PAULOS VS. FCH1, LLC

2020 NV 2
CourtNevada Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 30, 2020
Docket74912
StatusPublished

This text of 2020 NV 2 (PAULOS VS. FCH1, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nevada Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
PAULOS VS. FCH1, LLC, 2020 NV 2 (Neb. 2020).

Opinion

136 Nev., Advance Opinion 2- IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA

CRISTINA PAULOS, No. 74912 Appellant, vs. FCH1, LLC, A NEVADA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY; LAS VEGAS FILED METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT, A GOVERNMENT JAN 3 0 2M, ENTITY; JEANNIE HOUSTON; AN INDIVIDUAL; AND AARON BACA, AN INDIVIDUAL, Respondents.

Appeal from a district court summary judgment in a tort action. Eighth Judicial District Court, Clark County; Rob Bare, Judge. Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.

Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie LLP and Abraham G. Smith and Daniel F. Polsenberg; Blut Law Group, APC, and Elliot S. Blut, Las Vegas, for Appellant.

Marquis Aurbach Coifing and Craig R. Anderson and Kathleen A. Wilde, Las Vegas, for Respondents Aaron Baca and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

Brandon Smerber Law Firm and Justin W. Smerber and Lewis W. Brandon, Jr., Las Vegas, for Respondents FCH1, LLC, and Jeannie Houston.

BEFORE THE COURT EN BANC.

SUPREME COURT OF NevADA

(0) I947A /0- b[41 tetr OPINION

By the Court, HARDESTY, J.: In this appeal, we consider the preclusive effect of a qualified- immunity decision where the federal district court's judgment addressed both prongs of the qualified-immunity inquiry but the federal appellate court addressed only one prong to affirm the judgment. To determine the preclusive effect of the federal court judgment, we look to federal common law, which applies the reasoning set forth in the Restatement (Second) of Judgments section 27 comment o (1982) to resolve similar issue preclusion questions. The Restatement provides that when a judgment in the first court resolves two issues, either of which is sufficient to support the result, the judgment is not preclusive for both issues when the appellate court only relies on one issue to affirm the judgment. Rather, issue preclusion attaches only to the issue answered by the appellate court, not to the issue on which the appellate court was silent. Applying the federal common law here, we conclude that because the federal district court judgment was affirmed only on the ground that the law was not clearly established, the finding that the officer's behavior was reasonable such that he did not violate a constitutional right has no preclusive effect. Therefore, we hold the Nevada district court erred in finding that issue preclusion applied to the question of whether the officer's conduct was unreasonable, and we reverse the district court's summary judgment in favor of respondent Officer Aaron Baca. We affirm the district court's summary judgment in favor of respondent Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) because it was entitled to discretionary immunity. Further, we reverse the district court's grant of summary judgment to respondents FCH1, LLC, and Jeannie Houston

2 because the district court provided no factual findings or basis for its conclusion. I. In August 2011, appellant Cristina Paulos experienced a mental health episode while driving in front of the Palms Resort and Casino in Las Vegas that led her to cause two car accidents. After the collisions, Paulos left her car and tried to enter the drivefs side of the second car she had hit, whose owner was still in the driver's seat. Officer Baca arrived at the scene of the accidents and was informed that Paulos was attempting to steal the second vehicle. Officer Baca approached Paulos, and she walked away from him. Officer Baca then ordered Paulos to stop, and she turned around and lunged at him in an attempt to grab his weapon. Officer Baca pushed Paulos away and attempted to arrest Paulos in a standing position. Paulos resisted and began yelling incoherently. Officer Baca took her to the ground and attempted to arrest her on the hot asphalt. On the ground, Paulos continued to resist the arrest. Officer Baca called on respondent Houston, a security guard at the Palms, for assistance. The parties do not contest, and the district court accepted, that Paulos stayed on the ground for at most two minutes and forty seconds after additional officers arrived on scene. The arriving backup officers took Paulos off the asphalt and onto a grassy area. Other LVMPD officers impounded Paulos's vehicle and cited Paulos for driving while intoxicated. Paulos continued yelling and screaming at the officers. Paulos was taken to a hospital, where doctors determined she suffered from second- and third- degree burns. In August 2012, Paulos filed suit in state court. In her complaint and amended complaints, Paulos asserted claims of negligence

3 (0) 1447A 411#. and false imprisonment against FCH11 and Houston; a claim of negligence against Officer Baca and other LVMPD officers (the LVMPD defendants); a claim of negligent hiring, training, and supervision against LVMPD; a claim of excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2012) against the LVMPD defendants; and a claim of failure to train, direct, or supervise against LVMPD under Monell v. Department of Social Services of City of New York, 436 U.S. 658, 694-95 (1978). The defendants removed the case to federal district court and moved for summary judgment on the claims against them. In federal district court, Judge James C. Mahan concluded that Officer Baca was entitled to qualified immunity because he did not violate a clearly established constitutional right. Paulos v. FCI-I1, LLC, No. 2:13- CV-1546 JCM (PAL), 2015 WL 1119972, at *9-12 (D. Nev. Mar. 12, 2015). First, he concluded that Officer Baca had not used excessive force because his "use of minimal force in restraining [Paulos] was appropriate considering the objective threat she posed and her undeniable attempt to resist arrest." Id. at *9. Second, Judge Mahan concluded that "there is no clearly established right against being restrained on hot asphalt for a brief period of time." Id. at *11. Nor did Judge Mahan find Officer Baca's conduct "so patently violative of [a] constitutional right" as to show that he should have known that restraining Paulos in that manner was unconstitutional. Id. at *12 (alteration in original) (quoting Boyd v. Benton Cty., 374 F.3d 773, 783 (9th Cir. 2004)). Judge Mahan further held that because neither Officer Baca nor the other LVMPD officers had violated Paulos's constitutional rights, LVMPD could not be liable under Monell. Icl. Having granted

1FCH1 is the name of the limited liability company for the Palms Resort and Casino. SUPREME COURT OF NEVADA 4 (0, 1947A 44a#, summary judgment to LVMPD and the LVMPD defendants on the two federal claims, Judge Mahan declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state law claims and dismissed them without prejudice. Id. at *3. Paulos appealed Judge Mahan's order to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Paulos v. FCH1, LLC, 685 F. App'x 581 (9th Cir. 2017). The Ninth Circuit affirmed in an unpublished order, holding that Paulos had not overcome Officer Baca's assertion of qualified immunity. Id. at 582. Noting the two-prong showing for overcoming qualified immunity—that (1) the officers violated a constitutional right and (2) the right was clearly established—the Ninth Circuit used its discretion to only answer prong two, concluding "[n] o decision from the Supreme Court or this Circuit clearly establishes that keeping a suspect on hot asphalt for approximately two minutes and forty seconds after backup officers arrive on the scene constitutes excessive force when the suspect does not inform the officers that the pavement is hurting her." Id.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs.
436 U.S. 658 (Supreme Court, 1978)
Berkovitz v. United States
486 U.S. 531 (Supreme Court, 1988)
United States v. Gaubert
499 U.S. 315 (Supreme Court, 1991)
Taylor v. Sturgell
553 U.S. 880 (Supreme Court, 2008)
Pearson v. Callahan
555 U.S. 223 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Fairbrook Leasing, Inc. v. Mesaba Aviation, Inc.
519 F.3d 421 (Eighth Circuit, 2008)
Old Aztec Mine, Inc. v. Brown
623 P.2d 981 (Nevada Supreme Court, 1981)
Herrera v. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
298 F. Supp. 2d 1043 (D. Nevada, 2004)
Perrin v. Gentner
177 F. Supp. 2d 1115 (D. Nevada, 2001)
Martinez v. Maruszczak
168 P.3d 720 (Nevada Supreme Court, 2007)
Wood v. Safeway, Inc.
121 P.3d 1026 (Nevada Supreme Court, 2005)
Neal-Lomax v. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
371 F. App'x 752 (Ninth Circuit, 2010)
Cristina Paulos v. Las Vegas Metro. Police Dept.
685 F. App'x 581 (Ninth Circuit, 2017)
Grosjean v. Imperial Palace, Inc.
212 P.3d 1068 (Nevada Supreme Court, 2009)
Garcia v. Prudential Insurance Co. of America
293 P.3d 869 (Nevada Supreme Court, 2013)
Paulo v. Holder
669 F.3d 911 (Eighth Circuit, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2020 NV 2, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/paulos-vs-fch1-llc-nev-2020.