Bealer v. Warden of K.V.S.P. et al

Filing 124

ORDER ADOPTING 94 FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS; ORDER Denying Defendants' 48 Motion for Summary Judgment; ORDER Denying Plaintiff's 59 Motion in Limine signed by District Judge Dale A. Drozd on 03/07/2016. (Flores, E)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ANTWOINE BEALER,

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No. 1:12-cv-01516-DAD-EPG

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER ADOPTING FINDINGS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

R. BRANNUM et al.,
(Doc. No. 94)
Defendants.

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ORDER DENYING DEFENDANTS‟
MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

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(Doc. No. 48)

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ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF‟S MOTION
IN LIMINE

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(Doc. No. 59)

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Plaintiff Antwoine Bealer is a state prisoner proceeding pro se with this civil rights action

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pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The matter was referred to a United States magistrate judge

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pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 302.

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On September 16, 2015, the assigned magistrate judge filed findings and

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recommendations, recommending that defendants‟ motion for summary judgment (Doc. No. 48)

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and plaintiff‟s motion in limine (Doc. No. 59) be denied. (Doc. No. 94.) On October 16, 2015,

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defendants filed objections to those findings and recommendations. (Doc. No. 105.) On October
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29, 2015, Plaintiff filed a reply to defendants‟ objections. (Doc. No. 106.)

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In accordance with the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636 (b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 304, this

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Court has conducted a de novo review of this case. Having carefully reviewed the entire file,

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including defendants‟ objections and plaintiff‟s reply to the objections, the court finds the

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findings and recommendations to be supported by the record and proper analysis.

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In particular, the court agrees with the magistrate judge‟s conclusion that plaintiff‟s Eighth

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Amendment excessive use of force claims are not barred by the holding in Heck v. Humphrey,

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512 U.S. 477, 486–87 (1994), because plaintiff‟s claims do not necessarily imply the invalidity of

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plaintiff‟s prison disciplinary conviction for violating § 3005(d)(1) of the California Code of

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Regulations in connection with the incident in question. That provision states, in pertinent part:

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“Inmates shall not willfully commit or assist another person in the commission of an assault or

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battery to any person or persons, nor attempt or threaten the use of force or violence upon another

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person.” Cal. Code Regs. tit. 15, § 3005(d)(1).

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In the instant action, for plaintiff to succeed on his excessive use of force claims, he will

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need to prove that defendants Brannum and Rios unnecessarily and wantonly inflicted pain on

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him while escorting him to his placement in administrative segregation. Whitley v. Albers, 475

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U.S. 312, 320 (1986). Several factors are relevant to determine whether defendants‟ use of force

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violated plaintiff‟s rights under the Eighth Amendment, including (1) the need for force, (2) the

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relationship between the need for force and the amount of force used, (3) the extent of the injury

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inflicted, (4) the extent of the threat the officers reasonably perceived the plaintiff posed to staff

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and inmates, and (5) any efforts to temper the severity of a forceful response. Id. at 321.

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Based on the parties‟ contentions, a reasonable factfinder could conclude both that the

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plaintiff‟s conduct violated § 3005(d)(1), and that defendants used excessive force in response to

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plaintiff‟s conduct.1 Such a finding would not necessarily imply the invalidity of plaintiff‟s

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conviction under § 3005(d)(1). See Cunningham v. Gates, 312 F.3d 1148, 1153–54 (9th Cir.

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2002) (noting a § 1983 claim is Heck-barred if “plaintiff could prevail only by negating „an

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As noted by the assigned magistrate judge in the findings and recommendations, in this case
“[t]he factual context in which the force was used is disputed.” (Doc. No. 94 at 11 & 16.)
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element of the offense of which he has been convicted.‟”) (quoting Heck, 512 U.S. at 487 n.6).

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Although plaintiff‟s conduct and defendants‟ alleged excessive use of force arise out of the same

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incident, two separate factual predicates exist: the first giving rise to plaintiff‟s disciplinary

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conviction and the second giving rise to defendants‟ potential civil liability. See Hooper v.

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County of San Diego, 629 F.3d 1127, 1132 (9th Cir. 2011) (“Though occurring in one continuous

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chain of events, two isolated factual contexts would exist, the first giving rise to criminal liability

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on the part of the criminal defendant, and the second giving rise to civil liability on the part of the

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arresting officer.”) (quoting Yount v. City of Sacramento, 43 Cal.4th 885, 899 (2008)).
Thus, plaintiff‟s excessive use of force claims against the named defendants in this action

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are not barred by the favorable termination rule announced in Heck.

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Accordingly,

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1. The findings and recommendations (Doc. No. 94), filed on September 16, 2015, are

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ADOPTED IN FULL;
2. Defendants‟ motion for summary judgment (Doc. No. 48), filed on April 13, 2015, is

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DENIED;

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3. Plaintiff‟s motion in limine (Doc. No. 59), filed on May 21, 2015, is DENIED; and

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4. This case is referred back to the assigned magistrate judge for further proceedings.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

March 7, 2016
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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