Raghukultilak v. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation et al
Filing
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ORDER signed by District Judge Troy L. Nunley on 11/17/2020 DENYING 7 Petition for Relief from Government Code § 945.4. (Huang, H)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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BHARATH RAGHUKULTILAK, M.D.,
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No. 2:19-cv-00455-TLN-DMC
Plaintiff,
v.
ORDER
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONS AND
REHABILITATION, et al.,
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Defendants.
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This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff Bharath Raghukultilak’s (“Plaintiff”) Petition
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for Relief from Government Code § 945.4. (ECF No. 7.) Defendants California Department of
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Corrections and Rehabilitation, California Correctional Health Care Services, David Snell, M.D.,
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Kevin Rueter, M.D., and Todd Murray, Psy.D. (collectively, “Defendants”) filed an opposition.
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(ECF No. 8.) Plaintiff filed a reply. (ECF No. 12.) For the reasons set forth below, the Court
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DENIES Plaintiff’s petition.
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I.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
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Plaintiff was previously employed as a doctor at High Desert State Prison in Susanville,
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California. (See generally ECF No. 1.) Plaintiff’s employment was subject to a six-month
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probationary period, during which time Defendants rejected Plaintiff’s continued employment.
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(Id.) Plaintiff alleges claims of discrimination, retaliation, and harassment under federal and state
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law arising from his employment. (Id.) Plaintiff brings the instant petition seeking relief from
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the claim presentation requirement of Government Code § 945.4 (“§ 945.4”) “as a precautionary
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measure” because “there is a question whether Plaintiff timely filed a claim” with the proper
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public entity prior to bringing this action. (ECF No. 7-1 at 1–2.)
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II.
STANDARD OF LAW
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Prior to bringing tort claims against state and local public entities, plaintiffs in California
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must comply with the strict procedural requirements of the California Tort Claims Act (“the
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Act”). Cal. Gov’t Code §§ 810–996.6. Among the Act’s procedural prerequisites for a suit is the
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requirement that a claimant file a written claim with the proper public entity. See id. § 945.4. If
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the claim is not presented within the time set forth by the statute, “a written application may be
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made to the public entity for leave to present the late claim.” Id. §§ 911.2, 911.4. The application
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for leave to present the late claim must be submitted to the public entity “within a reasonable time
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not to exceed one year after the accrual of the cause of action and shall state the reason for the
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delay in presenting the claim.” Id. § 911.4. If the application is denied, the claimant may file a
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petition with “a superior court that would be a proper court for the trial of an action on the cause
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of action to which the claim relates.” Id. § 946.6(a). “The granting of a petition under [§] 946.6
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allows the petitioner to bypass the claims procedure altogether and does not then require the re-
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filing of a late claim.” Perez v. Escondido, 165 F. Supp. 2d 1111, 1115 (S.D. Cal. 2001).
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III.
ANALYSIS
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Plaintiff brings the instant petition pursuant to California Government Code § 946.6 (“§
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946.6”). (ECF No. 7-1 at 2.) As a threshold matter, Defendants argue this Court is not the proper
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court to provide Plaintiff’s requested relief. (ECF No. 8 at 6.) The Court agrees.
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“The Ninth Circuit has not decided whether a federal court, rather than a state court, has
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jurisdiction to rule on a petition for leave to file a late claim, and there is a split of authority
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among California’s district courts.” Garza v. Alvara, No. 115-cv-00234-DAD-SKO, 2016 WL
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4921542, at *10 (E.D. Cal. July 8, 2016). Plaintiff argues that Perez is the most well-reasoned
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and illustrative case to address this question. (ECF No. 12 at 4.) In Perez, a district court in the
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Southern District of California concluded it had jurisdiction to consider a § 946.6 petition because
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“[t]here is no plain language in [§] 946.6 depriving this Court of jurisdiction.” 165 F. Supp. 2d at
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1115. However, a majority of courts in this circuit have rejected Perez because it relied in part on
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language in § 946.6(a) predating 2002 amendments. See, e.g., Hill v. City of Clovis, No. 1:11-cv-
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01391-AWI-SMS, 2012 WL 787609, at *12 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 9, 2012); Deats v. Cnty. of Orange,
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No. CV 09-6322 PSG (CTX), 2010 WL 11549366, at *3 n.4 (C.D. Cal. Feb. 3, 2010); San Diego
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Branch of Nat’l Ass’n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Cnty. of San Diego, No. 16-cv-
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2575-JLS (BGS), 2017 WL 5194579, at *3 (S.D. Cal. Nov. 9, 2017).
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Before 2002, § 946.6(a) stated “the proper court for filing the petition is a court which
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would be a competent court for the trial of an action on the cause of action to which the claim
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relates and which is located in a county or judicial district which would be a proper place for the
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trial of the action.” Cal. Gov’t Code § 946.6(a) (2001 ed.) As of 2002, the language of §
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946.6(a) became more specific. The “proper court” for obtaining relief is no longer “a court,”
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rather, it is now “a superior court.” Cal. Gov’t Code § 946.6(a). Courts in this district have
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consistently held that federal courts lack jurisdiction to hear § 946.6 petitions because the statute
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as amended unambiguously vests jurisdiction to consider such petitions only with state superior
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courts. See Hill, 2012 WL 787609, at *12 (“Since § 946.6(a) was amended to identify a specific
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court, and that court is the state superior court, this Court will follow the majority position and
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conclude that only state superior courts have been given the authority to grant relief pursuant to §
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946.6(a).”); see also Crisp v. Wasco State Prison, No. 1:13-cv-00816-GSA-PC, 2013 WL
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3805150, at *3 (E.D. Cal. July 22, 2013); Medina v. Lopez, No. 1:14-cv-01850-GSA PC, 2015
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WL 1405284, at *3 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 26, 2015); Oliver v. Ybarra, No. 1:15-cv-00723-GSA-LJO,
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2015 WL 2381349, at *4 (E.D. Cal. May 18, 2015).
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While the Court arguably does have jurisdiction to consider whether Plaintiff timely
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complied with the Act, that is not the purpose of Plaintiff’s § 946.6 petition. See Ovando v. City
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of Los Angeles, 92 F. Supp. 2d 1011, 1022 (C.D. Cal. 2000) (“The question presented by a §
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946.6 petition . . . is whether a claimant should be relieved of his obligations under the Act and is
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separate from the merits and not properly within a federal court’s subject matter jurisdiction.”).
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Plaintiff “preemptively” requests the Court relieve him from the provisions of § 945.4 even
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though it is unclear whether his claims were untimely. (ECF No. 7-1 at 2 (“Out of an abundance
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of caution, because it can be argued July 2, 2018 was the termination date, Plaintiff preemptively
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seeks relief from this Court.”).) The parties are free to argue the issue of timeliness in a properly
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noticed motion, but a § 946.6 petition is not the proper vehicle for doing so. See id. (“The issue
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of timeliness can then be raised in the form of demurrer, motion for summary judgment, motion
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for judgment on the pleadings, or motion to strike.”). Because the plain language of § 946.6 as
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amended explicitly vests jurisdiction only with state superior courts, the Court agrees with the
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majority of courts in this circuit that it lacks jurisdiction to grant Plaintiff’s requested relief.
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IV.
CONCLUSION
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For the foregoing reasons, the Court DENIES Plaintiff’s Petition for Relief from
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Government Code § 945.4. (ECF No. 7.)
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DATED: November 17, 2020
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Troy L. Nunley
United States District Judge
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