Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_11-cv-00522/USCOURTS-casd-3_11-cv-00522-7/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 440
Nature of Suit: Other Civil Rights
Cause of Action: 42:1983cv Civil Rights Act - Civil Action for Deprivation of Rights

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

THE ESTATE OF ANASTACIO 

HERNANDEZ-ROJAS, by its personal 

representative DAISY HERNANDEZ, et 

al.,,

Plaintiff,

v.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,,

Defendant.

Case No.: 11cv522 L (DHB)

ORDER DENYING MOTION TO 

FIND APPEAL FRIVOLOUS

[ECF No. 334] and DENYING AS 

MOOT MOTION TO STAY [ECF No. 

362]

On September 29, 2014, the Court denied all of the individual defendants’ motions 

for summary judgment based largely on the issue of qualified immunity. [ECF No. 325] 

Thereafter, the individual defendants filed a joint Notice of Appeal to the Ninth Circuit

Court of Appeals. [ECF No. 328] Plaintiffs now move for certification that the 

interlocutory appeal is frivolous so that the Court may retain jurisdiction and proceed to 

trial.

A. Background

On May 28, 2010, United States Border Patrol agents arrested Anastacio 

Hernandez Rojas (“Anastacio”) and his brother on United States land near the Mexican 

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border. Plaintiffs, the Estate of Anastacio Hernandez-Roja that is for the benefit of the 

Anastacio’s children, allege that their father, a 42-year old Mexican national, was 

subjected to physical abuse, including the use of a Taser, by defendants that resulted in 

his heart attack and death.

On March 23, 2012, Plaintiffs filed the operative third amended complaint 

(“TAC”) asserting fourteen causes of action: five of the causes of action are alleged 

constitutional violations under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, 403 U.S. 388 

(1971), and the remaining nine are brought under the Federal Tort Claims Act and the 

Alien Tort Claims Act. Plaintiffs named the United States and 12 individuals as 

defendants.

After reviewing the individual defendants’ motions for summary judgment, the 

Court denied all defendants’ motions concerning plaintiffs’ First Amendment Retaliation 

claim; denied Ducoing’s, Krasielwicz’s, Piligrino’s, Narainesingh’s, Llewellyn’s, Vales’, 

Boutwell’s, and Sauer’s motions concerning plaintiffs’ Fourth Amendment Excessive 

Force claim; denied Ducoing’s, Krasielwicz’s, Piligrino’s, Narainesingh’s, Llewellyn’s, 

Vales’, Boutwell’s, Sauer’s and the Supervisory defendants, Avila’s, Caliri’s, and 

DeJesus’ motions concerning plaintiffs’ Right of Association claim; and denied the 

Supervisory defendants’ motions concerning plaintiffs’ claim of failure to supervise and 

to intervene.

B. Legal Standard

A pretrial appeal of an order denying summary judgment is generally not 

appealable. Padgett v. Wright, 587 F.3d 983, 985 (9th Cir. 2009). However, there is a 

narrow exception for the denial of a summary judgment motion based on qualified 

immunity. Id. (citing Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 530 (1985)). “When evaluating a 

denial of summary judgment on the issue of qualified immunity, [appellate] review is 

limited to the “purely legal issue whether the facts alleged ... support a claim of clearly 

established law.” Alston v. Read, 663 F.3d 1094, 1098 (9th Cir. 2011) (quoting Moran v. 

Washington, 147 F.3d 839, 843 (9th Cir. 1998) (internal quotations omitted). Appellate 

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review is not permitted with respect to district court's denial of summary judgment 

“insofar as that order determines whether or not the pre-trial record sets forth a ‘genuine’ 

issue of fact for trial.” Moran, 147 F.3d at 843 (quoting Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304, 

319–20 (1995)). Thus, the appellate court “lacks jurisdiction over an interlocutory appeal 

challenging the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the trial court's conclusion that an 

issue of fact exists.” Jeffers v. Gomez, 267 F.3d 895, 903 (9th Cir. 2001) (citing Johnson,

515 U.S. at 313). However, “summary judgment determinations are appealable when 

they resolve a dispute concerning an ‘abstract issu[e] of law’ relating to qualified 

immunity ... typically, the issue whether the federal right allegedly infringed was ‘clearly 

established.’” Behrens v. Pelletier, 516 U.S. 299, 312–13 (1996); see also Knox v. 

Southwest Airlines, 124 F.3d 1103, 1107 (9th Cir.1997) (“[W]e have jurisdiction over an 

interlocutory appeal from the denial of qualified immunity where the appeal focuses on 

whether the defendants violated a clearly established law given the undisputed facts, 

while we do not have jurisdiction over an interlocutory appeal that focuses on whether 

there is a genuine dispute about the underlying facts.”). “The officials must present the 

appellate court with a legal issue that does not require the court to “consider the 

correctness of the plaintiff's version of the facts....” Cunningham v. City of Wenatchee, 

345 F.3d 802, 807 (9th Cir. 2003) (quoting Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 528 

(1985)).

The appellate court resolves all factual disputes in favor of the plaintiff and looks at 

the purely legal question of whether the defendant's alleged conduct violated the plaintiff's 

clearly established constitutional rights. Bingham v. City of Manhattan Beach, 329 F.3d 

723, 725 (9th Cir. 2003) (noting when facts are disputed, the court must assume the nonmoving party's facts are correct); Jeffers v. Gomez, 267 F.3d 895, 903 (9th Cir. 2001) 

(exercising jurisdiction over the defendant's interlocutory appeal by crediting all of the 

plaintiff's facts, leaving only the legal issue to decide); Schwenk v. Hartford, 204 F.3d 1187, 

1195 (9th Cir. 2000) (noting that “we assume the version of the material facts asserted by 

the non-moving party to be correct” when determining whether the alleged conduct violates 

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clearly established law); Knox, 124 F.3d 1103, 1107 (9th Cir. 1997) (exercising jurisdiction 

even though the district court found disputed issues of material fact).

As noted above, plaintiffs seek to have the interlocutory appeal certified as frivolous 

under Chuman v. Wright, 960 F.2d 104, 105 (9th Cir. 1992). In Chuman, the Ninth Circuit 

recognized the exception to the general rule that a valid notice of appeal divests the district 

court of jurisdiction over all but tangential matters. This exception applies in cases in which 

the district court certifies in writing that the defendant's interlocutory appeal is “frivolous” 

or has been “waived.” Chuman, 960 F.2d at 105. “‘An appeal is frivolous if the results are 

obvious, or the arguments of error are wholly without merit.’ ” In re George, 322 F.3d 586, 

591 (9th Cir. 2002) (quoting Maisano v. United States, 908 F.2d 408, 411 (9th Cir.1990)). 

An appeal that is wholly without merit is one that is “‘so baseless that it does not invoke 

appellate jurisdiction,’ such as when ‘the disposition is so plainly correct that nothing can 

be said on the other side.’” Schering Corp. v. First DataBank Inc., 2007 WL 1747115, at 

*3 (N.D. Cal. June 18, 2007) (quoting Apostol v. Gallion, 870 F.2d 1335, 1339 (7th Cir.

1989)). In the absence of such written certification, the district court is automatically 

divested of jurisdiction to proceed with trial. Chuman, 960 F.2d at 105.

Each of the defendants have submitted oppositions to plaintiffs’ motion. Plaintiffs 

filed a consolidated reply memorandum.

C. Discussion

Plaintiffs contend that the appeal is frivolous because defendants are contesting the 

Court’s conclusion that factual issues exist rather than appealing purely legal issues. As 

noted above, sufficiency of the evidence to show a genuine issue of fact is not appealable. 

Thus, defendants must show there are no violations of plaintiffs’ constitution rights or the 

rights were not clearly established in order to maintain an interlocutory appeal based on 

denial of qualified immunity.

The doctrine of qualified immunity shields government officials from civil liability 

so long as their conduct does not violate clearly established constitutional rights of which 

a reasonable person would have been aware under the circumstances. See Pearson v. 

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Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 231 (2009). Qualified immunity balances the need to hold public 

officials accountable for irresponsible exercises of power and the need to shield officials 

from harassment, distraction, and liability for reasonable performance of their duties. See 

id. Qualified immunity analysis is a two-step process: courts must determine whether a 

plaintiff alleges a constitutional violation, and whether the right at issue was clearly 

established at the time of the alleged violation. Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 201 (2001). 

Which of the two steps should be addressed first rests in the sound discretion of the court. 

Pearson, 555 U.S. at 236.

1. Consideration of the Officers’ Actions Collectively

Defendants first contend that the Court did not make individualized assessments of 

the defendants’ actions but instead dealt with their actions collectively. Plaintiffs’ 

constitutional claims arise under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Fed. 

Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971); see Van Strum v. Lawn, 940 F.2d 406, 409 

(9th Cir.1991) (“Actions under § 1983 and those under Bivens are identical save for the 

replacement of a state actor under § 1983 by a federal actor under Bivens.”).

“Liability under [Bivens] arises only upon a showing of personal participation by 

the defendant”). Taylor v. List, 880 F.2d 1040, 1045 (9th Cir. 1989). A person deprives 

another “of a constitutional right, within the meaning of [Bivens], if he does an 

affirmative act, participates in another's affirmative acts, or omits to perform an act which 

he is legally required to do that causes the deprivation.” Johnson v. Duffy, 588 F.2d 740, 

743 (9th Cir.1978). “The inquiry into causation must be individualized and focus on the 

duties and responsibilities of each individual defendant whose acts or omissions are 

alleged to have caused the constitutional deprivation.” Leer v. Murphy, 844 F.2d 628, 633 

(9th Cir. 1988). Liability on a supervising officer can be imposed even if he or she did 

not directly participate” in the constitutional violation when his or her “own culpable 

action or inaction in the training, supervision, or control” of subordinates. Larez v. City of 

Los Angeles, 946 F.2d 630, 646 (9th Cir. 1991). 

The Court disagrees that individual behavior was not considered in its Order. Each 

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of the defendant’s actions was discussed within each claim and plaintiffs provided 

evidence of each individual defendant’s conduct. That there is some overlap between 

individuals in discussing the facts is unavoidable. The Court made its determination as to 

each individual’s conduct. 

Defendants’ arguments that the Court erred in treating them collectively is the type 

of issue that is not relevant to an appeal of denial of qualified immunity. This is a factbased inquiry that may not be raised on interlocutory appeal as it is not directed to 

whether plaintiffs’ constitutional rights were violated or whether the right was clearly 

establish. 

2. First Amendment Retaliation

In their summary judgment motions, defendants contended that qualified immunity 

bars plaintiff’s First Amended retaliation claim because only the Fourth Amendment

governs the use of force during an arrest. In Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1988), the 

Court provided that “all claims that law enforcement officers have used excessive force –

deadly or not – in the course of an arrest, investigatory stop, or other “seizure” of a free 

citizen should be analyzed under the Fourth Amendment . . . .” Id. at 395. 

The Court however found that plaintiffs’ retaliation claim alleged a First 

Amendment violation relying on Skoog v. County of Clackamas, 469 F.3d 1221, 1232 

(9th Cir. 2006) and Ford v. City of Yakima, 706 F.3d 1188, 1193 (9th Cir. 2013). Further, 

the Court found that the right based on retaliation was clearly established. 

This is the type of legal issue that is appropriate to be taken on appeal in the area of 

qualified immunity, i.e. it is an “abstract issu[e] of law” relating to qualified immunity.

Accordingly, the Court finds that the appeal of plaintiffs’ first amendment retaliation 

claim is appropriately taken at this time. 

Conclusion

Because at least one issue on appeal is appropriately before the Court of Appeals, 

the Court finds that defendants’ appeal is not frivolous. As an appeal divests the district 

court of jurisdiction, defendants’ motion to stay is redundant: the case is stayed pending a 

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decision from the appellate court.

Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED plaintiffs’ motion to find the appeal frivolous is 

DENIED and defendants’ motion to stay is DENIED as moot.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: December 30, 2015

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