Morales et al v. Philips et al
Filing
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ORDER denying Defendants' 4 Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim, and 4 Motion for More Definite Statement. Signed by Judge Cynthia Bashant on 9/14/2015. (All non-registered users served via U.S. Mail Service) (jah)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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JOSHUA MORALES,
Plaintiff,
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Case No. 15-cv-01241-BAS(BLM)
ORDER DENYING
DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO
DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO
STATE A CLAIM UPON WHICH
RELIEF CAN BE GRANTED
AND AN ORDER FOR A MORE
DEFINITE STATEMENT
v.
STEPHEN TRUSS, ET AL.,
Defendants.
(ECF No. 4)
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Plaintiff Joshua Morales (“Plaintiff”) commenced this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action
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in state court on April 21, 2015, alleging defendants San Diego Police Officer
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Stephen Truss, San Diego Police Officer Trevor Philips, and San Diego Police
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Detective Roxie Vigil violated his Fourth Amendment rights. Defendants Philips and
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Vigil (collectively “Defendants”) removed this action to federal court on June 3,
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2015. (ECF No. 1.) On June 15, 2015, Defendants moved to dismiss Plaintiff’s
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claims for unlawful detention and false arrest under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
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12(b)(6) and for a more definite statement regarding Plaintiff’s excessive force
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allegation. (ECF No. 4.) Plaintiff did not file an opposition. The failure to file an
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opposition may constitute a consent to the granting of the motion. See Civ. L.R.
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7.1(f)(3)(c).
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The Court finds this motion suitable for determination on the papers submitted
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and without oral argument. See Civ. L.R. 7.1(d)(1). For the reasons set forth below,
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the Court DENIES Defendants’ motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon
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which relief can be granted and for a more definite statement (ECF No. 4).
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I.
BACKGROUND
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On April 21, 2013, Plaintiff alleges he was involved in a physical altercation
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at the Hotel Del Mar in Del Mar, California. (ECF No. 1-2 (“Compl.”) at 7.) During
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the physical altercation, he threw a punch at an individual “forcing him to be rendered
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unconscious.” (Id.) Security called the police and placed Plaintiff in handcuffs “as
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a precautionary measure.” (Id.) Once police officers arrived, they asked Plaintiff “to
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wait in the back seat of the police vehicle before removing the handcuffs.” (Id.) After
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the officers had a conversation with security personnel, they advised Plaintiff that he
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was under arrest for assault with a deadly weapon. (Id.) One of the police officers
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later asked Plaintiff to get out of the vehicle, took his phone, and placed him in
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handcuffs. (Id.) Plaintiff remained in the police vehicle for approximately two and
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a half hours, although he was removed from the car and instructed to stand in front
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of the vehicle on multiple occasions. (Id. at 7-8.)
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Plaintiff was subsequently transported to a police substation in Del Mar and
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placed in a cell with his hands still behind his back in handcuffs. (Id. at 8.) After
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approximately five hours in the cell, a police detective escorted Plaintiff to a room
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and advised him that she was going to read him his Miranda rights. (Id.) Plaintiff
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declined to talk to the detective without a lawyer present and was returned to his cell.
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(Id.) Thereafter, a police officer requested his shirt, and later his shoes, for evidence.
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(Id.) Eventually, Plaintiff was transported to a jail downtown and booked for assault
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with a deadly weapon. (Id.)
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Plaintiff claims he was “at a minimum, detained without reasonable suspicion,
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and at worst arrested without any probable cause or any good faith/reasonably
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objective basis for believing [Plaintiff] was subject to arrest.” (Id. at 8.) Plaintiff
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also claims he was “subjected to excessive and unreasonable force in attempting to
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effectuate his detention and arrest.” (Id.)
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Defendants now move to dismiss Plaintiff’s claims for unreasonable detention
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and false arrest under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) and for a more definite
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statement of Plaintiff’s excessive force claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
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12(e).
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II.
LEGAL STANDARD
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A.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)
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A motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil
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Procedure tests the legal sufficiency of the claims asserted in the complaint. Fed. R.
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Civ. P. 12(b)(6); Navarro v. Block, 250 F.3d 729, 732 (9th Cir. 2001). The court
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must accept all factual allegations pleaded in the complaint as true and must construe
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them and draw all reasonable inferences from them in favor of the nonmoving party.
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Cahill v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 80 F.3d 336, 337-38 (9th Cir. 1996). To avoid a Rule
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12(b)(6) dismissal, a complaint need not contain detailed factual allegations, rather,
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it must plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell
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Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). “A claim has facial plausibility
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when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable
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inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal,
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556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556). “Where a complaint
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pleads facts that are merely consistent with a defendant’s liability, it stops short of
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the line between possibility and plausibility of entitlement to relief.” Id. (quoting
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Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557) (internal quotations omitted).
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“[A] plaintiff’s obligation to provide the ‘grounds’ of his ‘entitle[ment] to
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relief’ requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the
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elements of a cause of action will not do.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555 (quoting
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Papasan v. Allain, 478 U.S. 265, 286 (1986) (alteration in original)). A court need
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not accept “legal conclusions” as true. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. Despite the deference
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the court must pay to the plaintiff’s allegations, it is not proper for the court to assume
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that “the [plaintiff] can prove facts that it has not alleged or that the defendants have
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violated the . . . law[] in ways that have not been alleged.” Associated Gen.
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Contractors of Cal., Inc. v. Cal. State Council of Carpenters, 459 U.S. 519, 526
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(1983).
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B.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(e)
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A party may move for a more definite statement of a complaint under Federal
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Rule of Civil Procedure 12(e) where the complaint “is so vague or ambiguous that
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the party cannot reasonably prepare a response.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(e). “A motion
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for a more definite statement attacks intelligibility, not simply lack of detail.”
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Gregory Vill. Partners v. Chevron, U.S.A., Inc., 805 F. Supp. 2d 888, 896 (N.D. Cal.
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2011). “For this reason, the motion fails where the complaint is specific enough to
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apprise the defendant of the substance of the claim being asserted.” Id.
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Rule 12(e) motions are “viewed with disfavor and are rarely granted because
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of the minimal pleading requirements of the Federal Rules.” Id. “Parties are expected
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to use discovery, not the pleadings, to learn the specifics of the claims being
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asserted.” Sagan v. Apple Computer, Inc., 874 F. Supp. 1072, 1077 (C.D. Cal. 1994);
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see also Lunger v. Witt, No. 15-cv-486, 2015 WL 4460813, at *3 (E.D. Cal. July 21,
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2015) (“If the facts sought by a motion for a more definite statement are obtainable
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by discovery, the motion should be denied.”).
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III.
DISCUSSION
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Defendants move to dismiss Plaintiff’s causes of action for unreasonable
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detention and false arrest on the basis they are time-barred. (ECF No. 4-1 at pp. 3-
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4.) They further move for a more definite statement of Plaintiff’s cause of action for
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excessive force because they claim the allegation is “vague and ambiguous.” (Id. at
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p. 4.)
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A.
Statute of Limitations
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The Fourth Amendment prohibits “‘unreasonable searches and seizures’ by the
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Government, and its protections extend to brief investigatory stops of persons.”
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United States v. Arvizu, 534 U.S. 266, 273 (2002) (citing Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1,
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9 (1968)); see also Ramirez v. City of Buena Park, 560 F.3d 1012, 1020 (9th Cir.
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2009). A detention by an officer that is not “supported by reasonable suspicion to
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believe that criminal activity may be afoot” violates the Fourth Amendment and gives
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rise to a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Id. (citation and internal quotations omitted);
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see also Ramirez, 560 F.3d at 1020. An arrest without probable cause also violates
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the Fourth Amendment and gives rise to a claim for damages under section 1983.
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Borunda v. Richmond, 885 F.2d 1384, 1391 (9th Cir. 1988).
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A statute of limitations defense may be raised on a motion to dismiss “[i]f the
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running of the statute is apparent on the face of the complaint.” Jablon v. Dean Witter
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& Co., 614 F.2d 677, 682 (9th Cir. 1980) (citing Graham v. Taubman, 610 F.2d 821
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(9th Cir. 1979)). “It is well-established that claims brought under § 1983 borrow the
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forum state’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims.” Action Apartment
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Ass’n, Inc. v. Santa Monica Rent Control Bd., 509 F.3d 1020, 1026 (9th Cir. 2007);
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see also Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384, 387 (2007). In California, that limitations
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period is two years. See Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 335.1; see also Action Apartment,
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509 F.3d at 1026; Jones v. Blanas, 393 F.3d 918, 927 (9th Cir. 2004).
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Although California law determines the limitations period, “federal law
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governs when a cause of action accrues and the statute of limitations begins to run in
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a § 1983 action.” Cabrera v. City of Huntington Park, 159 F.3d 374, 379 (9th Cir.
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1998). Under federal law, “[g]enerally, the statute of limitations begins to run when
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a potential plaintiff knows or has reason to know of the asserted injury.” Action
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Apartment, 509 F.3d at 1026-27. The accrual date is therefore typically the date that
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the wrongful act occurred. See Pierson v. Storey Cnty., No. 12-cv-00598-MMD-
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VPC, 2013 WL 6210336, at *4 (D. Nev. Nov. 27, 2013). For Plaintiff’s false arrest
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claim, the statute of limitations began to run when he became detained pursuant to
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legal process, i.e., the date he was arraigned or bound over for trial. Wallace, 549
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U.S. at 388-92, 97.
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Here, Plaintiff alleges he was detained and arrested on April 21, 2013 and he
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commenced this action on April 21, 2015. Although Plaintiff does not allege when
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he was arraigned, it undoubtedly occurred after his arrest on April 21, 2013.
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Accordingly, Defendants have failed to establish that Plaintiff’s claims for
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unreasonable detention and unlawful arrest under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 are time-barred.
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For the foregoing reasons, Defendants’ motion to dismiss these claims under Rule
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12(b)(6) is DENIED.
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B.
Rule 12(e)
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Defendants move for a more definite statement of Plaintiff’s excessive force
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claim on the basis that “Plaintiff alleged numerous violations of his rights without
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any specification between specific allegations and individual defendants.” (ECF No.
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4-1 at p. 4.) A Rule 12(e) motion is “proper only if the complaint is so indefinite that
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the defendant cannot ascertain the nature of the claim being asserted, meaning the
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complaint is so vague that the defendant cannot begin to frame a response.”
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Craigslist, Inc. v. Autoposterpro, Inc., No. CV 08 05069 SBA, 2009 WL 890896, at
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*4 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 31, 2009).
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unintelligible or so vague that Defendants cannot begin to frame a response. To the
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extent Defendants wish to flesh out Plaintiff’s excessive force claim, such facts are
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obtainable through discovery. See Sagan, 874 F. Supp. at 1077; Lunger, 2015 WL
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4460813, at *3. Accordingly, Defendants’ motion for a more definite statement of
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Plaintiff’s excessive force claim is DENIED.
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///
The Court does not find the complaint to be
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IV.
CONCLUSION & ORDER
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In light of the foregoing, the Court DENIES Defendants’ motion to dismiss
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for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted and for a more definite
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statement (ECF No. 4).
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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DATED: September 14, 2015
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