Knox v. US Customs and Border Patrol et al
Filing
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ORDER DISMISSING CASE With Prejudice. The Court DISMISSES Knox's fourth amended complaint with prejudice. Despite giving Knox several chances to amend, the Court simply does not see a way for Knox to allege any new facts not previously stated which would waive the United States' sovereign immunity. Signed by Judge Anthony J. Battaglia on 12/3/2018.(All non-registered users served via U.S. Mail Service)(acc)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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PEGGY KNOX,
Case No.: 18-cv-0030-AJB-AGS
Plaintiff,
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v.
ORDER DISMISSING THE CASE
WITH PREJUDICE
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CHRISTINA ACOSTA,
(Doc. No. 15)
Defendant.
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Pro se plaintiff Peggy Knox has now had five opportunities to state her federal claim,
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which the Court reviews under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e). This review is required when a
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plaintiff files a motion to proceed in forma pauperis. (Doc. No. 2.) Under this mandatory
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screening, the Court finds that Knox’s “Fourth” Amended Complaint, actually the fifth
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amendment filed) insufficient to state a claim for relief. Thus, the Court DENIES as moot
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Knox’s IFP motion, (Doc. No. 2), and DISMISSES her Fourth Amended Complaint,
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(Doc. No. 15), with prejudice.
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I.
SCREENING UNDER 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)
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Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2), when reviewing an IFP motion, the Court must rule
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on its own motion to dismiss before the complaint is served. Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122,
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1127 (9th Cir. 2000). The Court must dismiss the complaint if it is frivolous, malicious,
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failing to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeking monetary relief from
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a defendant immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B); Calhoun v. Stahl, 254
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F.3d 845, 845 (9th Cir. 2001) (per curiam) (noting 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) is “not limited
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to prisoners”); Lopez, 203 F.3d at 1127 (“[§] 1915(e) not only permits but requires a district
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court to dismiss an [IFP] complaint that fails to state a claim”). Accordingly, the Court
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“may dismiss as frivolous complaints reciting bare legal conclusions with no suggestion of
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supporting facts. . . .” Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1228 (9th Cir. 1984) (internal
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quotation omitted). “[A] complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true,
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to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678
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(2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 547 (2007)). A complaint
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is facially plausible when the facts alleged allow “the court to draw the reasonable inference
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that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id.
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However, pro se pleadings are held to “less stringent standards than formal pleadings
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drafted by lawyers” because pro se litigants are more prone to making errors in pleading
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than litigants represented by counsel. Hughes v. Rowe, 449 U.S. 5, 9 (1980) (internal
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quotations omitted); see Noll v. Carlson, 809 F.2d 1446, 1448 (9th Cir. 1987), superseded
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by statute on other grounds, Lopez, 203 F.3d at 1126–30 (9th Cir. 2000). Thus, the Supreme
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Court has stated that federal courts should liberally construe the “‘inartful pleading’ of pro
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se litigants.” Eldridge v. Block, 832 F.2d 1132, 1137 (9th Cir. 1987) (quoting Boag v.
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MacDougall, 454 U.S. 364, 365 (1982)).
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II.
BACKGROUND
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Knox has now amended her complaint five times since filing her initial complaint,
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(Doc. Nos. 1, 4, 9, 11, 13, and 15), alleging tort claims against defendants U.S. Customs
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and Border Protection (“USCBP”), Micah Bennett, Jeffrey Bloxsome, Christina Acosta,
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and Andrea Rodriquez as defendants. (See generally id.) Her current complaint, the fourth
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amended complaint, properly names the United States as a defendant. (Doc. No. 15 at 1.)
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In her fourth amended complaint, Knox states she got lost searching for the George
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Bailey Detention Center and accidentally crossed the border. (Doc. No. 15 ¶¶ 3–4.) She
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was instructed to drive into an inspection lane where two border patrol agents directed her
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to remain in the driver’s seat while they inspected her vehicle. (Id. ¶¶ 4–8.) At that point,
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Knox heard “two loud bangs” and saw one of the agents holding a “black stick in his hand.”
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(Id. ¶¶ 9, 12.) The agents then allowed her to leave and she went to the George Bailey
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Detention Center where she began to feel “sharp pain” in her “head [and] neck.” (Id. ¶ 16.)
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To relieve the pain, Knox took pain reliever and visited a chiropractor.” (Id. ¶¶ 17–20.)
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Knox also discusses two prior accidents she was involved in. In 2013, she was in a Vons
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parking lot when her cart was hit by a car. (Id. ¶ 21.) And in 2015, she was in her vehicle
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in a Fed Ex parking lot and hit by another car. (Id ¶ 24.) She alleges the border incident
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resulted in damage to her car, as well as severe emotional distress. (Id. ¶¶ 29, 35.) Finally,
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Knox attaches various forms documenting her physical and emotional distress. (Id. at 6–
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38.) One of these forms, presumably written by a doctor, states “a border patrol agent was
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inspecting her car. She said he went under the back left side of her vehicle and started to
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hit the under carriage hard with a metal crow bar. The forceful impacts created a headache
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and pain in her neck and upper back.” (Id. at 7.)
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III.
DISCUSSION
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An action against the government for damages resulting from the wrongful conduct
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or negligence of a government employee must be brought under the Federal Tort Claims
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Act. 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671–80. Under the FTCA, the United States is liable for tort claims “in
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the same manner and to the same extent as a private individual under like circumstances.”
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28 U.S.C. § 2674. Based on Knox’s current complaint, the Court could interpret her
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complaint as bringing a negligence claim for the agent’s alleged negligent handling of her
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vehicle resulting in apparent injury to her person.
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However, the FTCA’s “detention of goods” exception strips this Court of
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sovereignty over her claims. The United States waives its sovereign immunity to allow
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recovery “for injury or loss of property, or personal injury or death caused by the negligent
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or wrongful act or omission of any employee of the Government while acting within the
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scope of his office or employment.” 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b); see also 28 U.S.C. § 2674.
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However, these provisions do not apply to “[a]ny claim arising in respect of the assessment
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or collection of any tax or customs duty, or the detention of any goods, merchandise, or
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other property by any officer of customs or excise or any other law enforcement officer.”
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28 U.S.C. § 2860(c). The Supreme Court has broadly construed the language “arising in
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respect of” to mean any claim “arising out of” the detention of goods or property, including
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a claim resulting from negligent handling or storage of the detained property. Kosak v.
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United States, 465 U.S. 848, 854 (1984).
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In a similar case arising out of Arizona, the Court dismissed plaintiff’s claim “based
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on personal injuries sustained while maneuvering her vehicle into a secondary inspection
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bay at a CBP port of entry.” Boyd v. United States, 2011 WL 31285, at *2 (D. Ariz. Jan. 5,
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2011). The Court held that “[b]ecause Plaintiff’s injury ‘arises out of’ the detention of the
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vehicle in which she was riding, her negligence claim falls squarely within the exception
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in § 2680(c).” Id.; See Goodman v. United States, 987 F.2d 550, 551–52 (8th Cir. 1993)
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(finding routine customs inspection constitutes detention under § 2680(c)). The Ninth
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Circuit has held that the detention of goods exception bars personal injury claims arising
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from the detention of goods, regardless of whether they were intentional torts or grounded
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in negligence. Gasho v. United States, 39 F.3d 1420 (9th Cir. 1994); see also Bramwell v.
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U.S. Bureau of Prisons, 348 F.3d 804, 808 (9th Cir. 2003) (dismissing negligence claim
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where “alleged negligence resulting in damage occurred while [plaintiff’s] personal
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property was detained”).
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Here, any alleged damage to Knox’s vehicle, and the subsequent injury to her head
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and neck were the result of the border agents’ detention of her vehicle as she was coming
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back into the United States after she accidentally entered into Mexico. Thus, similar to the
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plaintiff in Boyd, the injury arose during a detention by border agents and the United States
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retains its sovereign immunity against Knox’s claim.
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IV.
LEAVE TO AMEND
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Leave to amend should be granted if it appears possible that the plaintiff can correct
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the complaint’s deficiency. Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dept., 901 F.2d 696, 701 (9th Cir.
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1988). The “rule favoring liberality in amendments to pleadings is particularly important
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for the pro se litigant. Presumably unskilled in the law, the pro se litigant is far more prone
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to make errors in pleading than the person who benefits from the representation of
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counsel.” Noll, 809 F.2d at 1448; see Crowley v. Bannister, 734 F.3d 967, 977–78 (9th Cir.
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2013); see also Bazrowx v. Scott, 136 F.3d 1053, 1054 (5th Cir. 1998) (“Generally a district
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court errs in dismissing a pro se complaint for failure to state a claim . . . without giving
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the plaintiff an opportunity to amend.”). However, a district court may in its discretion
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deny leave to amend due to repeated failures to cure deficiencies by amendments
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previously allowed. Zucco Partners, LLC v. Digimarc Corp., 552 F.3d 981, 1007 (9th Cir.
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2009). “The district court’s discretion to deny leave to amend is particularly broad.” Id.
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In the Court’s prior order, it allowed Knox one last opportunity to amend, as Knox
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had repeatedly omitted facts and alleged new facts in each of her complaints. Looking at
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the fourth amended complaint as the final complaint alleging all relevant facts, the Court
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finds it would be futile to allow Knox another opportunity to amend. While the Court is
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sympathetic Knox’s claim is now dismissed, the Court gave her every opportunity to allege
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the proper defendants, relevant facts, and theories of law.
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V.
CONCLUSION
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For the reasons stated herein, the Court DISMISSES Knox’s fourth amended
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complaint with prejudice. Despite giving Knox several chances to amend, the Court simply
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does not see a way for Knox to allege any new facts not previously stated which would
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waive the United States’ sovereign immunity.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: December 3, 2018
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