K. et al v. County of Sacramento et al

Filing 20

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER signed by Senior Judge William B. Shubb on 11/14/2018 re 16 Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Second Amended Complaint, and Alternative Motion for More Definite Statement: IT IS ORDERED that 16 Defendants' Motion T o Dismiss Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint be, and the same hereby is, GRANTED. Pursuant to the discussion at oral argument, the 6 Second Amended Complaint is DISMISSED in its entirety. Plaintiffs are given thirty days from the date of this order to file an amended complaint consistent with this Order. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants' Motion for a More Definite Statement be, and the same hereby is, DENIED AS MOOT. (Kirksey Smith, K)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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----oo0oo----

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ALESHNA KUMARI, A.K., A.S.,
and A.K.M., inclusive,

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No.

2:18-CV-00061-WBS-AC

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER RE:
DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS
SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT, AND
ALTERNATIVE MOTION FOR MORE
DEFINITE STATEMENT

Plaintiffs,
v.
COUNTY OF SACRAMENTO; JESSE
GOMEZ-COATES, an
individual; JANELLE
GONZALEZ, an individual;
LEONA WILLIAMS, an
individual; and DOES 1-50,
inclusive,
Defendants.

----oo0oo---Plaintiffs, three minor children and their mother

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Aleshna Kumari, filed this lawsuit against the County of

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Sacramento, as well as against Jesse Gomez-Coates, Janelle

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Gonzalez, and Leona Williams, who are employed by Sacramento

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County Child Protective Services (“CPS”).

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defendants violated their civil rights when they removed the

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minor plaintiffs from their mother’s care without a warrant and

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placed them in a foster home, where they allegedly suffered

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Plaintiffs claim that

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neglect and physical injuries.

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constitutional violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

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allege violations of California Government Code sections

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pertaining to breach of mandatory duty.

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court are defendants’ motion to dismiss the Second Amended

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Complaint (“SAC”), and alternative motion for a more definite

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statement.

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Plaintiffs seek relief for
They also

Presently before the

(Docket No. 16.)

Plaintiffs’ legal claims revolve around defendants’

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removal of the minor plaintiffs from their mother’s custody, and

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their subsequent alleged failure to prevent or halt the neglect

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and abuse the minor plaintiffs allegedly suffered while in foster

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care.

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defendant Gomez-Coates improperly took custody of the minor

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plaintiffs from plaintiff Kumari.

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January 19, 2017,1 Sacramento County Child Protective Services

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placed the minor plaintiffs in foster care with Evelyn and

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Anthony Martin.

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were of several issues with the Martin household and minor

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plaintiffs’ treatment therein, the individual defendants did not

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visit the foster home to investigate the minor plaintiffs’ living

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conditions.

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Specifically, plaintiffs allege that on January 11, 2017,

(Id. ¶ 26.)

(Id. ¶ 21.)

On approximately

Allegedly, though the defendants

(Id. ¶ 29.)

On February 22, 2017 plaintiff Kumari learned that the

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Martins’ dog had bitten A.K.M. below his right eye.

(Id. ¶ 30.)

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The next day, the minor plaintiffs were removed from the foster

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The SAC states that the minor plaintiffs were placed
into foster care on approximately January 19, 2019, but as this
date is in the future, the court assumes that this is a typo and
that the placement actually occurred on approximately January 19,
2017.
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home and returned to the care of plaintiff Kumari.

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(Id.)

To survive a motion to dismiss, a plaintiff must plead

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“only enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible

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on its face.”

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(2007).

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‘probability requirement,’ but it asks for more than a sheer

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possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.”

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Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at

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570).

Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570

This plausibility standard “is not akin to a

Ashcroft v.

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The court’s ability to evaluate whether the SAC’s

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claims meet this pleading standard is thwarted by the SAC’s

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confusing organization.

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action.”

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multiple subordinate “counts.”

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action, which spans paragraphs 49 through 86 in the SAC, contains

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four separate “counts.”

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structure, the court cannot discern what legal claims plaintiffs

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assert against which defendants.

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relationships between and among the various federal and state

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statutes cited in the SAC.

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The SAC contains five “causes of

The first through third of these are composed of
For example, the second cause of

Partly as a result of this idiosyncratic

Particularly unclear are the

The court’s ability to divine precisely what the SAC

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alleges is also hampered by the SAC’s rambling prose,

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repetitiveness, and manifold references to apparently extraneous

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parties, facts, and regulations.

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Pursuant to the discussion with the parties at oral

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argument, the court will dismiss the SAC in its entirety.

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oral argument, plaintiffs’ counsel made specific representations

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about how they would consolidate plaintiffs’ claims and clarify
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At

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the complaint if given leave to amend.

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expresses no opinion as to whether plaintiffs’ new complaint

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constructed around those representations will state claims upon

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which relief may be granted, the court will grant plaintiffs

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leave to amend the complaint pursuant to those representations.

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Although the court

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that defendants’ Motion to

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Dismiss plaintiffs’ Second Amended Complaint (Docket No. 16) be,

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and the same hereby is, GRANTED.

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oral argument, the Second Amended Complaint (Docket No. 6) is

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DISMISSED in its entirety.

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Pursuant to the discussion at

Plaintiffs are given thirty days from the date of this
order to file an amended complaint consistent with this Order.

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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that defendants’ motion for a

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more definite statement be, and the same hereby is, DENIED AS

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MOOT.

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Dated:

November 14, 2018

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