Gary Daniel James Kennedy v. James Ruben Bedgood et al
Filing
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ORDER by Judge Edward M. Chen Granting in Part and Denying in Part 41 Defendants' Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. (emcsec, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 12/21/2016)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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GARY DANIEL JAMES KENNEDY, et al.,
Plaintiffs,
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v.
JAMES RUBEN BEDGOOD, et al.,
Defendants.
ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND
DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS’
MOTION FOR JUDGMENT ON THE
PLEADINGS
Docket No. 41
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For the Northern District of California
United States District Court
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Case No. 15-cv-01404-EMC
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For the reasons stated on the record during the December 20, 2016 hearing, the Court
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GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART Defendants’ Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings
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(Docket No. 41). This order is intended to memorialize and supplement that ruling.
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As indicated at the hearing, the Court GRANTS Defendants’ Motion for Judgment on the
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Pleadings as to Defendant Bedgood with respect to Plaintiff’s Bane Act claim, but DENIES the
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motion with respect to all other claims. With respect to Plaintiff’s § 1983 excessive force claim,
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Defendants did not carry their burden of proving that Plaintiff’s nolo contendere plea to a charge
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of resisting arrest under Cal. Penal Code § 69 was based on facts inherently inconsistent with an
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excessive force claim. That claim is therefore not, at least at this stage, barred by the doctrine of
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Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994). See Yount v. City of Sacramento, 43 Cal. 4th 885, 899
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(2008); Hooper v. Cty. of San Diego, 629 F.3d 1127, 1132 (9th Cir. 2011). Because the California
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Supreme Court has explained that “Heck and California law express similar concerns about
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judicial economy and the avoidance of conflicting resolutions,” Yount, 43 Cal. 4th at 902, the
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Court DENIES Defendants’ motion with respect to Plaintiff’s § 1983 claims and all state claims
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other than the Bane Act claim. To the extent that Plaintiff’s claim is based on allegations that
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Bedgood, along with the other officers present, continued to assault Plaintiff even after he was
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arrested, cf. Rodriguez v. City of Modesto, 535 F. App’x 643, 644-45 (9th Cir. 2013), the
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allegations in the Complaint are too conclusory. See Docket No. 1 (“Compl.”) ¶ 26. Plaintiff may
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amend his Complaint to add additional detail regarding precisely what actions each remaining
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defendant herein took after Plaintiff had been handcuffed.
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With respect to the Bane Act claim, Plaintiff makes no “showing of coercion independent
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from the coercion inherent” in his excessive force claim. Shoyoye v. Cty. of Los Angeles, 203 Cal.
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App. 4th 947, 959 (2012). The Court therefore GRANTS Defendants’ motion with respect to the
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Bane Act claim only. Plaintiff may amend the complaint within 20 days to make the requisite
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showing.
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This order disposes of Docket No. 41.
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For the Northern District of California
United States District Court
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: December 21, 2016
______________________________________
EDWARD M. CHEN
United States District Judge
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