Wilson v. Hays

228 F. Supp. 3d 1100, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5590, 2017 WL 131817
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. California
DecidedJanuary 13, 2017
DocketCase No. 16-cv-01161-BAS(DHB)
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 228 F. Supp. 3d 1100 (Wilson v. Hays) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wilson v. Hays, 228 F. Supp. 3d 1100, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5590, 2017 WL 131817 (S.D. Cal. 2017).

Opinion

ORDER:

(1) GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANT CITY OF SAN DIEGO’S MOTION TO DISMISS (ECF No. 4); AND

(2) GRANTING DEFENDANT CHRISTOPHER R. HAYS’S MOTION TO DISMISS (ECF No. 14)

Hon. Cynthia Bashant, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Melanie Wilson commenced this action against Defendants Christopher R. Hays and the City of San Diego on May 13, 2016, alleging violations of her civil rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Monell v. Department of Social Services of City of New York, 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). This action arises from an incident in December 2013 where Plaintiff alleges Defendant Hays, a San Diego Police Department Officer at the time, sexually battered her after giving her a ride home and then taunted her for an hour and a half. Defendants separately move to dismiss Plaintiffs claims on the ground that they are time barred by the statute of limitations. (ECF Nos. 4, 14.) Plaintiff opposes. (ECF Nos. 5,15.)

The Court finds these motions suitable for determination on the papers submitted and without oral argument. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 78(b); Civ. L.R. 7.1(d)(1). For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART the City’s motion to dismiss and GRANTS Hays’s motion to dismiss.

I. BACKGROUND1

A. Section 1983 Allegations against Defendant Hays

The San Diego Police Department (“SDPD”) hired Defendant Christopher R. Hays as a sworn police officer in late 2009 or early 2010. (Compl. ¶ 24, ECF No. 1.) On December 23, 2013, at approximately 5:12 a.m., Plaintiff was out collecting items for recycling near the intersection of 50th Street and El Cajon Boulevard in San Diego, California. (Id. ¶ 38.) Earlier that morning, Plaintiff fought with her boyfriend, forgot her glasses, broke her flashlight, and got lost in an unfamiliar part of town. (Id.) Plaintiff admits she had used methamphetamine earlier that morning, but claims she was aware of what was happening around her. (Id.)

At- around the same time she was collecting items for recycling, Plaintiff alleges that Hays—who was on duty in his SDPD uniform and driving a marked patrol car— approached Plaintiff and asked her what she was doing. (Compl. ¶ 38.) Plaintiff replied that she was collecting items for recycling and explained to Hays what had happened to her earlier in the morning. (Id.) Hays offered Plaintiff a courtesy ride home. (Id.) Plaintiff accepted the offer, and Hays drove her to the address where she was staying. (Id.)

[1104]*1104Once they arrived at the address, Plaintiff exited the car, and Hays immediately informed her that he needed to search her. (Compl. ¶ 39.) Plaintiff consented to the search, despite Hays’s lack of probable cause to conduct a search. (Id.) Hays, contrary to SDPD policy and procedure, did not then conduct a quick “pat down.” (Id.) Rather, he allegedly touched Plaintiff “in a continuous motion,” including “touching her breasts and vagina” and “lingering over every part of her body” for approximately three minutes (Id.)

Following the search, Hays remained in the driveway for approximately an hour and a half. (Compl. ¶40.) While in the driveway, Hays made various comments to Plaintiff, including questions about what color underwear she was wearing, racial comments about Plaintiffs Vietnamese boyfriend, and statements about his sexual preferences. (Id.)

Plaintiff alleges that she did not report the incident until she was contacted by SDPD detectives after January 1, 2014, because she feared no one would believe her.2 (Compl. ¶ 40.) On February 9, 2014, the SDPD arrested Hays for crimes committed against various women while Hays was on duty as a police officer. (Id. ¶ 35.) On February 18, 2014, the San Diego County District Attorney filed a criminal complaint against Hays, charging him with felonies and misdemeanors for the alleged crimes committed against Plaintiff and two other women while Hays was on duty. (Id.) Hays subsequently resigned from the SDPD on February 19, 2014. (Id.) On August 22, 2014, Hays pled guilty to one count of false imprisonment and two misdemeanor counts of assault under color of authority. (Id.)

Plaintiff alleges that Hays’s actions on December 28, 2013, constitute a violation of her civil rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. (Compl. ¶ 41.) Plaintiff also alleges that as a result of Hays’s conduct on December 23, 2015, Plaintiff suffered injury, including mental and emotional distress, humiliation, anxiety, and physical pain and suffering. (Id. ¶ 42.)

B. Monell Allegations against the City

Plaintiff further alleges that Hays’s conduct on December 23, 2013, was a direct result of the City’s failure to properly train, screen, examine, supervise, and evaluate its police officers. (Compl. ¶ 46.) Part of the events that form the basis for Plaintiffs second cause of action began in 1994 when the SDPD employed former SDPD Officer Anthony Arevalos. (Id. ¶ 7.)

In 1999, a fellow SDPD officer witnessed Officer Arevalos sexually assault a young woman who was in a fragile mental state. (Compl. ¶ 9.) The officer reported the incident to his supervisors. (Id.) However, rather than report the incident up the [1105]*1105SDPD chain of command, the supervisors destroyed photographs Officer Arevalos had taken during the sexual assault and other evidence of the incident. (Id.) After the 1999 incident, Officer Arevalos continued to target women and sexually assault them while on duty. (Id. ¶¶ 8-9.) Such misconduct included sexually assaulting women, engaging in sexual intercourse and/or oral copulation while in uniform in the back of a patrol car, soliciting sexual favors as bribes, and engaging in other forms of sexual misconduct. (Id. ¶ 8.) In addition, Officer Arevalos bragged about his sexual misconduct and showed photographs he took during the various incidents to fellow police officers and his supervisors. (Id.) In at least four incidents of sexual misconduct by Officer Arevalos, the victims came forward and reported the incident to the SDPD and its supervisory officials. (Id. ¶¶ 11-14.) Despite these reports from four different victims, the SDPD never punished or disciplined Officer Arevalos. (Id.)

In addition, during part of the time Officers Arevalos and Hays were assaulting women, Plaintiff alleges that former SDPD Officer Kevin Hychko was also assaulting and battering women under color of authority. (Compl. ¶ 15.) Officer Hychko would perform traffic stops on attractive female drivers without probable cause or reasonable suspicion and without properly notifying dispatch of such stops. (Id.) Officer Hychko also targeted victims of domestic violence because their vulnerability allowed him to make sexual advances toward them more easily. (Id.)

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228 F. Supp. 3d 1100, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5590, 2017 WL 131817, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wilson-v-hays-casd-2017.