Kirkpatrick v. Cnty. of Washoe, No. 12-15080 (9th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseWCDSS took B.W. into protective custody when she was two-days old and placed her with a foster parent without obtaining prior judicial authorization. Plaintiff, B.W.'s biological father, filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 against the County and three social workers, alleging Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment violations. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants. The court concluded that plaintiff lacked a cognizable liberty interest in his relationship with B.W. and the district court properly granted summary judgment in favor of defendants because he could not prove a violation of his constitutional rights. However, the court concluded that the district court erred in deciding that the complaint did not provide adequate notice that B.W. asserted a Fourth Amendment claim on her own behalf and, therefore, defendants are not entitled to summary judgment on this basis. The court further concluded that Defendants Wilcox and Kennedy are not entitled to qualified immunity on B.W.'s Fourth Amendment claim where a reasonable juror might find that a reasonable social worker could not have determined that B.W. would be in imminent danger of serious bodily injury in the time that it would have taken to obtain a warrant. Thus, the court reversed and remanded on this issue. Because the evidence presented here creates at least an inference of an unconstitutional, unofficial custom in Washoe County, the County is not entitled to summary judgment. The court reversed and remanded as to this issue. Finally, the court affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to Defendant Reynolds because plaintiff has not alleged any facts suggesting that she was involved with the decision to take custody of B.W.
Court Description: Civil Rights. The panel affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s summary judgment in favor of defendants and remanded in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action against the County of Washoe and three social workers alleging violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment when defendants took plaintiff’s biological daughter, B.W., into protective custody when she was two days old and placed her with a foster parent without obtaining prior judicial authorization. The panel affirmed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of all of the defendants on the Fourteenth Amendment claim alleged by plaintiff on his own behalf. The panel held that plaintiff did not have a constitutionally recognized liberty interest in his relationship with B.W. when she was taken into custody because his paternity was not yet established. The panel reversed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of two social workers and Washoe County on the claim that they violated B.W.’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable seizures. The panel concluded that the district court erred in deciding that the complaint did not provide adequate notice that B.W. asserted a Fourth Amendment claim on her own behalf. The panel further concluded that the social workers seized B.W. without obtaining a warrant under circumstances where a reasonable KIRKPATRICK V. COUNTY OF WASHOE 3 juror might find that a reasonable social worker could not have determined that the child was in imminent danger of serious bodily injury. The panel determined that the social workers were not entitled to qualified immunity on B.W.’s Fourth Amendment claim. The panel held that the evidence presented at least an inference of an unconstitutional, unofficial custom in Washoe County of taking custody of children under non-exigent circumstances, without obtaining prior judicial authorization. The County therefore was not entitled to summary judgment. The panel remanded for further proceedings on the Fourth Amendment claim filed on behalf of B.W. against these three defendants. The panel affirmed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of social worker Amy Reynolds with respect to all claims because the plaintiffs had not alleged any facts suggesting that she was involved with the decision to take custody of B.W. Dissenting in part, Judge Kozinski stated that the majority ignored the Supreme Court’s clear admonition that qualified immunity protects all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law. Judge Kozinski stated that the majority imposed personal liability on two child protective service workers whose actions were anything but malicious or incompetent. 4 KIRKPATRICK V. COUNTY OF WASHOE
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