Opinion ID: 785861
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Rivas Family Files Suit

Text: 30 The Rivas family filed this lawsuit in the District Court for the District of New Jersey against the City of Passaic, the Passaic Police Department, the Passaic EMT Division, the responding police officers, EMTs Garcia and Rodriguez, and Paramedics Walsh and Lovitch, Passaic-Clifton MICU (Mobile Intensive Care Unit), and John Does I through X. The amended complaint alleges violations of both federal and state law. The federal claim is based on 42 U.S.C. § 1983, while the state claims are based on common law tort principles, such as failure to train and supervise, failure to render medical care, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and assault and battery. Following discovery, the City of Passaic, the Passaic Police Department, and all of the individual defendants except Paramedics Lovitch and Walsh and John Does I through X moved for summary judgment. 31 The District Court granted summary judgment to Officer Caceres, but denied all of the remaining motions. The District Court explained in an oral opinion that it was denying summary judgment because of the factual circumstances in contest. The District Court dismissed the Passaic Police Department and the City of Passaic EMT-Division because those two defendants appeared to be departments or divisions of the City of Passaic, which remained responsible for their conduct. With the exception of paramedics Walsh and Lovitch and the Passaic-Clifton MICU, all of the defendants that remained in the lawsuit appealed the District Court's ruling and we subsequently consolidated the appeals. 3