Updike v. City of Gresham

99 F. Supp. 3d 1279, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36628, 2015 WL 1311666
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedMarch 24, 2015
DocketCase No. 3:13-cv-01619-SI
StatusPublished

This text of 99 F. Supp. 3d 1279 (Updike v. City of Gresham) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Updike v. City of Gresham, 99 F. Supp. 3d 1279, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36628, 2015 WL 1311666 (D. Or. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

MICHAEL H. SIMON, District Judge.

Plaintiff, David Updike (“Updike” or “Plaintiff’), maintains this action against Defendant Multnomah County (the “County”), final judgments having been entered as to Plaintiffs claims against the City of Gresham and State of Oregon. Updike alleges violations of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973' (“Rehabilitation Act”)1 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).2 Additionally, Updike brings state law claims for negligence and false arrest. Before the Court is the County’s Motion for Summary Judgment. For the reasons discussed below, the County’s motion is granted.

STANDARDS

A party is entitled to summary judgment if the “movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). The moving party has the burden of establish[1286]*1286ing the absence of a genuine dispute of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-movant and draw all reasonable inferences in the non-movant’s favor. Clicks Billiards Inc. v. Sixshooters Inc., 251 F.3d 1252, 1257 (9th Cir.2001). Although “[c]redibility determinations, the weighing of the evidence, and the drawing of legitimate inferences from the facts are jury functions, not those of a judge ... ruling on a motion for summary judgment,” the “mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the plaintiffs position [is] insufficient....” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). “Where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party, there is no genuine issue for trial.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (quotations and citation omitted). •

BACKGROUND

On January 14, 2013, Plaintiff was arrested at his home by officers of the Gresham, Oregon police department. Plaintiff was booked at the Multnomah County Detention Center in the Justice Center and later transferred to the Multnomah County Inverness Jail (the “Jail”), where Plaintiff was held for arraignment the next day. On January 15, 2013, Plaintiff appeared for arraignment by video conference before Multnomah County Circuit Judge Kathleen Dailey. No American Sign Language (“ASL”) interpreter was present. When Judge Dailey learned that Plaintiff was deaf,- she postponed Plaintiffs arraignment to the following day when an ASL interpreter would be available. As a result of this delay, Plaintiff was held overnight at .the Jail. On January 16, 2013, Plaintiff again appeared for arraignment, and an ASL interpreter was provided for him. Plaintiff was arraigned and released that day.3

DISCUSSION

A. Plaintiffs Claims under the ADA and Rehabilitation Act

Plaintiff brings claims under the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act, seeking both monetary damages and equitable relief. Plaintiff alleges that the County failed to provide him with an ASL interpreter or other auxiliary aids both during his confinement in the Jail and during his interactions with the County’s pretrial release services staff. The County responds that Plaintiff fails to show any genuine disputes of material fact that the County intentionally violated either the ADA or the Rehabilitation Act. The County further argues that even if Plaintiff were able to present an issue of disputed fact, Plaintiffs claims are barred on the basis of judicial immunity, because any harm suffered by Plaintiff was solely the result of Judge Dailey’s actions.

1. Standing to Seek Equitable Relief under the ADA and Rehabilitation Act

“[Standing is an essential and unchanging part of the case-or-controversy requirement of Article III.” Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992). Accordingly, both the Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit have held that whether or not either party raises the issue, “federal courts are required sua sponte to examine jurisdictional issues such as standing.” D’Lil v. Best W. Encina Lodge & Suites, 538 F.3d 1031, 1035 (9th Cir.2008) (quoting [1287]*1287Bernhardt v. County of Los Angeles, 279 F.3d 862, 868 (9th Cir.2002)) (emphasis added); see also United States v. Hays, 515 U.S. 737, 742, 115 S.Ct. 2431, 132 L.Ed.2d 635 (1995). Therefore, although neither Updike nor the County addressed in their briefs the issue of Plaintiffs standing to seek equitable relief, the Court has “both the power and duty to raise the adequacy of [plaintiffs] standing sua sponte.” Bernhardt, 279 F.3d at 868.

To invoke the jurisdiction of the federal courts, a disabled person claiming discrimination under the ADA or the Rehabilitation Act “must satisfy the case or controversy requirements of Article III by demonstrating his standing to sue at each stage of the litigation.” Chapman v. Pier 1 Imports (U.S.) Inc., 631 F.3d 939, 946 (9th Cir.2011). Standing is the “personal interest that must exist at the commencement of the litigation.” Friends of the Earth, Inc. v. Laidlaw Envtl. Servs, Inc., 528 U.S. 167, 189, 120 S.Ct. 693, 145 L.Ed.2d 610 (2000). Moreover, the requisite personal interest that must exist at the commencement of a case must continue throughout its existence. Id. The personal interest that constitutes standing consists of three elements: (1) an injury in fact, i.e., an invasion of a legally protected interest that is concrete and particularized, as well as actual or imminent; (2) a causal connection between the injury-in-fact and the defendant’s challenged behavior; and (3) likelihood that the injury-in-fact will be redressed by a favorable ruling. Id. at 181-82, 120 S.Ct. 693.

When a plaintiff seeks equitable relief, he cannot establish an injury in fact simply by showing that he has suffered some harm in the past. Rather, he must demonstrate a “real and immediate threat of repeated injury.” O’Shea v. Littleton, 414 U.S. 488, 496-97, 94 S.Ct.

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Bluebook (online)
99 F. Supp. 3d 1279, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 36628, 2015 WL 1311666, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/updike-v-city-of-gresham-ord-2015.