Estate of Jimmy Ray Hatfield et al v. County of Lake et al

Filing 156

ORDER by Judge Hamilton granting 123 Motion for Leave to File; denying 126 Motion to Dismiss; granting in part and denying in part 128 Motion to Dismiss (pjhlc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 8/22/2012)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ESTATE OF JIMMY RAY HATFIELD,
et al.,

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Plaintiffs,

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v.

ORDER RE MOTIONS TO DISMISS
AND MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE
AMENDED COMPLAINT

COUNTY OF LAKE, et al.,
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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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No. C 11-2396 PJH

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Defendants.
_______________________________/

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Defendants (1) Adventist Health Clearlake Hospital (“Adventist”) and (2) Lake

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County Department of Mental Health employees Patricia Trujillo and Kristy Kelly’s separate

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motions to dismiss plaintiffs’ second amended complaint (“SAC”) came on for hearing on

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August 22, 2012 before this court. Plaintiffs appeared through their counsel, Michael

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Green. Adventist appeared through its counsel, Denise Billups-Slone; and Trujillo and

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Kelly appeared through their counsel, Steven Enochian. Plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file

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an amended complaint also came on for hearing on August 22, 2012 before this court.

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Defendants City of Clearlake, Allan Wade McClain, Timothy Hobbs, Rodd Joseph, Lauren

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Vance, Travis Lenz, and Tyler Paulsen oppose plaintiffs’ motion, and appeared through

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their counsel, Kevin Allen. Counsel for William Durkin, Barry Marsh, and for Lake County,

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Eric Gale, also attended the hearing. Having read all the papers and carefully considered

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the relevant legal authority, the court hereby GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART

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defendants’ motions, and GRANTS plaintiffs’ motion, for the reasons stated at the hearing,

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and summarized below as follows:

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Adventist’s motion to dismiss is DENIED for the reasons set forth in this court’s May
29, 2012 order, and because any new evidence submitted by Adventist is more properly

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considered at the summary judgment stage, rather than the pleading stage. See, e.g.,

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Cervantes v. City of San Diego, 5 F.3d 1273, 1274 (9th Cir. 1993).

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Trujillo’s motion to dismiss is GRANTED as to both the fourth cause of action (for

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general negligence) and the sixth cause of action (for violation of Cal. Gov. Code § 845.6).

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Both causes of action are dismissed with prejudice. The court finds that the fourth cause of

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action is duplicative of the fifth cause of action (for professional negligence), and further

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notes that plaintiffs have agreed to dismiss the fourth cause of action. As to the sixth

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cause of action, the court finds that plaintiffs have not shown that section 845.6 applies in

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anything other than a custodial environment. The single case relied upon by plaintiffs
(George v. Sonoma County Sheriff’s Dept., 2010 WL 4117381 (N.D. Cal. 2010)) involved

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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claims against jail personnel, and is thus inapplicable here.

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Kelly’s motion to dismiss is GRANTED as to the third cause of action (for failure to

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train). Plaintiffs shall be given one final opportunity to amend this cause of action to allege

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facts sufficient to state a claim under Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 815 (1994). Kelly’s

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motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ prayer for punitive damages is DENIED without prejudice.

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Finally, plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file a third amended complaint is GRANTED.

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Plaintiffs shall have 21 days to file an amended complaint, which shall include only the

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following changes: (1) adding a cause of action under the Americans with Disabilities Act

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against the City of Clearlake defendants, (2) amending the third cause of action (asserted

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against Kelly) to allege facts sufficient to state a claim for failure to train, and (3) clarifying

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that no constitutional claims are being asserted against Adventist. Plaintiffs are not

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permitted to make any other changes to the amended complaint without leave of court.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: August 22, 2012
______________________________
PHYLLIS J. HAMILTON
United States District Judge

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