ANN AIKEN, Chief Judge.
Defendants Todd Bailey, Benjamin Harvey, Tim McCall, Brett Roach, Lisa Trimble, the Corvallis Police Department, the Corvallis City Attorney, and the City of Corvallis ("City") move for summary judgment pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. R. 56. For the reasons set forth below, defendants' motion is granted and this case is dismissed.
On April 7, 2006, at approximately 10:30pm and while on patrol, Officer Harvey approached plaintiff's 16-year-old daughter, Angela Rosenfeld, and her 19-year-old boyfriend, Bradley Johnson, who were sitting in a parked vehicle in a vacant lot. Mr. Johnson informed Officer Harvey that he and Ms. Rosenfeld were waiting for a friend.
Accordingly, Officer Harvey contacted the police station and requested that Officer McCall bring a Portable Breath Tester. Mr. Johnson and Ms. Rosenfeld each consented to taking a breathalyzer test, which confirmed that they had consumed alcohol; Mr. Johnson was cited for being a minor in possession and for providing alcohol to a minor, and Ms. Rosenfeld was cited for being a minor in possession. Ms. Rosenfeld asked Officer Harvey not to call her mother. Officer Harvey informed Ms. Rosenfeld that he was required to do so and subsequently contacted plaintiff.
While waiting for plaintiff to arrive, Ms. Rosenfeld started to "flip out" and stated that she was going to kill herself because she was worried about what her mother would think. Officer McCall approached the vehicle, which was locked. Around this time, plaintiff arrived on the scene. Mr. Johnson, who had left his keys in the car during his initial exit, asked Ms. Rosenfeld to open the door. Officer McCall also asked Ms. Rosenfeld to open the door; she refused and again threatened to kill herself. Officer McCall attempted to calm Ms. Rosenfeld, who started screaming that she wanted to speak with her mother. Officer McCall then observed Ms. Rosenfeld open the glove box and pull out a folding knife. He ordered Ms. Rosenfeld to open the door and drop the knife. Officer McCall also warned her that, if she opened the knife, he was going to break the window.
While Officer Harvey was apprising plaintiff of the situation, he heard Officer McCall ordering Ms. Rosenfeld to get out of the car and rushed over to provide aid; Office McCall advised him that Ms. Rosenfeld had a knife and would not exit the vehicle. After Ms. Rosenfeld opened the knife, Officer McCall broke the passenger-side window with his flashlight to disarm her. While attempting to cover Officer McCall, Officer Harvey noticed plaintiff moving towards him and shouting. Officer Harvey ordered plaintiff to back away and raised his Taser. He explained to plaintiff that she needed to stay back while they secured Ms. Rosenfeld's safety. Plaintiff continued to argue and approach Officer McCall; she did not obey Officer Harvey's orders.
Once Ms. Rosenfeld was removed from the vehicle, Officer Harvey arrested plaintiff for interfering with a peace officer pursuant to Or. Rev. Stat. § 162.247.
On April 7, 2008, plaintiff filed a complaint in this Court, alleging: (1) deprivation of her First and Fourth Amendment rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (2) intentional infliction of emotional distress ("IIED"); and (3) reckless infliction of emotional distress ("RIED"). On March 4, 2009, after receiving leave from the Court, plaintiff filed an amended complaint, alleging: (1) falsification of police reports against Officers McCall and Harvey; (2) obstruction of justice against Commanding Officer Bailey for ratifying Officer Harvey's and Officer McCall's false reports; and (3) perjury against Officers Harvey and McCall arising out of statements made during her August 2008 criminal trial. On January 31, 2011, defendants filed a motion for summary judgement.
Subsequently, plaintiff's case was stayed pending the outcome of her claims against James Hackett and the Linn County Housing Authority. The Honorable Michael Hogan dismissed that lawsuit and, on February 12, 2013, the Ninth Circuit affirmed. Therefore, on February 14, 2013, this Court lifted the stay and entered a new briefing schedule for defendants' January 2011 summary judgment motion. Plaintiff did not file an opposition to defendants' motion.
Summary judgment is appropriate if the pleadings, depositions, affidavits, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, if any, show "that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the [moving party] is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). Substantive law on an issue determines the materiality of a fact.
The moving party has the burden of establishing the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.
Special rules of construction apply when evaluating a summary judgment motion: (1) all reasonable doubts as to the existence of genuine issues of material fact should be resolved against the moving party; and (2) all inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts must be viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party.
Defendants assert that they are entitled to summary judgment on all of plaintiff's claims under a number of different theories. Two preliminary matters must be addressed, however, before reaching the substantive merits of defendants' motion. First, while difficult to decipher, plaintiff's claims appear to be asserted, in part, on behalf of Ms. Rosenfeld. Yet Ms. Rosenfeld is not named as a plaintiff in this action and has not appeared via a duly appointed representative. Therefore, to the extent that the complaint or amended complaint alleges that defendants violated Ms. Rosenfeld's rights, "plaintiff lacks standing to pursue these claims."
Second, plaintiff has not alleged, argued, or submitted any evidence indicating that the Corvallis City Attorney had any involvement in her claims; the Corvallis City Attorney is also not named as a defendant in plaintiff's amended complaint. In addition, the Corvallis Police Department "is not a separate entity from the city itself and thus not amendable to suit."
It is well-established that an "amended complaint supersedes the original, the latter being treated thereafter as non-existent."
To prevail on a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must demonstrate that: (1) the conduct complained of deprived him or her of an existing federal constitutional or statutory right; and (2) the conduct was committed by a state actor or a person acting under color of state law.
It is undisputed that the City and individually named police officers qualify as state actors for the purposes of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Initially, however, plaintiff cannot establish a claim against the City because she failed to allege or argue the existence of a policy or custom that was the moving force behind the constitutional violations at issue.
The Fourth Amendment protects a person's right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. A "warrantless arrest does not violate the Fourth Amendment if the officers had probable cause."
It is undisputed that plaintiff was intentionally seized by Officer Harvey without a warrant for interfering with a peace officer. A person commits this crime if he or she "know[s] that another person is a peace officer [and] [r]efuses to obey a lawful order by the peace officer." Or. Rev. Stat. § 162.247. Here, plaintiff had knowledge that Officer Harvey was a "peace officer" within the meaning of the statute because he was wearing his police uniform and badge, and was driving a marked police vehicle.
This evidence demonstrates that plaintiff was noncompliant with Officer Harvey's lawful orders in violation of Or. Rev. Stat. § 162.247. Plaintiff neglected to provide any evidence in response. Thus, based on Officer Harvey's and Officer McCall's police reports, as well as Officer Harvey's Affidavit, defendants had probable cause to believe that plaintiff was committing the crime of interfering with a peace officer. Even assuming, however, that Office Harvey did not have probable cause to arrest plaintiff, he nonetheless reasonably could have believed he did and therefore is shielded by qualified immunity.
The First Amendment protects a person's right to freedom of speech. In order to prove retaliation under the First Amendment, a plaintiff must establish that he or she engaged in protected speech and "that the officers' conduct would chill a person of ordinary firmness from future First Amendment activity."
Here, plaintiff does not plead or argue the necessary elements of a First Amendment retaliation claim.
There is no allegation or evidence in the record indicating that defendants' desire to chill plaintiff's speech was the but-for cause of their conduct. As discussed above, based on defendants' uncontradicted evidence, Officer Harvey had probable cause to arrest plaintiff. While the existence of probable cause is not dispositive as to retaliatory First Amendment claims, it has "high probative force."
The Oregon Tort Claims Act ("OTCA") governs plaintiff's IIED and RIED claims.
It is undisputed that this lawsuit was commenced on April 7, 2008 and was premised on an injury that took place on April 7, 2006. It is also undisputed that the City qualifies as a public body within the meaning of the OTCA.
Therefore, because she failed to provide the requisite OTCA notice, defendants' motion is granted as to plaintiff's IIED and RIED claims.
The Oregon statutes that govern falsification of police reports, perjury, and obstruction of justice are all criminal in nature.
Nevertheless, even if falsification of a police report, perjury, or obstruction of justice were cognizable as civil claims, plaintiff has not set forth any facts or evidence, beyond mere conclusory allegations, establishing that Officer Harvey's or Officer McCall's statements were false, or that Commanding Officer Bailey ratified their allegedly illegal conduct.
Defendants' motion for summary judgment (doc. 100) is GRANTED. All pending motions are DENIED as moot. This case is DISMISSED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.