Raymond v. Martin

Filing 28

ORDER DENYING Motion to Join Heirs 17 , signed by District Judge Dale A. Drozd on 9/19/2018: Motion is DENIED without prejudice. (Hellings, J)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JAMES RAYMOND, individually and as
successor in interest to decedent Augustus
Joshua Crawford,

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Plaintiff,

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No. 1:18-cv-00307-DAD-JLT

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO JOIN
HEIRS

v.
(Doc. No. 17)
WARREN MARTIN,

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Defendant.

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Plaintiff is proceeding pro se in this matter, filed on March 5, 2018. (Doc. No. 1.) On

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August 7, 2018, defendant filed a motion to require plaintiff to join certain heirs of the decedent.

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(Doc. No. 17.) Plaintiff filed two oppositions on August 24, 2018 and August 27, 2018, which

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are substantively identical. (Doc. Nos. 22, 23.) Defendant replied on August 29, 2018. (Doc.

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No. 24.) A hearing on this matter was held on September 18, 2018. Attorney Heather Cohen

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appeared on behalf of defendant Martin. Plaintiff, James Raymond, did not appear at the

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hearing.1 For the reasons that follow, defendant’s motion is denied without prejudice.

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Mr. Raymond had indicated to the court in his written opposition to the motion that his medical
condition would prevent him from appearing at the hearing. (Doc. Nos. 22 and 23.)
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BACKGROUND

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Plaintiff alleges the following in his complaint. Plaintiff is the father of decedent

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Augustus Joshua Crawford. (Doc. No. 1 at 1.) On November 6, 2017, defendant was trying to

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take decedent into custody for a traffic violation. (Id. at ¶ 7.) Law enforcement officers began to

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pursue decedent. (Id. at ¶ 8.) Defendant Martin was enraged because he could not catch

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decedent, drew his gun and shot plaintiff in the back eleven times. (Id.) Decedent did not

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threaten or act with force before he was shot. (Id. at ¶¶ 9–10.)

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Plaintiff alleged both state and federal claims, but following screening by the assigned

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magistrate judge, this case is now proceeding on three claims brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983,

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alleging excessive use of force, failure to provide medical care, and loss of familial association.

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(Doc. No. 15 at 2.)

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LEGAL STANDARD

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Rule 19(a) provides that a person must be joined as a party to an action if
(A) in that person’s absence, the court cannot accord complete
relief among existing parties; or

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(B) that person claims an interest relating to the subject of the
action and is so situated that disposing of the action in the person’s
absence may:

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(i) as a practical matter impair or impede the person’s ability
to protect the interest; or

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(ii) leave an existing party subject to a substantial risk of
incurring double, multiple, or otherwise inconsistent
obligations because of the interest.

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Fed. R. Civ. P. 19. The parties to be joined under Rule 19 are frequently referred to as

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“necessary” or “required” parties, though the Ninth Circuit has noted that Rule 19 in fact calls for

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the joinder of persons it is “desirable” to include in the litigation “in the interests of just

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adjudication.” E.E.O.C. v. Peabody W. Coal Co., 400 F.3d 774, 779 (9th Cir. 2005).

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Determinations of whether a party is necessary or required under Rule 19 are “necessarily fact-

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and circumstance-specific.” Alto v. Black, 738 F.3d 1111, 1126 (9th Cir. 2013); Bakia v. Los

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Angeles County, 687 F.2d 299, 301 (9th Cir. 1982).

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ANALYSIS

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Defendant maintains that all heirs must be joined to this suit because California law

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permits only one wrongful death action to be pursued. (Doc. No. 17-1 at 5–7.) According to

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defendant, a notice of a claim was recently filed with the City of Bakersfield concerning

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decedent’s death by Tyshika Williams on behalf of decedent’s minor child, A.C. (See Doc. No.

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17-2.) Although somewhat unclear, plaintiff’s written opposition to this motion seems to be

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based on the assertion that decedent and A.C. did not reside in the same household for at least six

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months and decedent did not contribute at least half of A.C.’s support. (Doc. Nos. 22, 23.)
Wrongful death claims in California are “‘a pure creature of statute’ and ‘exist[ ] only so

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far and in favor of such person as the legislative power may declare.’” Rosales v. Battle, 113 Cal.

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App. 4th 1178, 1182 (2003) (quoting Justus v. Atchison, 19 Cal. 3d 564, 575 (1977)). The

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purpose of the wrongful death statute “is to compensate for the loss of companionship and for

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other losses to specified persons”—namely, the decedent’s heirs—“as a result of the decedent’s

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death.” Jackson v. Fitzgibbons, 127 Cal. App. 4th 329, 335 (2005). A wrongful death claim may

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be brought by the “surviving spouse, domestic partner, children, and issue of deceased children”

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of the decedent. Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 377.60(a). If there is no surviving issue of the decedent,

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a wrongful death claim may be brought by the persons “who would be entitled to the property of

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the decedent by intestate succession.” Id. Potential surviving heirs are frequently designated as

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necessary parties to wrongful death suits by federal courts applying California law. See Pavoni v.

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Chrysler Grp. LLC, No. CV 11-10513 RGK (SPx), 2012 WL 12883905, at *2 (C.D. Cal. Nov.

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15, 2012) (holding that two children of decedent who had elected not to participate in a wrongful

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death lawsuit must still be joined as nominal defendants or “involuntary plaintiffs”); Simplis v.

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Culver City Police Dep’t, No. CV10-9497 JHN (MANx), 2011 WL 13133819, at *2 (C.D. Cal.

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Apr. 20, 2011) (noting that other purported children of decedent besides plaintiffs were necessary

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parties under California wrongful death claim); Estate of Burkhart v. United States, No. C 07–

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5467 PJH, 2008 WL 4067429, at *7 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 26, 2008) (“An heir who files a wrongful

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death action is required to properly join all known heirs in the action.”).

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As conceded by defense counsel at the hearing on the pending motion, plaintiff is not

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proceeding on a state law wrongful death claim, but rather on three separate causes of action

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under § 1983. (See Doc. No. 15 at 2.) Defendant has located no authority—and this court has

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found none—establishing that all potential heirs must be joined to a § 1983 suit alleging

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excessive force and failure to provide medical care.2 While plaintiff must have standing under

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California’s survival statute in order to pursue Fourth Amendment claims on decedent’s behalf,

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see Hayes v. County of San Diego, 736 F.3d 1223, 1228–29 (9th Cir. 2013); Moreland v. Las

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Vegas Met. Police Dep’t, 159 F.3d 365, 369 (9th Cir. 1998), plaintiff has filed the requisite

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affidavit required by California law, see Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 377.32. (See Doc. No. 4.) This is

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generally sufficient to establish plaintiff’s standing to pursue § 1983 claims on a decedent’s

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behalf. See Abrego v. City of Los Angeles, Nos. CV 15–00039–BRO (JEMx), CV 15–01472–

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BRO (JEMx), 2016 WL 9450679, at *7 (C.D. Cal. Sept. 23, 2016); R.A. ex rel. Penrose v.

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Morris, No. 5:14–cv–0077–ODW(PJWx), 2015 WL 1191266, at *5 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 16, 2015);

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cf. Garcia v. Adams, No. F 04-5999 AWI SMS, 2006 WL 403838, at *12 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 17,

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2006) (holding that failure to file necessary declaration under § 377.32 showed a lack of standing

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for plaintiff to proceed as successor in interest).

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Alternatively, defendant requests the court order permissive joinder under Rule 20 of the

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Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, if it finds compulsory joinder is not warranted. (Doc. No. 17-1

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at 7–8.) It is not clear on what grounds plaintiff opposes this request. Rule 20 states that

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additional persons may join an action as a plaintiff if “they assert any right to relief jointly,

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severally, or in the alternative with respect to or arising out of the same transaction, occurrence,

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or series of transactions or occurrences” and “any question of law or fact common to all plaintiffs

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The remaining claim for loss of familial association is brought directly by plaintiff, not on
behalf of the decedent’s estate. See Palmer v. Vasquez, No. 1:13–CV–1400 AWI JLT, 2015 WL
5021666, at *7 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 17, 2015) (“The ability to vindicate one’s own federal
constitutional right to familial association is dependent upon the requirements of § 1983[;] it is
not dependent on state law,” and therefore not subject to state survival statutes); cf. Burns v. City
of Concord, No. C 14–00535 LB, 2014 WL 5794629, at *8 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 6, 2014) (noting the
estate of the decedent had no standing to bring a Fourteenth Amendment claim for deprivation of
familial association).
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will arise in the action.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 20(a)(1). The Supreme Court has noted that the Federal

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Rules of Civil Procedure generally militate “toward entertaining the broadest possible scope of

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action consistent with fairness to the parties; joinder of claims, parties and remedies is strongly

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encouraged.” United Mine Workers of Am. v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715, 724 (1966). However, even

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once the requirements of Rule 20(a) are met, “a district court must examine whether permissive

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joinder would ‘comport with the principles of fundamental fairness’ or would result in prejudice

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to either side.” Coleman v. Quaker Oats Co., 232 F.3d 1271, 1296 (9th Cir. 2000) (quoting

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Desert Empire Bank v. Ins. Co. of N. Am., 623 F.2d 1371, 1375 (9th Cir. 1980)). “‘Courts may

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also consider factors such as the motives of the party seeking joinder and whether joinder would

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confuse and complicate the issues for the parties involved.’” Third Degree Films, Inc. v. Does 1-

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131, 280 F.R.D. 493, 496 (D. Ariz. 2012) (quoting SBO Pictures, Inc. v. Does 1-3036, No. 11–

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4220 SC, 2011 WL 6002620, at *3 (N.D. Cal. Nov. 30, 2011)).
Here, permissive joinder is not warranted at the present time. Decedent’s minor child

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submitted a claim form related to the events in question here to the City of Bakersfield on May 2,

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2018. (See Doc. No. 17-2.) However, no lawsuit has yet been filed on behalf of decedent’s

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minor child. There is therefore no way to know what claims will be alleged, or even if a suit will

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ultimately be filed. If the minor child ultimately files suit alleging solely state law wrongful death

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claims, this court may lack jurisdiction over that action. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332 (limiting federal

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courts’ jurisdiction over state law claims to matters between diverse citizens). Additionally, the

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City of Bakersfield may yet simply pay the claim, making the filing of another lawsuit

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unnecessary and the requested joinder improper. There is no basis upon which to now order

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joinder, though this decision does not preclude defendant’s filing a motion for joinder once there

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is an action to be properly joined.

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CONCLUSION
For the reasons given above, defendant’s motion for an order requiring plaintiff to join

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other heirs of the decedent (Doc. No. 17) is denied without prejudice. Defendant may file another

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motion requesting permissive joinder, if appropriate, should Ms. Williams ultimately file a

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lawsuit on behalf of decedent’s minor child.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:

September 19, 2018

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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