Source: https://www.animallaw.info/case/conway-v-pasadena-humane-society
Timestamp: 2019-04-18 23:18:35+00:00

Document:
Country of Origin: United States Court Name: The California Court of Appeal (2 Dist.) Primary Citation: 52 Cal.Rptr.2d 777 (1996) Date of Decision: Wednesday, May 8, 1996 Judge Name: MASTERSON, Associate Justice Jurisdiction Level: California Alternate Citation: 45 Cal.App.4th 163, 96 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 3304, 96 Daily Journal D.A.R. 5357 Judges: ORTEGA MASTERSON MIRIAM A. VOGEL Attorneys: Knapp, Petersen & Clarke, David C. Haber and Cyril Czajkowskyj, Glendale, for Plaintiffs and Appellants. McHale & Connor and Bruce Janger, Los Angeles, for Defendants and Appellants.
This appeal presents the question of whether animal control officers can lawfully enter a home, absent a warrant or consent, to seize and impound the homeowner's dog for violation of a leash law. We hold that the Fourth Amendment precludes such conduct.
In July 1992, the City entered into a one-year contract with the Pasadena Humane Society (the "Humane Society"), a nonprofit corporation, appointing it as the poundmaster. Officers of the Humane Society serve as deputy poundmasters.
FN1. Toby had been impounded, or a citation had been issued, on 14 prior occasions (over a 4 1/2 year period) for various violations of the animal ordinance.
FN2. Jurman and Blair serve as deputy poundmasters under the animal ordinance. In common parlance, they are often called animal control officers. They had also been duly appointed as "humane officers" under Civil Code section 607f, which governs the qualifications, appointment, and powers of such officers.
FN3. According to the Conways, they did not let Toby run loose. Mr. Conway testified: "We never let the dog out. So at all times, he was supposed to be behind the locked gates of the premises." The Conways had problems with Toby running at large on Thursdays because the City's trash collectors occasionally left the gate open. (The present incident occurred on a Thursday.) Sergeant Jurman was aware of this problem.
FN4. According to Mr. Conway, "The door was left unlocked. Toby knew how to open it. It was a self-closing type of thing." Apparently, on the day in question, the self-closing mechanism did not operate properly.
FN5. If a dog has been running at large and the owner is not at home, it is the practice of the Humane Society to enter the residence without a warrant in order to seize and impound the dog. According to Sergeant Jurman, such entries are a "normal occurrence." If the dog's owner is at home, the animal is not impounded, so there is no need to enter the house or seize the dog.
FN6. This was not the first time Sergeant Jurman decided to make a warrantless entry into the Conway residence. On an earlier occasion, at least a year before the present incident, he had entered the home without a warrant to seize Toby for running at large. No one was at home on that occasion either, and Jurman entered the house through the back door.
Before entering a residence while the occupants are away, Humane Society officers notify the Pasadena Police Department. Accordingly, Sergeant Jurman requested the assistance of the police, in part because he feared that a burglar might be in the Conway home. Two police officers, Chavira and Potekian, arrived within 15 minutes. While Jurman and Blair remained on the patio outside, the police entered the house through the partially open door and searched each of the rooms, the closets, and under the beds for signs of an intruder or a burglary. They found no one in the house and no evidence of a burglary. However, they did find Toby lying on a bed in one of the bedrooms. As Chavira testified, "[W]e closed two doors to the room to make sure the dog wouldn't get out." The windows were also closed, and the dog had no means of escape.
After completing their search, the police returned to the patio where Jurman and Blair were waiting. Chavira informed them that there was no burglary, that the house was secure, and that the dog was in one of the bedrooms. Jurman and Blair indicated that they wanted to enter the house in order to take the dog. Based on his conversation with Jurman, Chavira believed that the dog was a stray and did not belong on the property. He therefore allowed Jurman and Blair to enter the house. All four officers proceeded to the bedroom, and Jurman took possession of the dog. Had Chavira known that Toby belonged to the Conways, he would not have allowed the Humane Society officers to enter the house.
Sergeant Jurman posted a notice of impoundment on the front door of the Conway home and took Toby to the pound. The Conways were charged with a violation of the City's "leash law" (Pasadena Mun.Code, § 6.12.010), which is a misdemeanor. [FN7] Four months later, the Conways entered a plea of nolo contendere. They were placed on probation for two years and fined $500. Toby was returned to them at that time.
In September 1993, the Conways filed this action against the Humane Society, the City, and Jurman. [FN8] The gravamen of the action is a federal civil rights claim (42 U.S.C. § 1983) alleging that defendants violated the Conways' rights under the Fourth Amendment to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. [FN9] After engaging in discovery, defendants moved for summary judgment in June 1994. [FN10] The trial court granted the motion on the ground that defendants had not violated the Fourth Amendment. Defendants then moved for attorney fees, which the court denied. Judgment was entered on August 22, 1994. The Conways filed a timely appeal from the summary judgment ruling, and defendants filed a timely cross-appeal from the order denying their motion for fees.
FN8. Because the complaint did not correctly name Sergeant Jurman, he was served as a Doe defendant. A default was entered against him, which was later set aside. The case then proceeded as to all three defendants. For convenience, we occasionally refer to the Humane Society, the City, and Jurman collectively as "defendants."
FN9. Title 42, United States Code section 1983 states that "[e]very person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State ..., subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States ... to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress."
FN10. According to defendants, the trial court had sustained a demurrer without leave to amend as to the causes of action for interference with chattel and loss of consortium. (See fn. 9, ante.) The summary judgment motion was directed at the remaining causes of action. On appeal, the Conways have not challenged the ruling on the demurrer.
On appeal, defendants argue that summary judgment was properly granted because, as a matter of law, they did not violate the Conways' Fourth Amendment rights. Alternatively, defendants contend that, as a matter of law, they were entitled to qualified immunity based on Jurman's objectively reasonable belief that he could enter the Conway residence without a warrant. We disagree with both contentions and reverse.
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, made applicable to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment (Mapp v. Ohio (1961) 367 U.S. 643, 81 S.Ct. 1684, 6 L.Ed.2d 1081), provides: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
In this case, the Conways contend that defendants are liable for several distinct violations of the Fourth Amendment. First, they claim that defendants lacked probable cause to believe that Toby had been running at large. Second, they argue that defendants committed three separate unlawful searches or seizures--when the Humane Society officers entered the yard, when the police first entered the house to check for a burglar, and when the Humane Society officers later entered the house to seize the dog.
Because this appeal arises from the granting of summary judgment, we need not reach all of the Conways' contentions if one of them has merit. Since we conclude that the animal control officers could not lawfully enter the Conway home to seize the dog, we do not reach any of the Conways' other Fourth Amendment claims.
Even if exigent circumstances permitted the police to enter the Conway home and search for a burglar (cf. People v. Bradley, supra, 132 Cal.App.3d at pp. 741-744, 183 Cal.Rptr. 434)--an issue on which we express no opinion-- such circumstances did not exist after the police completed their initial search. No one was inside the house, and the dog was safely secured in one of the bedrooms. Defendants do not contend that Toby posed a danger to anyone or anything at that time. (Cf. In re Quackenbush (1996) 41 Cal.App.4th 1301, 1306-1307, 49 Cal.Rptr.2d 147 [where dog has bitten someone, exigent circumstances may justify warrantless seizure of dog from residence if necessary to determine whether dog has rabies]; see also Camara v. Municipal Court (1967) 387 U.S. 523, 87 S.Ct. 1727, 18 L.Ed.2d 930 [Fourth Amendment precludes warrantless searches of residence to enforce municipal fire, health, and housing codes].) On the contrary, the police indicated that Toby was lying on the bed, that he was not disruptive, and that he had done nothing improper inside the house.
FN11. Sergeant Jurman testified that he could have sought a warrant while in the field by contacting the watch commander of the Pasadena Police Department, who would have filled out the warrant and sought a judge's signature. Jurman assumed that this procedure would have taken very little time.
FN12. Because the officers did not even attempt to obtain a warrant, we do not reach the question of whether they could have properly obtained one in the circumstances of this case.
FN13. Defendants do not contend that the Conways consented to any search or seizure.
Consistent with the practice of Humane Society officers in the field, on appeal defendants largely ignore the issue of whether exigent circumstances justified the entry into the Conway home. Instead, they rely on statutory authority for the proposition that animal control officers can make a warrantless, nonconsensual entry into a residence to seize the homeowner's dog for a prior violation of the leash law. [FN15] In particular, defendants rely on Government Code section 53074, which states in part: "A dog that has strayed from but then returned to the private property of his owner or the person who has a right to control the dog shall not be seized or impounded, but in such a case a citation may be issued; provided, however, that if in such a situation the owner or person who has a right to control the dog is not home, the dog may be impounded, but the officer or employee of any animal control agency shall post a notice of such impounding on the front door of the living unit of the owner or person who has a right to control the dog." Similarly, Pasadena Municipal Code section 6.08.110 states: "The poundmaster is authorized to enter upon any premises upon which any animal is kept, for the purpose of taking up, seizing or impounding any animal found running at large...."
FN15. We refer to a "prior" violation of the leash law because the dog is obviously not "at large" while inside the house. At that point, the leash law is not being violated.
It does not follow, however, that Government Code section 53074 and Pasadena Municipal Code section 6.08.010 are unconstitutional. Where a statute is susceptible of several interpretations, one of which raises serious constitutional problems, we will construe the statute, if possible, to avoid those problems. (See DeBartolo Corp. v. Fla. Gulf Coast Building and Construction Trades Council (1988) 485 U.S. 568, 575, 108 S.Ct. 1392, 1397- 1398, 99 L.Ed.2d 645.) Here, neither the Government Code nor the Pasadena Municipal Code addresses, much less authorizes, warrantless searches of a private residence without consent or exigent circumstances. While both codes permit the impounding of a dog found on private property, that authorization does not conflict with the requirements of the Fourth Amendment. Plainly, an animal control officer can seize a dog from a residence and also comply with the Fourth Amendment. Accordingly, we refuse to interpret these regulatory provisions as authorizing the type of search and seizure conducted by the Humane Society in this case.
FN16. As stated, the question of whether exigent circumstances will justify a given search or seizure must be decided on a case-by-case basis. Consequently, we do not suggest that animal control officers must always obtain a warrant before seizing an animal on private property.
FN17. A qualified immunity defense protects individual officers, not municipalities or other governmental entities. (Leatherman v. Tarrant County Narcotics Intelligence and Coordination Unit (1993) 507 U.S. 163, 166, 113 S.Ct. 1160, 1162, 122 L.Ed.2d 517; Owen v. City of Independence (1980) 445 U.S. 622, 638, 100 S.Ct. 1398, 1409, 63 L.Ed.2d 673.) Thus, the Humane Society and the City cannot invoke this defense.
In this case, the Conways seek to impose liability on Sergeant Jurman based on his entry into their home in February 1993. As of that time, the Fourth Amendment, as construed by state and federal courts, clearly precluded a warrantless, nonconsensual entry into a home absent exigent circumstances. Indeed, this fundamental principle of Fourth Amendment jurisprudence was well established long before February 1993, and it remains the law today. As we have already explained, the record before us does not suggest that any exigent circumstances justified the entry into the Conway home to seize Toby.
FN18. In fact, Jurman and Blair had received training on the subject of search warrants.
Finally, we do not conclude that Government Code section 53074 or Pasadena Municipal Code section 6.08.110 confers qualified immunity on Sergeant Jurman as a matter of law. While it is relevant to consider the existence and effect of such laws in determining a qualified immunity defense (Ayler v. Hopper (M.D.Ala.1981) 532 F.Supp. 198, 200), we cannot say as a matter of law that a reasonable officer would interpret those laws to dispense with the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement. Arguably, a reasonable officer would read both the statute and the municipal code consistently with the Fourth Amendment, i.e., to require a warrant for a nonconsensual entry into a home absent exigent circumstances. This conclusion is supported by the testimony of Police Officer Chavira, who stated that he allowed the animal control officers to enter the Conway residence only because he thought Toby was a stray. [FN19] It would also be helpful to know how animal control officers in other California jurisdictions interpret Government Code Section 53074 and their own ordinances, if any, which are similar to Pasadena's. The views of any animal control associations and organizations, on the state or national levels, may also be of assistance.
FN19. We do not address the question of whether a warrant is necessary when an apparently stray dog takes refuge in someone's home. We simply find it relevant that Officer Chavira thought Jurman could not enter the residence to seize a dog that belonged to the homeowner.
Accordingly, we conclude that the qualified immunity doctrine did not justify summary judgment in Sergeant Jurman's favor.
The trial court granted summary judgment on the Conways' remaining causes of action--for trespass, conversion, negligence, invasion of privacy, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, violation of the California Constitution's prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures, and conspiracy--based on its conclusion that Officers Jurman and Blair had lawfully entered the Conway home to seize Toby. Our decision eliminates the trial court's basis for dismissing these additional claims, and there is no alternative ground for upholding summary adjudication as to them.
Thus, the trial court improperly granted summary judgment. Given our reversal of the judgment, it follows that defendants are not entitled to attorney fees for having prevailed below.
The judgment is reversed. Nicholas and Virginia Conway are entitled to costs on appeal.

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