Justice v. County of Yuba et al

Filing 24

ORDER signed by Judge Frank C. Damrell, Jr. on 10/22/10 ORDERING that dfts' 20 Motion to Strike is GRANTED and that dfts' 20 Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED with leave to amend. Plf shall file a second amended complaint w/i 10 days; dfts shall have 20 days after service thereof to file a response. (Benson, A.)

Justice v. County of Yuba et al

Doc. 24

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 v. COUNTY OF YUBA AND THOMAS OAKES, Defendants. _______________________________/ ----oo0oo---This matter is before the court on defendants County of Yuba (the "County") and Thomas Oakes' ("Oakes") (collectively "defendants") motion to strike plaintiffs' request for punitive damages against defendant County and defendant Oakes in his official capacity pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f). Plaintiffs Tomeka Justice, individually and as Guardian UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA ----oo0oo---TOMEKA JUSTICE, individually and as Guardian ad Litem for ACQUCER HILL, Plaintiffs,

2:10-cv-0915 FCD KJN MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

ad Litem for Acqucer Hill, ("plaintiffs") do not oppose the motion. ///// Accordingly, defendants' motion to strike is GRANTED.

Dockets.Justia.com

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Defendants also move to dismiss plaintiffs' claims against the County for (1) law false arrest, imprisonment, and prosecution; (2) intentional infliction of emotional distress ("IIED"); and (3) negligent infliction of emotional distress ("NIED") on the grounds that public entities are immune from common law claims. Plaintiffs oppose the motion, clarifying that

they are not asserting any claims for direct liability against the County, but only vicarious liability based upon the conduct of its employees. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a), a pleading must contain "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." S. Ct. 1937, 1949 (2009). See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129

Under notice pleading in federal

court, the complaint must "give the defendant fair notice of what the claim is and the grounds upon which it rests." Bell Atlantic

v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (internal quotations omitted). "This simplified notice pleading standard relies on

liberal discovery rules and summary judgment motions to define disputed facts and issues and to dispose of unmeritorious claims." Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 512 (2002).

While plaintiffs clarify in their opposition that their common law claims against the County are based solely on vicarious liability, the complaint fails to set forth any allegations that would give defendants notice of this theory. Accordingly, defendants' motion to dismiss is GRANTED with leave to amend. Plaintiffs shall file a second amended complaint in accordance with this order within ten (10) days of the date of 2

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this order.

Defendants shall have twenty (20) days after service

thereof to file a response. IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: October 22, 2010 FRANK C. DAMRELL, JR. UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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