, the Court

16 dismissed all claims against the County of Plumas and Sheriff Hagwood. (ECF No. 47.)

17 Thus, the only remaining defendants are Officer Luntey and the Doe Defendants.

18 Officer Luntey moved for summary judgment on May 7, 2024. (Mot. Summ. J.

19 (“MSJ”) (ECF No. 59).) The Court held a hearing on August 22, 2024, with James

20 Walter appearing for Officer Luntey, and Larry Baumbach appearing for Plaintiff. The

21 Court dismissed Plaintiff’s Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment claims and ordered

22 Plaintiff’s remaining Fourth Amendment claim be submitted. (ECF No. 69.)

23 SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

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Loescher v. County of Plumas, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/loescher-v-county-of-plumas-caed-2024.