Rodriguez v. County of Santa Cruz

District Court, N.D. California·Decided July 20, 2023·No. 4:22-cv-07836·Unknown

Opinion

DAVID JAMES RODRIGUEZ, Case No. 22-cv-07836-JST

Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING MOTIONS TO v. DISMISS

COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ, et al., Re: ECF Nos. 6, 20, 36 Defendants.

Before the Court are motions to dismiss filed by Defendant County of Santa Cruz, ECF No. 6; Defendants Jesus Mendoza and Aron Quolas, ECF No. 20; and Defendant Danita R. Carrillo-Zolck. The Court will grant the motions. I. BACKGROUND1 Pro se Plaintiff David James Rodriguez alleges that he was denied service by a postal clerk on December 11, 2020, for refusing to wear a face mask. Rodriguez asked to speak with a supervisor; while the clerk went to speak with the supervisor, Rodriguez left the post office to retrieve a phone from his car. When Rodriguez returned, Capitola Police officers Jesus Mendoza and Aron Quolas approached him. Video submitted by Rodriguez as an exhibit to his complaint captures the following exchange: [Mendoza:] “Sir, can you grab your stuff and we’re gonna go outside? [Rodriguez:] Yeah. Why? [Mendoza:] Because they don’t want your business here and it’s private property. 1 For the purposes of deciding this motion, the Court accepts as true all allegations set forth in Plaintiff’s operative amended complaint, ECF No. 4, and attached exhibits. Knievel v. ESPN, 393 [Rodriguez:] She didn’t say that. [Mendoza:] The manager just told me. So why don’t you grab your stuff and we’ll go outside. [Rodriguez:] We need to talk to the manager please. [Mendoza:] No, we’re gonna go outside. [Rodriguez:] Why are you asking me to leave this place? [Mendoza:] Because they don’t want your business. [Rodriguez:] Okay. So this is the first time that they said that. [Mendoza:] Okay. [Rodriguez:] Okay, so I gotta mail this document and I’ll be happy to leave. [Mendoza:] You’re not gonna do it here. You have to go somewhere else. [Rodriguez:] What is the problem? [Mendoza:] They don’t want your business. It’s private property. [Rodriguez:] Who said that? [Mendoza:] The manager did. [Rodriguez:] Can I speak to the manager, please? [Mendoza:] No. So, you can go outside or you’ll be arrested for trespassing. [Rodriguez:] Can I talk to the manager? [Mendoza:] No. [Rodriguez:] Where is the lady who left? ECF No. 4 at 16, 00:19-00:58. Rodriguez was subsequently arrested and transported to Santa Cruz County Jail, where he was held for approximately three hours. Rodriguez brings this suit against the County of Santa Cruz, Officers Rodriguez and Quolas, and Postmaster Danita R. Carrillo-Zolck, alleging various constitutional violations and negligence.2 Defendants now move to dismiss. II. JURISDICTION The Court has jurisdiction over Rodriguez’s federal claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and supplemental jurisdiction over his state law claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1367. III. LEGAL STANDARD “Dismissal under [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure] 12(b)(6) is appropriate only where the complaint lacks a cognizable legal theory or sufficient facts to support a cognizable legal theory.” Mendiondo v. Centinela Hosp. Med. Ctr., 521 F.3d 1097, 1104 (9th Cir. 2008). “To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting

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