Tekoh v. County of Los Angeles

270 F. Supp. 3d 1163
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedAugust 31, 2017
DocketCV 16-7297-GW (SKx)
StatusPublished

This text of 270 F. Supp. 3d 1163 (Tekoh v. County of Los Angeles) 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
Tekoh v. County of Los Angeles, 270 F. Supp. 3d 1163 (C.D. Cal. 2017).

Opinion

PROCEEDINGS: IN CHAMBERS—FINAL DECISION ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE SUMMARY ADJUDICATION [40]

GEORGE H. WU, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

The Court’s Final Decision on Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment, or in the Alternative, Summary Adjudication [40] is attached hereto.'

Ruling on Motion for Summary Judgment

[1167]*1167I. Background

Plaintiff Terence B. Tekoh (“Tekoh” or “Plaintiff’) sues two Los Angeles Sheriffs Department (“LASD”) sergeants: Carlos Vega (“Vega”) and Dennis Stangeland (“Stangeland”) for violations of his civil rights.1 See generally First Amended Complaint, Docket No. 37. Plaintiff asserts two- claims of violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. First, Plaintiff alleges that Vega deprived him of his rights under the U.S. Constitution by: (1) arresting him without probable cause in violation of the Fourth Amendment; (2) subjecting him to coercive custodial interrogation and generating an involuntary and false confession in violation of the Fifth Amendment;' and (3) fabricating evidence to cause Plaintiff to be maliciously prosecuted in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Id. ¶ 47. Second, Plaintiff asserts that Stangeland violated Plaintiffs constitutional rights by (among other things): (1) working in concert with Vega, subjecting Plaintiff to coercive interrogation and generating a false confession, which caused Plaintiff to be prosecuted- in violation of the Fifth Amendment; (2) authorizing Vega to arrest Plaintiff without probable cause in violation of the Fourth Amendment; and (3) filing a false,' misleading, and incomplete police report. Id. ¶48.

Defendants now move for summary judgment or, in the alternative, partial summary judgment. See generally Defendants’ First Amended Motion for Summary Judgment (“Motion”) and concomitant evidentiary materials, Docket No. 42; Plaintiffs Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (“Opp’n”), Docket No. 45, and concomitant evidentiary materials, Docket Nos. 46-50; Defendants’ Reply to Plaintiffs Opposition (“Reply”), Docket No. 55; Defendants’ Response and Objections to Plaintiffs Statement of Genuine Disputes (“DRO”), Docket No. 56; and Defendants’ Request for Evidentiary Ruling on Specified Objections, Docket No. 57.

II. Legal Standard As To Summary Judgments

Under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a party may move for summary judgment, identifying each claim or defense—or the part of each claim or defense—on which summary judgment is sought, and the court shall grant it when the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits/declarations show that “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); see also Miranda v. City of Cornelius, 429 F.3d 868, 860 n.1 (9th Cir. 2005). As to materiality, “[o]nly disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A dispute as to a material fact is “genuine” if there is sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to return a verdict for the non-moving party. Id.

To satisfy its burden at summary judgment, a moving party with the'burden of persuasion must establish “beyond controversy every essential element of its [claim or defense].” S. Cal. Gas Co. v. City of Santa Ana, 336 F.3d 885, 888 (9th Cir. 2003); O’Connell & Stevenson, Rutter Group Prac. Guide: Fed. Civ. Proc. Before Trial (“Federal Practice Guide”) § 14:126 (2016); cf. Robi v. Five Platters, Inc. 918 F.2d 1439, 1441-42 (9th Cir. 1990) (noting summary judgment is a proper way to [1168]*1168establish affirmative defenses, including issue preclusion) (citations omitted). By contrast, a moving party without the burden of persuasion “must either produce evidence negating an essential element of the nonmoving party’s claim or defense or show that the nonmoving party does not have enough evidence of an essential element to carry its ultimate burden of persuasion at trial.” Nissan Fire & Marine Ins. Co., Ltd. v. Fritz Cos., Inc., 210 F.3d 1099, 1102 (9th Cir. 2000); see also Devereaux v. Abbey, 263 F.3d 1070, 1076 (9th Cir. 2001) (en banc) (“When the nonmoving party has the burden of proof at trial; the moving, party need only point out ‘that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party’s case.’ ”) (quoting Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986), and citing Fairbank v. Wunderman Cato Johnson, 212 F.3d 528, 532 (9th Cir. 2000) (holding that the Celotex “showing” can be made by “pointing out through argument ... the absence of evidence to support plaintiffs claim”)).

If the party moving for summary judgment meets its initial burden of identifying for the court the portions- of the materials on file that it believes demonstrate the absence of any genuine issue of material fact, the nonmoving party may not rely on the mere allegations in the pleadings in order to preclude summary judgment!, but instead] must set forth, by affidavit or as otherwise provided in Rule 56, specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.

T.W. Elec. Serv., Inc., v. Pac. Elec. Contractors Ass’n, 809 F.2d 626, 630 (9th Cir. 1987) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted) (citing, among other cases, Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548).

“A non-movant’s bald assertions or a mere scintilla of evidence in his favor are both insufficient to withstand summary judgment.” See FTC v. Stefanchik, 559 F.3d 924, 929 (9th Cir. 2009). In addition, the evidence presented by the parties must be admissible. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e). Conclusory, speculative testimony in affidavits and moving papers is insufficient to raise genuine issues of fact and defeat summary judgment. See Thornhill Publ’g Co., Inc. v. GTE Corp., 594 F.2d 730, 738 (9th Cir. 1979). Relatedly, “[a]ny objections to declarations or other evidence must be made at or (preferably) before the hearing, and should be ruled upon by the court before ruling on the motion itself.” Federal Practice Guide § 14:333 (citing Hollingsworth Solderless Terminal Co. v. Turley, 622 F.2d 1324, 1335 n.9 (9th Cir. 1980); Sigler v. American Honda Motor Co., 532 F.3d 469, 480 (6th Cir. 2008)). In judging evidence at the summary judgment stage, however, courts do not make credibility determinations or weigh conflicting evidence, and must view all evidence and draw all inferences in the light most favorable to ,the non-moving party.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
270 F. Supp. 3d 1163, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tekoh-v-county-of-los-angeles-cacd-2017.