Thomas v. County of San Diego et al

Filing 79

ORDER denying 78 Defendants' Motion for Reconsideration. Signed by Judge M. James Lorenz on 9/27/2017. (sjt)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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DAVE THOMAS, as Guardian ad Litem
on behalf of JONATHAN THOMAS,

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ORDER DENYING DEFENDANTS’
MOTION [Doc. 78] FOR
RECONSIDERATION

Plaintiff,

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Case No.: 3:15-cv-02232-L-AGS

v.
COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO, et al.,
Defendants.

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Pending before the Court is Defendants Marylene Allen, Larry Deguzman, Mary

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Montelibano, and David Guzman’s (collectively “Defendants”) motion for

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reconsideration of the denial [Doc. 74] of their Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motion [Doc. 58]

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to dismiss the claims against them. The parties are well aware of the facts of this case,

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which were discussed in the Court’s previous Order. (Order [Doc. 74] 2:1–4:3.) By way

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of background, Jonathan Thomas (“Thomas”) is a person who has suffered from a variety

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of mental disorders and attempted suicide three times by jumping off the upper tier of an

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inmate housing area. Thomas’ father Dave (“Plaintiff”)1 has adequately alleged that

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Dave Thomas is suing as guardian ad litem on behalf of his son.
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3:15-cv-02232-L-AGS

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Defendants were aware of or certainly should have been aware of Thomas’ suicidal

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tendencies and the seemingly substantial risk presented by housing him in an upper tier

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under low supervision levels. Nevertheless, Plaintiff alleges that each of the moving

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defendants approved Thomas for housing on an upper tier under low supervision levels.

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Accordingly, the Court denied Defendants’ motion to dismiss the first and fifth causes of

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action against them, respectively alleging deliberate indifference in violation of 42 U.S.C.

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§ 1983 and negligence. (Order.) Defendants now move for reconsideration of this

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denial.

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A district court has the power to reconsider and amend a previous order. See Fed.

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R. Civ P. 59(e). However, a district court generally should not grant a motion for

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reconsideration unless (1) the moving party presents newly discovered evidence, (2) there

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is an intervening change in the controlling law or (3) the original ruling was clearly

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erroneous. 389 Orange Street Partners v. Arnold, 179 F.3d 656, 665 (9th Cir. 1999).

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Here, none of these bases for granting a motion for reconsideration are present.

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Defendants have not presented any newly discovered evidence nor cited to authority

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showing an intervening change in controlling law. Nor have Defendants presented any

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new or colorable arguments as why the Court’s decision was clearly erroneous. Rather,

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Defendants simply repeat the same arguments the Court has already considered and

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rejected in the course of ruling upon Defendants’ earlier motion to dismiss. The Court

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declines to repeat the same analyses and instead refers Defendants to the previous Order.

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(See Order.)

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Defendants also seek clarification as to whether the Court made findings of fact

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that are binding as law of the case. The answer is no. As explained in the Court’s

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previous order, Defendants’ motion was a Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motion. (Order 4:5–

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22.) In ruling upon Defendants’ Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the Court properly assumed all of

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Plaintiff’s allegations to be true and construed them in favor of Plaintiff. (Id.) Such a

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ruling certainly does not foreclose a defendant from presenting evidence at later stages of

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the litigation that disputes the accuracy of a plaintiff’s allegations. Nor did the Court
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3:15-cv-02232-L-AGS

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hold that Defendants’ cannot reassert their qualified immunity argument at a later stage

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with the benefit of an evidentiary record. Rather, the Court simply held that, based on the

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allegations contained in the First Amended Complaint, Defendants are not entitled to

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qualified immunity at the pleadings stage.

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For the foregoing reasons, the Court DENIES Defendants’ motion for

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reconsideration.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: September 27, 2017

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