Turner v. County of Washoe

759 F. Supp. 630, 1991 WL 24303
CourtDistrict Court, D. Nevada
DecidedFebruary 20, 1991
DocketCV-S-90-706-PMP (LRL)
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 759 F. Supp. 630 (Turner v. County of Washoe) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Nevada primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Turner v. County of Washoe, 759 F. Supp. 630, 1991 WL 24303 (D. Nev. 1991).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER

PRO, District Judge.

Plaintiff filed a civil rights complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 in which he alleged that the County of Washoe, its sheriff and three of its deputy sheriffs were responsible for violating his civil rights. The complaint also contains numerous pendent state claims. The genesis of this action involves the arrest of Plaintiff, which he alleges was unlawful and during which the deputy officer used excessive force and then denied him adequate medical care. Pending at this time are motions for summary judgment filed by the individual Defendants (# 29) and the County of Washoe (# 30). All parties have retained counsel.

I. FACTS

On June 24, 1986, Washoe County Deputy Sheriff Pepper stopped a vehicle for speeding as it left an area in which a possible burglary had been reported. 1 After waiting for a period of time 2 in the hot sun in a convertible car, Plaintiff exited the stopped car and began to approach the patrol car. Deputy Pepper told Plaintiff to return to his car. After an additional delay, Plaintiff again began approaching the patrol car, at which time Deputy Pepper told Plaintiff to return to his car or he would be arrested. Plaintiff told him to go ahead and arrest him and continued approaching the patrol car. While Plaintiff was being handcuffed, he turned his head to advise Deputy Pepper that he had a bad shoulder and to be careful. At that moment, Plaintiff was thrust onto the hood of the patrol car, and the handcuffing was completed. He was then placed into the back of the patrol car. Because Plaintiff was complaining that his shoulder was feeling “strained” while in transit to the sheriffs headquarters, Deputy Pepper stopped and adjusted the handcuffs so that Plaintiffs hands were in front instead of behind him.

While being booked, Plaintiff complained his shoulder hurt and demanded medical attention. He was taken to the hospital. Because of the apparent hostility between Plaintiff and Deputy Pepper, Defendant Deputy Campbell was called to obtain certain information from Plaintiff needed to complete the police reports. At first, Plaintiff wanted the doctor who had previously operated on his shoulder to conduct the examination, but when told that said individual was not available, the staff proceed *633 ed to treat Plaintiff. X-rays did not disclose any internal damage. Plaintiff was provided with a shoulder sling to immobilize the arm and released with a prescription for medication to relieve any pain. Plaintiff’s wife posted bail that afternoon and he was released. One month short of two years later, 3 Plaintiff underwent surgery to correct ligament and muscular damage to the shoulder which had been injured many years before and “strained” during the arrest.

As a result of the arrest, Defendant Deputy Ryan caused Plaintiff’s concealed firearm permit to be revoked, and the Reno Police Department was notified of the revocation. 4 Defendant Deputy Ryan apparently also had some contact with some of the clients for whom Plaintiff provided security via his private security company.

II. MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Summary judgment is proper “if pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Rule 56, Fed.R. Civ.P. The party moving for summary judgment has the initial burden of showing the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. See Adickes v. S.H. Kress and Co., 398 U.S. 144, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970), and Zoslaw v. MCA Distrib. Corp., 693 F.2d 870, 883 (9th Cir.1982). Once the movant presents evidence which, if uncon-troverted, would entitle the movant to a directed verdict a trial, the burden then shifts to the respondent to set forth specific facts demonstrating that there is a genuine issue for trial. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). If the factual context makes the respondent’s claim implausible, that party must come forward with more persuasive evidence than would otherwise be necessary to show that there is a genuine issue for trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552-53, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1355-56, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); California Arch. Bldg. Prod. v. Franciscan Ceramics, 818 F.2d 1466, 1468 (9th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 1006, 108 S.Ct. 698, 699, 98 L.Ed.2d 650 (1988). A material issue of fact is one that affects the outcome of the litigation and requires a trial to resolve the differing versions of the truth. See Admiralty Fund v. Hugh Johnson & Co., 677 F.2d 1301, 1305-06 (9th Cir.1982).

When faced with a motion for summary judgment, the material before the court “must be viewed in the light most favorable to the [non-moving] party,” Adickes v. S.H. Kress and Co., 398 U.S. at 157, 90 S.Ct. at 1608, and it must appear to a certainty that the plaintiff would not be entitled to relief under any set of facts that could be proven under the allegations of the complaint. Halet v. Wend Investment Co., 672 F.2d 1305 (9th Cir.1982). Furthermore, allegations of a pro se complaint are held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 92 S.Ct. 594, 30 L.Ed.2d 652 (1972) (per curiam). Finally, summary judgment is not a disfavored procedural shortcut, but an integral part of the federal rules as a whole. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, supra.

III. PLAINTIFF’S CLAIMS

A. Unlawful Arrest

Plaintiff contends that Deputy Pepper violated his civil rights by subjecting him to an arrest without probable cause that Plaintiff had committed an arrestable offense. It has long been established law that a police officer who arrests with probable cause is immune from suit in a civil *634 rights action. 5 See Pierson v. Ray, 386 U.S. 547, 87 S.Ct.

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759 F. Supp. 630, 1991 WL 24303, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/turner-v-county-of-washoe-nvd-1991.