Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_10-cv-00367/USCOURTS-casd-3_10-cv-00367-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 380
Nature of Suit: Other Personal Property Damage
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Civil Rights Act

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

RUSSO BAILEY,

Plaintiff,

Case No. 10cv0367 BTM(CAB)

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO

DISMISS COMPLAINT AND

DENYING MOTION FOR

SANCTIONS

v.

D. ROOT; D. HOLLISTER; WILLIAM

LANDSDOWNE, CITY OF SAN DIEGO,

STAR TOWING, DEPARTMENT OF

MOTOR VEHICLES FOR THE STATE

OF CALIFORNIA, 5 UNKNOWN POLICE

DEPUTIES,

Defendants.

The City of San Diego (the “City”) has filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s Complaint

for failure to state a claim. Plaintiff Russo Bailey (“Plaintiff”), proceeding pro se, has filed

motion for sanctions against the City. For the reasons discussed below, the City’s motion

to dismiss is GRANTED, and Plaintiff’s motion for sanctions is DENIED.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff commenced this action on February 16, 2010. 

Plaintiff’s Complaint arises out of two incidents during which (1) Plaintiff was issued

a Notice to Appear by San Diego police officers for operating a motorcycle without having

a proper motorcycle license or endorsement; and (2) the police officers took possession of

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Plaintiff’s motorcycle and had it towed away by Star Towing. 

The first incident took place on July 1, 2006, and was the subject of a lawsuit Plaintiff

filed in 2007 against defendants Hollister, Landsdowne, the City of San Diego, Star Towing,

the DMV, and others. (Bailey v. Hollister, et al., 07cv2243 JM(NLS)).

The second incident took place on September 7, 2009.

Plaintiff’s Complaint sets forth six “causes of action” and seven “claims for relief.” 

Construing the Complaint liberally, Plaintiff’s legal claims can be reduced to the following:

(1) a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for false arrest; (2) a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for

unlawful seizure of property and violation of his due process rights; (3) a claim under 42

U.S.C. § 1983 for excessive force; (4) a Monell claim against the City; (5) a claim for violation

of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1985, 1986; (6) violation of various California Penal Code provisions; and

(7) violation of the California Constitution. 

II. STANDARD

A motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) should be granted

only where a plaintiff's complaint lacks a "cognizable legal theory" or sufficient facts to

support a cognizable legal theory. Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dept., 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th

Cir. 1988). When reviewing a motion to dismiss, the allegations of material fact in plaintiff’s

complaint are taken as true and construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. See

Parks Sch. of Bus., Inc. v. Symington, 51 F.3d 1480, 1484 (9th Cir. 1995). Although

detailed factual allegations are not required, factual allegations “must be enough to raise a

right to relief above the speculative level.” Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct.

1955, 1965 (2007). “A plaintiff’s obligation to prove the ‘grounds’ of his ‘entitle[ment] to

relief’ requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements

of a cause of action will not do.” Id. “[W]here the well-pleaded facts do not permit the court

to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct, the complaint has alleged - but it has

not show[n] that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, __ U.S. __, 129 S,Ct.

1937, 1950 (2009) (internal quotation marks omitted). 

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III. DISCUSSION 

A. Motion to Dismiss

The City contends that Plaintiff’s Complaint should be dismissed for failure to state

a claim. Upon review of the Complaint, the Court agrees with the City.

To the extent Plaintiff’s claims are based on the July 1, 2006 incident, Plaintiff’s claims

are barred under the doctrine of res judicata. “Res judicata” encompasses both claim

preclusion and issue preclusion. Taylor v. Sturgell, 553 U.S. 880, 128 S. Ct. 2161, 2171

(2008). Under the doctrine of claim preclusion, a final judgment forecloses “successive

litigation of the very same claim, whether or not relitigation of the claim raises the same

issues as the earlier suit.” New Hampshire v. Maine, 532 U.S. 742, 748 (2001). For

purposes of claim preclusion, “identity of claims” exists when two suits arise from “the same

transactional nucleus of facts.” Owens v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., 244 F.3d 708,

714 (9th Cir. 2001). Issue preclusion, in contrast, bars “successive litigation of an issue of

fact or law actually litigated and resolved in a valid court determination essential to the prior

judgment.” New Hampshire, 532 U.S. at 748-49. 

In Bailey v. Hollister, et al., 07cv2243 JM(NLS), Plaintiff sued Hollister, Landsdowne,

the City of San Diego, Star Towing, the DMV, and others for violating his civil rights in

connection with the July 1, 2006 incident. Plaintiff’s claims against the DMV were dismissed

without prejudice on grounds of sovereign immunity. (Doc. No. 3.) In an order filed on

November 3, 2008, Judge Miller granted summary judgment in favor of the City defendants

on Plaintiff’s Monell claim and Plaintiff’s claims for false arrest, use of excessive force,

unlawful deprivation of property, and violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1986. Final judgment was

entered on December 11, 2008.

In this case, Plaintiff makes almost identical claims against Hollister, Landsdowne, the

City of San Diego, and Star Towing based on the July 1, 2006 incident. These claims are

barred by the doctrine of res judicata and are dismissed with prejudice.

Furthermore, Plaintiff’s claims based on the July 1, 2006 incident are time-barred.

The applicable limitations period is two years. Carpinteria Valley Farms, Ltd. v. County of

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 Plaintiff may also be attempting to sue under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for improper delay 1

in his arraignment and violation of his right to a speedy trial. (Compl. ¶ 19.) However, this

claim would also imply the validity of his conviction and would be Heck-barred. See Byrd v.

Teater, 2008 WL 958194 (E.D. Cal. 2008).

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Santa Barbara, 344 F.3d 822, 828 (9th Cir. 2003); Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 335.1. At the time

Plaintiff filed his prior suit on June 25, 2007, almost half of the limitations period had run (359

days). The statute of limitations was tolled until, at the latest, January 10, 2009 (the last day

for filing an appeal from the December 11, 2008 judgment). The remaining 371 days of the

limitations period expired on January 16, 2010. Therefore, Plaintiff’s Complaint, which is

dated February 11, 2010, and was filed on February 16, 2010, was untimely. 

Plaintiff’s claims based on the September 7, 2009 incident also fail. Plaintiff alleges

false arrest in connection with the September 7, 2009 incident. However, it appears from

the allegations of the Complaint that Plaintiff’s false arrest claim is barred by Heck v.

Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 (1994). In Heck, the Supreme Court held that a section 1983 claim

must be dismissed if a judgment in favor of the plaintiff would necessarily “imply the invalidity

of his conviction or sentence” and the conviction has not been reversed, expunged, 

or called into question by issuance of a writ of habeas corpus. Id. at 486-87. Plaintiff alleges

that he was found guilty of the Vehicle Code violations for which he was cited. (Compl. ¶¶

18-19.) Plaintiff’s false arrest claim necessarily implies that his conviction was invalid. See

Cabrera v. City of Huntington Park, 159 F.3d 374, 380 (9th Cir. 1998). Plaintiff does not

allege that his conviction was expunged or otherwise set aside. Therefore, the Court

dismisses this claim but grants Plaintiff leave to amend his Complaint to plead any facts that

would show that his false arrest claim is not barred by Heck.1

As in his prior case, Plaintiff alleges that he was “vehicle jacked” and “robbed of

property.” The Complaint itself does not contain factual allegations explaining how he was

deprived of his vehicle. However, it appears that Plaintiff is complaining about the towing

of his vehicle after he was issued the Notice to Appear for operating a motorcycle without

a valid driver’s license or endorsement in violation of Cal. Veh. Code § 12500(b). The

doctrine of issue preclusion bars this claim because Plaintiff litigated this exact same issue

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against the City in Plaintiff’s prior case. Judge Miller granted summary judgment in favor of

the City defendants on Plaintiff’s claim for unlawful deprivation of property. Judge Miller

pointed out that Cal. Veh. Code § 22651(p) permits a peace officer to remove a vehicle after

issuing the driver a notice to appear for a violation of § 12500, and held that the seizure of

a vehicle pursuant to this provision does not violate due process. (Doc. Nos. 50, 78.) See

also Mohammed El v. Opdyke, 2004 WL 1465692, at * 3 (N.D. Cal. June 23, 2004) (holding

that an officer did not commit a constitutional violation by refusing to allow plaintiff access

to his vehicle pursuant to Cal. Veh. Code § 22651(p).) Accordingly, the Court dismisses this

claim. 

Plaintiff uses the words “assault” and “excessive force” in his Complaint (Compl. ¶¶

25, 27), but does not set forth any facts regarding the use of force against him during the

September 7, 2009 incident. Therefore, this claim is also dismissed.

Plaintiff’s Monell claim fails because Plaintiff has not stated a claim for a constitutional

violation.

Plaintiff alleges that unknown police deputies witnessed civil rights violations against

him and made no attempt to prevent those violations in contravention of 42 U.S.C. § 1986.

Section 1986 provides: “Every person who, having knowledge that any of the wrongs

conspired to be done, and mentioned in section 1985 of this title, are about to be committed,

and having power to prevent or aid in preventing the commission of the same, neglects or

refuses so to do, if such wrongful act be committed, shall be liable to the party injured, or his

legal representatives, for all damages caused by such wrongful act . . . .” (Emphasis added.)

It appears that Plaintiff alleges a violation of § 1985(3), which provides a cause of

action where “two or more persons in any State or Territory conspire or go in disguise on the

highway or on the premises of another, for the purpose of depriving, either directly or

indirectly, any person or class of persons of the equal protection of the laws, or of equal

privileges and immunities under the laws.” Racial or some other class-based animus is an

essential requirement of a claim under the first clause of § 1985(3). Griffin v Breckenridge,

403 U.S. 88 (1971). “To establish racial or class-based animus, a plaintiff must show

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‘invidiously discriminatory motivation . . . behind the conspirators’ action.’” Usher v. City of

Los Angeles, 828 F.2d 556, 561 (9th Cir. 1987) (quoting Griffin, 403 U.S. at 102).

The Complaint does not contain any factual allegations showing that Defendants

discriminated against Plaintiff based on race or membership in a class. Therefore, Plaintiff’s

§ 1986 claim is dismissed.

Plaintiff alleges violations of miscellaneous California criminal statutes including Penal

Code 211 (robbery), Penal Code 213 (robbery; degrees), Penal Code 209 (kidnapping),

Penal Code § 825 (appearance before magistrate); Penal Code § 1049.5 (trial date; felony

cases); and Penal Code § 686 (defendants’ rights). However, these statutory provisions do

not provide for civil enforcement. Therefore, Plaintiff lacks standing to sue for their violation.

See Ellis v. City of San Diego, 176 F.3d 1183, 1189 (1999) (holding that district court

properly dismissed claims brought under the California Penal Code because the code

sections did not create enforceable individual rights). 

In Paragraph 31 of the Complaint, Plaintiff alleges that the California Constitution was

violated. However, Plaintiff does not specify what provision of the California Constitution was

violated and how it was violated. The only specific provision of the California Constitution

Plaintiff mentions in the Complaint is Article 1, § 15, which provides that a defendant in a

criminal case “has the right to a speedy public trial.” (Compl. ¶ 19.) However, it appears

that there is no tort cause of action for the violation of this constitutional provision. See

Walker v. County of Santa Clara, 2005 WL 2437037 (N.D. Cal. 2005); Reinhardt v. Santa

Clara County, 2006 WL 662741 (N.D. Cal. 2006). Plaintiff cites to Cal. Civil Code § 52.1,

which authorizes a civil action in the case where a “person or persons . . . interferes by

threats, intimidation, or coercion, or attempts to interfere by threats, intimidation, or coercion,

with the exercise or enjoyment by any individual or individuals of rights secured by the

Constitution or laws of the United States, or of the rights secured by the Constitution or laws

of this state . . . .” However, § 52.1 requires “an attempted or completed act of interference

with a legal right, accompanied by a form of coercion.” Jones v. Kmart Corp., 17 Cal. 4th

329, 334 (1998). Plaintiff’s Complaint does not allege any coercion in connection with the

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alleged violation of his speedy trial rights. Therefore, Plaintiff has not stated a claim for

violation of his right to a speedy trial or any other right guaranteed by the California

Constitution.

All of Plaintiff’s claims against the DMV are barred by the Eleventh Amendment,

which prohibits suits against a state or its agencies or departments for legal or equitable

relief. Papasan v. Allain, 478 U.S. 265, 276 (1986). “The state of California has not waived

its Eleventh Amendment immunity with respect to claims brought under § 1983 in federal

court, and the Supreme Court has held that § 1983 was not intended to abrogate a State’s

Eleventh Amendment immunity.” Dittman v. California, 191 F.3d 1020, 1025-26 (9th Cir.

1999) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). Accordingly, Plaintiff’s claims against

the DMV are dismissed with prejudice.

Finally, Plaintiff’s claims against Police Chief William Lansdowne are dismissed for

the additional reason that they rest upon the theory of respondeat superior. (Compl. ¶ 32.)

Respondeat superior is not a viable theory of liability in § 1983 cases. Monell v. New York

City Dep’t of Social Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 694 (1978).

B. Motion for Sanctions

In opposition to the City’s motion to dismiss, Plaintiff filed a motion for Rule 11

sanctions. Plaintiff contends that the City filed the motion to dismiss in bad faith and for

purposes of harassment. 

Plaintiff’s motion for sanctions is denied. Plaintiff did not comply with Rule 11's “safe

harbor” requirement, which provides that a party seeking sanctions must give the opposing

party 21 days after service of the motion to “withdraw or appropriately correct[ ]” the

challenged paper, claim, defense, contention, or denial.” The safe harbor provision is strictly

enforced. Holgate v. Baldwin, 425 F.3d 671, 678 (9th Cir. 2005). Because Plaintiff did not

comply with the safe harbor provision, Plaintiff’s motion for sanctions is denied. Plaintiff’s

motion is also denied because he has failed to establish that the City brought the motion for

any improper purpose.

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IV. CONCLUSION 

For the reasons discussed above, the City’s motion to dismiss is GRANTED.

Plaintiff’s claims against Defendants based on the July 1, 2006 incident are DISMISSED

WITH PREJUDICE. All of Plaintiff’s claims against the DMV are DISMISSED WITH

PREJUDICE. Plaintiff’s claims based on the September 7, 2009 incident are DISMISSED

with leave to amend. Plaintiff may file an amended complaint correcting the deficiencies

noted above on or before July 29, 2010. Failure to do so will result in the closing of this

case.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: July 14, 2010

Honorable Barry Ted Moskowitz

United States District Judge

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