Reynaga v. City of Seaside Police Department et al
Filing
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Order by Hon. Ronald M. Whyte granting 8 Motion to Dismiss.(rmwlc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 11/22/2013)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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SAN JOSE DIVISION
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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California
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SALVADOR REYNAGA,
Plaintiff,
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Case No. C-13-01674-RMW
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO
DISMISS
v.
CITY OF SEASIDE POLICE DEPARTMENT
et al.
[Re Docket No. 8]
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Defendants.
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Defendants Monterey County District Attorney’s Office and Ryan McGuirk 1 move to
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dismiss plaintiff Salvador Reynaga’s claims for conversion and violation of his civil rights under
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section 1983. Reynaga’s claims are apparently based upon the District Attorney’s Office allegedly
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unlawful refusal to return his Glock 40 gun to him until he completes the required paperwork. For
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the reasons explained below, the court grants defendants’ motion to dismiss.
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I. BACKGROUND
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Reynaga was a police officer in Seaside California. He was arrested on about March 7,
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2011, related to sexual advances he made towards an individual while on duty. As part of the
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investigation, the District Attorney’s Office searched his home pursuant to a search warrant and
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seized his iPhone and Glock 40 gun. After an announcement by the District Attorney’s Office and
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the Seaside Police Department, five more individuals came forward alleging Reynaga made
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Ryan McGuirk was mistakenly sued as Ryan McGirk and is referred to as McGirk throughout
much of the briefing and in the complaint.
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS
Case No. C-13-01674-RMW
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inappropriate sexual advances. On August 30, 2011, Reynaga’s employment with the police
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department was terminated. On April 2, 2012, Reynaga was found not guilty and acquitted of all
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charges. On November 8, 2012, the Superior Court of Monterey specifically ordered the District
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Attorney’s Office to return Reynaga’s iPhone and Glock. The District Attorney’s Office returned
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his iPhone in late May 2013, but it still has not returned the Glock. The District Attorney’s Office
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claims that it cannot return the Glock to Reynaga until he fills out the form required by Penal Code
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section 33855, 2 which Reynaga refuses to do.
On May 12, 2013, Reynaga filed a complaint alleging violations of his civil rights under 42
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U.S.C. § 1983, wrongful termination, and common law conversion. He brought claims against the
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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California
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City of Seaside Police Department, the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office, and a number
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of individuals including Ryan McGuirk, an agent of the District Attorney’s Office. The parties
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stipulated to the dismissal of the police department and the individuals besides McGuirk. See Dkt.
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No. 15. Reynaga also voluntarily withdrew his second cause of action for wrongful termination
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because it does not state a claim against the remaining defendants. See Opp’n 1, Dkt. No. 18. Thus
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the only remaining claims are Reynaga’s first and third causes of action.
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The court previously dismissed the remaining defendants because Reynaga failed to file a
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timely opposition to their motion to dismiss. See Dkt. No. 16. However, Reynaga petitioned the
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court to reopen the case and the court agreed to do so if Reynaga paid defendants $500 to offset
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their costs. See Dkt. No. 18. Reynaga has failed to file the required notice with the court of his
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payment of the $500, but he appears to have paid it. Thus, the District Attorney’s Office and
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McGuirk’s motion to dismiss is properly before this court.
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II. ANALYSIS
The District Attorney’s Office and McGuirk move to dismiss Reynaga’s claim for
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conversion and for violation of his civil rights under section 1983.
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California Penal Code section 33855 requires that “No law enforcement agency or court that has
taken custody of any firearm may return the firearm to any individual” unless a number of
requirements have been satisfied including that the individual seeking the gun providing notification
of a determination of eligibility to possess a firearm pursuant to Penal Code section 33865.
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS
Case No. C-13-01674-RMW
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A. Conversion
The District Attorney’s Office and McGuirk move to dismiss Reynaga’s conversion claim
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for failure to first file an administrative claim under California’s Government Claims Act. The
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Government Claims Act governs a claim for money or damages against a public entity. Cal. Gov.
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Code § 905. The act requires a claimant to file a written claim within six months of accrual and
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bars suit until the written claim is filed and acted upon or deemed rejected. See Cal. Gov. Code §§
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911.2, 945.4; City of Stockton v. Superior Court, 42 Cal. 4th 730, 738 (2007). “The filing of a claim
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is a condition precedent to the maintenance of any cause of action against the public entity and is
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therefore an element that a plaintiff is required to prove in order to prevail.” Del Real v. City of
United States District Court
For the Northern District of California
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Riverside, 95 Cal. App. 4th 761, 767 (2002).
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Public entities include “a county, city, district, public authority, public agency, and any other
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political subdivision or public corporation in the State” and thus the Government Claims Act covers
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claims against the Monterey District Attorney’s Office. Cal. Gov. Code § 900.4. Similarly, the
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Claims Act also covers a claim against a public employee for an act or omission in the scope of his
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employment. See § 950.2.
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Here, the complaint only alleges that Reynaga filed a claim with the City of Seaside, which
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was dismissed from this action. Reynaga admitted in his opposition that he had not filed a claim
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with Monterey County, although he claimed he would file one before November 17, 2013. Because
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he has failed to file a claim with Monterey County and wait for its response before brining suit, his
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claim, to the extent it is against a public entity, is not ripe. See State v. Superior Court, 32 Cal. 4th
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1234, 1239 (2004) (“failure to timely present a claim for money or damages to a public entity bars a
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plaintiff from filing a lawsuit against that entity”).
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The complaint does not clearly allege the basis for Reynaga’s claim against McGuirk. If
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Reynaga’s claim is for actions outside the scope of McGuirk’s employment, then the Government
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Claims Act might not apply. See Konig v. State Bar of California, C 04-2210 MJJ, 2004 WL
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2091990, *8 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 16, 2004). Reynaga, however, would need to allege clearly such a
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claim, if it exists.
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ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS
Case No. C-13-01674-RMW
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Accordingly, the court dismisses Reynaga’s common law conversion claim against the
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District Attorney’s Office and against McGuirk for any acts or omissions within the scope of his
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employment with prejudice. To the extent Reynaga is making any other conversion claim against
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McGuirk, the court dismisses it for failure to state a claim, but without prejudice.
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B. Section 1983
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The District Attorney’s Office and McGuirk move to dismiss Reynaga’s section 1983 claim
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because it is untimely, he does not adequately state a claim, and the District Attorney’s Office has
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immunity under the Eleventh Amendment.
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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California
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1. Timeliness
Defendants argue that Reynaga’s section 1983 claim is untimely. In California, section 1983
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claims are subject to a two-year statute of limitations. See City of Rancho Palos Verdes, Cal. v.
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Abrams, 544 U.S. 113, 124 (2005) (Ҥ 1983 claims are governed by the state-law statute of
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limitations for personal-injury torts” and the limitations period does not “depend[] on the nature of
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the underlying right being asserted” such that each state applies the same statute of limitations to all
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§ 1983 claims); The Comm. Concerning Cmty. Improvement v. City of Modesto, 583 F.3d 690, 701
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n.3 (9th Cir. 2009) (two year statute of limitations in California).
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Thus to be timely, Reynaga’s section 1983 claim must be based upon acts that took place
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after May 11, 2011. Defendants argue that his section 1983 claim is untimely because the search
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and subsequent seizure of items from Reynaga’s home took place on March 7, 2011. Reynaga, in
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his opposition, however, argues that his section 1983 claim as based on the wrongful seizure of his
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gun and iPhone that began when the District Attorney’s Office refused to return his gun and phone
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after the superior court ordered the District Attorney’s Office to return the items in 2012. As
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explained below, the complaint does not clearly allege the basis for Reynaga’s section 1983 claim.
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To the extent Reynaga bases his claim on the March 7, 2011, search and seizure, the claim is
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untimely. To the extent Reynaga bases his claim on the District Attorney’s Office’s refusal to
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return the gun after the superior court order its return, the claim is timely.
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ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS
Case No. C-13-01674-RMW
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2. Failure to State a Section 1983 Claim
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To survive a motion to dismiss, a plaintiff’s complaint must make “factual allegations [that
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are sufficient] to raise a right to relief above a speculative level.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly,
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550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007). The pleadings must ““give the defendant fair notice of what the ... claim
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is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Id. (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47 (1957)). On
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a motion to dismiss, a court must take all of the factual allegations in a complaint as true, but the
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court need not accept as true “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action,” or legal
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conclusions presented as facts. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 1949-50 (2009).
Reynaga’s complaint is too vague to survive a motion to dismiss. First, it appears from the
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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California
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complaint that Reynaga bases section 1983 claim on the search and seizure of Reynaga’s property
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on March 7, 2011, although Reynaga claims otherwise in his opposition. See Compl. ¶ 27. Opp’n
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9. Reynaga must clearly allege the basis of his claim to give the defendants adequate notice of what
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they are defending against. Second, Reynaga fails to allege adequately the wrongful acts of each
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defendant. For example, the complaint only describes McGuirk as an agent of the District
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Attorney’s Office and alleges that he engaged in “willful, wanton, malicious, and oppressive” acts,
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but nothing else. See Compl. ¶¶ 8, 32. This is insufficient to put McGuirk on notice of what he
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allegedly did. The complaint also does not provide a plain statement of what the District Attorney’s
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Office did to be liable under section 1983—most of the allegations seem directed at the dismissed
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Seaside Police Department. See Compl. ¶¶ 29, 30.
Accordingly, the court dismisses Reynaga’s section 1983 claim, but with leave to amend.
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3. Immunity
The District Attorney’s Office also argues that it has absolute immunity under the Eleventh
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Amendment. 3 A state prosecutor is entitled to absolute immunity from liability for violating federal
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constitutional rights, when he is engaged in activities “intimately associated with the judicial phase
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of the criminal process.” Broam v. Bogan, 320 F.3d 1023, 1028 (9th Cir. 2003) (quoting Imbler v.
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Pachtman, 424 U.S. 409, 430 (1976)). A prosecutor is only entitled to qualified immunity when
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performing investigative or administrative functions. Id.
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The District Attorney’s Office appears only to move to dismiss for absolute immunity and does not
move based on qualified immunity.
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS
Case No. C-13-01674-RMW
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Here, as explained above, the complaint does not clearly specify the basis for Reynaga’s
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section 1983 claim. Nevertheless, to the extent Reynaga's bases his claim on the District Attorney’s
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Office’s failure to return Reynaga’s gun after his acquittal, absolute immunity would not apply. The
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District Attorney’s Office has not suggested that it is keeping the gun for any purpose related to the
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judicial phase of the criminal process. Rather, District Attorney’s Office appears to be keeping the
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gun for administrative reasons. Accordingly, the court denies the motion to dismiss for absolute
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immunity, but without prejudice in the event that Reynaga files an amended complaint with a claim
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related to the judicial phase of the criminal process.
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United States District Court
For the Northern District of California
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III. ORDER
The court grants the District Attorney’s Office and McGuirk’s motion to dismiss. The court
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dismisses the conversion claim with prejudice as to the District Attorney’s Office and as to
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McGuirk for any acts within the scope of his employment. The court dismisses the conversion
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claim without prejudice as to McGuirk for acts outside the scope of his employment. The section
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1983 claim is dismissed without prejudice. Reynaga must file any amended complaint by
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December 23, 2013.
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Dated: November 22, 2013
_________________________________
Ronald M. Whyte
United States District Judge
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ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS
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