Richard J. Glair v. City of Santa Monica et al

Filing 138

UNCONTROVERTED FACTS ANDCONCLUSIONS OF LAW ANDORDER THEREON signed by Judge Manuel L. Real. (pj)

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1 2 3 4 MARSHA JONES MOUTRIE, City Attorney CAROL ANN ROHR, Deputy City Attorney Bar No. 90012 carol.rohr@smgov.net 1685 Main Street, Room 310 Santa Monica, California 90401 Telephone: (310) 458-8335 Facsimile: (310) 451-5862 5 6 Attorneys for Defendant OFFICER WILKENING 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 RICHARD J. GLAIR, 11 Plaintiff, 12 13 14 15 16 CASE NO.: CV 11 0093 R (RNB) (Case assigned to Hon.Manuel L. Real) PRO-SE MATTER v. CITY OF SANTA MONICA, CALIFORIA, TIMOTHY J. JACKMAN, POLICE CHIEF OF SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA, SANTA MONICA POLICE OFFICERS WILKENING, BOYD, & AMIACHE Defendants. UNCONTROVERTED FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER THEREON Motion Hearing Date: July 22, 2013 Time: 10:00 a.m. Ctrm.: 8 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 On July 22, 2013, the motion of defendant, Officer Brent Wilkening, for summary judgment came on for hearing before the undersigned United States District Judge. Appearing on behalf of moving defendant was Carol Ann Rohr, Deputy City Attorney for the City of Santa Monica; appearing for opposing plaintiff was Richard Glair, pro se. The Court, having orally granted the motion, now enters its written findings of fact and conclusions of law. After review of the moving, opposition and reply papers, and hearing the parties' oral arguments, the Court finds that there is no triable issue of material fact as to Plaintiff’s First and Second Claims alleging violation of his Fourth Amendment rights or as to his Third Claim alleging retaliation in violation of his First Amendment 1 UNCONTROVERTED FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER THEREON 1 rights. Specifically, after review of the evidence, the Court finds no material dispute 2 as to the material facts, thereby enabling the Court to find that defendant Officer 3 Wilkening is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. 4 Should any of the following be more properly characterized conclusions of law, 5 rather than findings of fact, or vice versa, the proper characterization shall apply, no 6 matter how denominated. 7 THE COURT HEREBY FINDS: 8 UNCONTROVERTED FACTS1 9 10 11 12 1. Defendant stopped plaintiff for violation of Santa Monica Municipal Ordinances. 13 Supporting evidence: 14 Plaintiff's Deposition, Exhibit "A" 33:23-34:21; 15 39:24-40:15; 41:7-10; 24-42:14; Dec. Wilkening ¶ 2; 16 Exhibit "B" Recording of Radio Broadcast of Incident 17 No. 10-34485, January 10, 2010; Exhibit "C" Notice 18 to Appear; Exhibit "E" Plaintiff's Statement of 19 Genuine Issues and Disputes of Facts filed July 10, 20 2012; Report and Recommendation of U.S. 21 Magistrate Robert N. Block, Document 74; 9:2-4, 22 15:1-4 (Not attached to Defendant's Declarations and 23 Exhibits, but referenced by Document 74.) 24 25 26 27 28 1 Unless otherwise noted, all exhibits and declaration and page numbers referred to in these Uncontroverted Facts and Conclusions of Law are authenticated in and attached to Defendant's Declarations and Exhibits in Support of His Motion for Summary Judgment filed April 29, 2013. 2 UNCONTROVERTED FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER THEREON 1 2 2. Defendant asked plaintiff for identification and plaintiff complied. 3 Supporting evidence: 4 Plaintiff's deposition Exhibit "A", 45:3-24; 46:8- 5 47:3;47:17-48:9. 6 7 3. Defendant proceeded to ask plaintiff a series of questions about his identity. 8 Supporting evidence: 9 Plaintiff's deposition Exhibit "A", 47:17-48:9;51:19- 10 25 11 12 4. 13 Plaintiff refused to answer questions and attempted to explain to officer Wilkening that he was wrong about the law. 14 Supporting evidence: 15 Plaintiff's deposition Exhibit "A", 47:17-48:9, 48:10-23, 16 50:20-23; 54:20-22; 55:12-15 ; 61:24-62:25; 64:1-12; 17 64:20-65:3; 70:3-4; 71:3-23; 101:14-25; Plaintiff's FAC 18 Exhibit "D" – page 4, lines 1-4; Plaintiff's FAC – Exhibit 19 "D" – page 4, lines 4-7. 20 21 22 5. Plaintiff had his hands in his pockets at times and at other times his hands were out of his pockets. 23 Supporting evidence: 24 "When detaining plaintiff for the investigation of the 25 violation of SMMC § 3.12.540 and to issue him a 26 citation, …plaintiff continued to put his hands in his 27 pockets. Due to plaintiff's …refusal to take his hands 28 out of his pockets … Officer Wilkening considered 3 UNCONTROVERTED FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER THEREON 1 him a hazard to [Officer Wilkening's] safety, [Glair's] 2 own safety and the safety of others. At approximately 3 2:56:31, he contacted dispatch and requested backup. 4 Just after the verbal time stamp of 2:56:31 on Exhibit 5 "B" Officer Wilkening recognizes his voice stating 6 "Can I get a backup?" He asked for backup in order to 7 have someone standing by when he conducted the pat- 8 down search in the event plaintiff decided to fight or 9 worse, was concealing a weapon". Dec. Wilkening ¶ 10 ¶ 2 (in part, as set forth above) and ¶ 6, Exhibit "B" 11 Recording of Radio Broadcast of Incident No. 10- 12 34485, January 10, 2010; Exhibit "C" Notice to 13 Appear. 14 See also, the following which was not attached to 15 Defendant's Declarations and Exhibits in Support of 16 his Motion for Summary Judgment, but filed in 17 Defendant's Objection/Response to Plaintiff's 18 Statement of Controverted Facts and Matters of Law, 19 (Document 129) which cited to Declaration of 20 Richard J. Glair, Exhibit "A" to Plaintiff's List of 21 Exhibits in Opposition to Defendant's Motion 22 Summary Judgment Motion. (Document 126) 23 Defendant's Objection/Response re: Fact No. 3: page 24 6, lines 3-17: 25 Plaintiff's Declaration 3:5 - Plaintiff states "I had my 26 hands at my side, I never put them in my pocket." 27 (upon Wilkening's arrival); and, 28 Plaintiff's Declaration 4: 3 – Plaintiff states "my hands 4 UNCONTROVERTED FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER THEREON 1 were not in my pockets (sic)". 2 2 Defendant's Objection/Response re: Fact No. 4: page 3 7, line 19 – page 8, line 5: 4 Plaintiff's Declaration 3:18- he never told me to "take 5 my hands out of my pocket". 6 Plaintiff never states that he had neither hand in a 7 pocket at any time, just that he didn't have "both 8 hands in his pocket". 9 Exhibit "C", to Plaintiff's List of Exhibits in 10 Opposition to Defendant's Summary Judgment 11 Motion, Plaintiff's Deposition, pages 52, lines 21 12 through 25, wherein he denies he had his hands in his 13 pockets with the argument "Who has both their hands 14 in their pockets?" And, Exhibit "C", page 53, lines 2- 15 4, wherein plaintiff states: "No. Who puts both hands 16 in their pockets, Ms. Rohr. He specifically says 17 'hands in his pocket.'" Plaintiff mischaracterizes the 18 Officer's declaration, which states "and continued to 19 put his hands in his pockets". (Dec. Wilkening, page 20 1, lines 18-22) The Officer does not state that the 21 plaintiff "kept" his hands in his pockets, but that he 22 continued to "put" his hands in his pockets. Plaintiff 23 has not denied having either of his hands in either of 24 his pockets at any time, just having both hands in his 25 pockets, or his pocket, at the same time. 26 27 28 2 In his Declaration, page 4, line 3, Plaintiff stated "my hands were not in my pocket". The "s" at the end of the word pocket in Defendant's Objection/Response re:Fact No. 3 regarding Plaintiff's Declaration at page 4, line 3, was a typographical error. 5 UNCONTROVERTED FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER THEREON 1 2 6. 3 Defendant performed a pat-down search on plaintiff and removed items from plaintiff's pocket. 4 Supporting evidence: 5 Plaintiff's deposition Exhibit "A", 61:24-62:25; 63: 5- 6 18; 64:1-12. 7 "Due to these exigent circumstances, Officer 8 Wilkening told plaintiff he was going to search him 9 for weapons. In his attempt to conduct a pat-down 10 Officer Wilkening ordered him to turn around and 11 place his hands behind his back". Dec. Wilkening ¶ 2 12 (in part, as set forth under No. 5 above) and ¶ 3; 13 Exhibit "B" Recording of Radio Broadcast of Incident 14 No. 10-34485. 15 "Immediately upon Officer Boyd's arrival he was told 16 by Officer Wilkening to "stand by" as he was going to 17 pat down the subject". Dec. Boyd ¶ 4 ,in part. 18 "In Officer Wilkening's attempt to conduct a pat-down 19 Officer Boyd heard Officer Wilkening order Mr. Glair 20 to turn around and place his hands behind his back". 21 Dec. Boyd ¶ 5, in part. 22 23 7. Plaintiff was sent on his way after the brief stop. 24 Supporting evidence: 25 Plaintiff's deposition Exhibit "A", 64:1-12; 70:3-4; 26 71:3-23. 27 28 6 UNCONTROVERTED FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER THEREON 1 8. Plaintiff and defendant had a heated conversation. 2 Supporting evidence: 3 Plaintiff's Deposition, Exhibit "A" 33:23-34:21; 4 39:24-40:15; 41:7-10; 24-42:14; 45:3-24; 46:8-47:3; 5 47:17-48:9; 48:10-23, 50:20-23; 51:19-25; 54:20-22; 6 55:12-15; 61:24-62:25; 63:5-18; 64:1-12; 64:20-65:3; 7 70:3-4; 71:3-23; 101:14-25; Plaintiff's FAC Exhibit 8 "D" – page 4, lines 1-7. 9 10 9. Plaintiff became very agitated. 11 Supporting evidence: 12 Plaintiff does not dispute that he became agitated. 13 "When detaining plaintiff for the investigation of the 14 violation of SMMC § 3.12.540 and to issue him a 15 citation,…plaintiff continued to put his hands in his 16 pockets. Due to plaintiff's refusal to take his hands 17 out of his pockets … Officer Wilkening considered 18 him a hazard to [Officer Wilkening's] safety, [Glair's] 19 own safety and the safety of others. Additionally, 20 Plaintiff also became very agitated, a fact he does not 21 dispute. At approximately 2:56:31, he contacted 22 dispatch and requested backup. Just after the verbal 23 time stamp of 2:56:31 on Exhibit "B" Officer 24 Wilkening recognizes his voice stating "Can I get a 25 backup?" He asked for backup in order to have 26 someone standing by when he conducted the pat- 27 down search in the event plaintiff decided to fight or 28 worse, was concealing a weapon". Dec. Wilkening ¶ 7 UNCONTROVERTED FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER THEREON 1 ¶ 2 (in part, as set forth above) and 6, Exhibit "B" 2 Recording of Radio Broadcast of Incident No. 10- 3 34485, January 10, 2010, and Exhibit "C" Notice to 4 Appear. 5 See also, the following which was not attached to 6 Defendant's Declarations and Exhibits in Support of 7 his Motion for Summary Judgment, but filed in 8 Defendant's Objection/Response to Plaintiff's 9 Statement of Controverted Facts and Matters of Law, 10 (Document 129) which cited to Declaration of 11 Richard J. Glair, Exhibit "A" to Plaintiff's List of 12 Exhibits in Opposition to Defendant's Motion 13 Summary Judgment Motion. (Document 126) 14 Defendant's Objection/Response re: Fact No. 3: page 15 5, lines 25-26. 16 Plaintiff's Declaration 3:7 –plaintiff states "no sudden 17 movements" but does not deny that he was "agitated". 18 19 10. Plaintiff wouldn't stand still. 20 Supporting evidence: 21 Plaintiff does not dispute that he wouldn't stand still. 22 "When detaining plaintiff for the investigation of the 23 violation of SMMC § 3.12.540 and to issue him a 24 citation, …plaintiff continued to put his hands in his 25 pockets. Due to plaintiff's refusal to take his hands out 26 of his pockets, Officer Wilkening considered him a 27 hazard to [Officer Wilkening's] safety, [Glair's] own 28 safety and the safety of others. Additionally, plaintiff 8 UNCONTROVERTED FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER THEREON 1 wouldn't stand still, a fact he does not dispute. At 2 approximately 2:56:31, he contacted dispatch and 3 requested backup. Just after the verbal time stamp of 4 2:56:31 on Exhibit "B" Officer Wilkening recognizes 5 his voice stating "Can I get a backup?" He asked for 6 backup in order to have someone standing by when he 7 conducted the pat-down search in the event plaintiff 8 decided to fight or worse, was concealing a weapon". 9 Dec. Wilkening ¶ ¶ 2 (in part, as set forth above) and 10 6, Exhibit "B" Recording of Radio Broadcast of 11 Incident No. 10-34485, January 10, 2010, and Exhibit 12 "C" Notice to Appear. 13 See also, the following which was not attached to 14 Defendant's Declarations and Exhibits in Support of 15 his Motion for Summary Judgment, but filed in 16 Defendant's Objection/Response to Plaintiff's 17 Statement of Controverted Facts and Matters of Law, 18 (Document 129) which cited to Declaration of 19 Richard J. Glair, Exhibit "A" to Plaintiff's List of 20 Exhibits in Opposition to Defendant's Motion 21 Summary Judgment Motion. (Document 126) 22 Defendant's Objection/Response re: Fact No. 3: page 23 5, lines 27-28. 24 Plaintiff's Declaration 3:8 –plaintiff states he did "not 25 attempt to run" but does not deny that he "wouldn't 26 stand still". (Also, see No. 9 above regarding 27 Plaintiff's Declaration 3:7 –plaintiff states "no sudden 28 movements" but does not deny that he "wouldn't stand 9 UNCONTROVERTED FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER THEREON 1 2 still".) 11. Plaintiff was making exaggerated hand gestures. 3 Supporting evidence: 4 Plaintiff does not dispute that he made exaggerated 5 hand gestures. "When detaining plaintiff for the 6 investigation of the violation of SMMC § 3.12.540 7 and to issue him a citation, …plaintiff continued to 8 put his hands in his pockets. Due to plaintiff's refusal 9 to take his hands out of his pockets … Officer 10 Wilkening considered him a hazard to [Officer 11 Wilkening's] safety, [Glair's] own safety and the 12 safety of others. Additionally, plaintiff was making 13 exaggerated hand gestures, a fact he does not dispute. 14 At approximately 2:56:31, he contacted dispatch and 15 requested backup. Just after the verbal time stamp of 16 2:56:31 on Exhibit "B" Officer Wilkening recognizes 17 his voice stating "Can I get a backup?" He asked for 18 backup in order to have someone standing by when he 19 conducted the pat-down search in the event plaintiff 20 decided to fight or worse, was concealing a weapon". 21 Dec. Wilkening ¶ ¶ 2 (in part, as set forth above) and 22 6, Exhibit "B" Recording of Radio Broadcast of 23 Incident No. 10-34485, January 10, 2010, and Exhibit 24 "C" Notice to Appear. 25 See also, the following which was not attached to 26 Defendant's Declarations and Exhibits in Support of 27 his Motion for Summary Judgment, but filed in 28 Defendant's Objection/Response to Plaintiff's 10 UNCONTROVERTED FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER THEREON 1 Statement of Controverted Facts and Matters of Law, 2 (Document 129) which cited to Declaration of 3 Richard J. Glair, Exhibit "A" to Plaintiff's List of 4 Exhibits in Opposition to Defendant's Motion 5 Summary Judgment Motion. (Document 126) 6 Defendant's Objection/Response re: Fact No. 3: page 7 6, lines 1-2. 8 Plaintiff's Declaration 3:8 –plaintiff states "not 9 waiving his hands" but does not deny he was "making 10 exaggerated hand gestures". 11 12 CONCLUSIONS OF LAW 13 14 1. Summary judgment is proper if the pleadings, depositions, answers to 15 interrogatories and affidavits show there is no genuine issue as to any material facts 16 and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. (Fed. Rules Civil 17 Proc., Rule 56(c).) Defendant, Officer Wilkening, has established that the record does 18 not disclose a genuine dispute on a material fact as to the claims against him. Celotex 19 Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986). Once this is done, the burden shifts to the 20 non-moving party to set forth affirmative evidence, or specific facts which show that a 21 genuine dispute on the issues exists. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Ind., 477 U.S. 22 242, (1986). 23 2. The Court need not accept as true unreasonable inferences or legal 24 conclusions cast in the form of factual allegations. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. 1937 25 (2009). Nor is the Court required to accept plaintiff’s unreasonable inferences or 26 unwarranted deductions of fact. In re Delorean Motor Co., 991 F.2d 1236, 1240 (6th 27 Cir. 1993); Taylor v. F.D.I.C. 132 F.3d 753, 762 (D.C. Cir. 1997); Transphase 28 Systems, Inc. v. Southern Calif. Edison Co. 839 F.Supp. 711 , 718 (CD CA 1993); 11 UNCONTROVERTED FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER THEREON 1 Beliveau v. Caras, 873 F.Supp. 1393, 1395-1396 (C.D. Cal. 1995). Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 2 129 S. Ct.1937,1949 ["A pleading that offers 'labels and conclusions' or 'a formulaic 3 recitation of elements of a cause of action will not do.'(citations omitted) Nor does a 4 complaint suffice if it tenders 'naked assertions' devoid of 'further factual 5 enhancement.'”] 6 3. A police officer may conduct a brief stop for investigatory purposes 7 when the officer has only "reasonable suspicion" to believe the stopped individual is 8 engaged in criminal activity. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 23-27 (1968) Reasonable 9 suspicion is formed by 'specific, articulable facts which, together with objective and 10 reasonable inferences, form the basis for suspecting that the particular person detained 11 is engaged in criminal activity.'" United States v. Dorais, 241, F.3d 1124, 1130 (9th 12 Cir. 2001) 13 4. Fourth Amendment jurisprudence has long recognized that the right to 14 make an arrest or investigatory stop necessarily carries with it the right to use some 15 degree of physical coercion or threat thereof to effect it. Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 16 386, 396, 109 S.Ct. 1865. (1989) Restraint, and not more, does not rise to the level of 17 a Fourth Amendment violation. Graham, 490 U.S. at 395, 396. Summary judgment 18 should be granted as to Plaintiff's First Claim for illegal seizure under the Fourth 19 Amendment as based upon the undisputed material facts the seizure of plaintiff was 20 constitutionally permissible. Terry, 392 U.S. at 23-27. 21 5. Exceptions to the warrant requirement include limited searches for 22 weapons based on reasonable suspicion, Terry, 392 U.S. at 23 - 27, and exigent 23 circumstances, see United States v. Place, 462 U.S. 696, 701, 103 S.Ct. 2637 (1983) 24 "The sole justification for the search in the present situation is the protection of the 25 police officer and others nearby, and it must therefore be confined in scope to an 26 intrusion reasonably designed to discover guns, knives, clubs, or other hidden 27 instruments for the assault of the police officer". Terry, 392 U.S. at 29. 28 6. It is a well-settled exception to the warrant requirement that "exigent 12 UNCONTROVERTED FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER THEREON 1 circumstances" can justify a warrantless search consistent with the Fourth 2 Amendment. See Warden v. Hayden, 387 U.S. 294, 298 (1987) upholding a 3 warrantless search where "the exigencies of the situation made the course imperative." 4 The Ninth Circuit has defined exigent circumstances to include those circumstances 5 that would cause a reasonable person to believe that the search was necessary to 6 prevent physical harm to the officers or other persons. Menotti v. City of Seattle, 409 7 F.3d 1113, 1152 (9th Cir 1952). 8 7. In this case there are two critical facts that are relevant to determining 9 whether defendant's frisk and search and the seizure of the items from plaintiff was 10 constitutionally permissible –Plaintiff and Defendant had a heated discussion; and, 11 Plaintiff had his hands in his pockets at times and at other times his hands were out of 12 his pocket. Viewed objectively under the totality of the circumstances of this case, the 13 facts articulate reasonable grounds for suspecting the Plaintiff [Glair] was armed and 14 dangerous. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1986). Summary judgment should be granted 15 as to Plaintiff's Second Claim for illegal search under the Fourth Amendment as based 16 upon the undisputed material facts the search of plaintiff was constitutionally 17 permissible. Terry, 392 U.S. at 23-27. 18 8. Under Section 1983, qualified immunity must be recognized as long as 19 “officers of reasonable competence could disagree" on the propriety of the officer's 20 conduct. Malley v. Briggs, 475 U.S. 335, 341 (1986). The qualified immunity inquiry 21 is objective, and immunity may not be denied merely because, in the end, the officer’s 22 conduct was unlawful. 23 9. Officers can have reasonable, but mistaken, beliefs as to the facts and in 24 those situations, courts will not hold that they have violated the Constitution. Id.; 25 Saucier v. Katz, 531 U.S. 991 (2001). 26 10. Qualified immunity thus serves to ensure that officials do not “exercise 27 their discretion with undue timidity.” Wood v. Strickland, 420 U.S. 308, 321 (1975) 28 Consistent with that goal, it provides “ample room for mistaken judgments’ by 13 UNCONTROVERTED FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER THEREON 1 protecting ‘all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law. ”’ 2 Hunter v. Bryant, 502 U.S. 224, 229 (1991) (quoting Malley, 475 U.S. at 343, 341). 3 11. In the Fourth Amendment context, the "reasonableness" inquiry is an 4 objective one: the question is whether the officers' actions are "objectively reasonable" 5 in light of the facts and circumstances confronting them, without regard to their 6 underlying intent or motivation. Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. at 397. 7 12. As restraint, and not more, does not rise to the level of a Fourth 8 Amendment violation, Officer Wilkening is entitled to qualified immunity on 9 Plaintiff's Second Claim because under the totality of the circumstances a reasonable 10 officer could have concluded that his seizure of Plaintiff was objectively reasonable. 11 See Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. at 395, 396. 12 13. Further, even if the pat down were not justified, Defendant Officer 13 Wilkening is entitled to qualified immunity on Plaintiff's First Claim because under 14 the circumstances a reasonable officer could have concluded that plaintiff's conduct 15 presented a danger to the officer or the public. Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 16 (2009) Harlow v. Fitzgerald 457 U.S. 800.(1982) 17 14. Defendant Officer Wilkening has articulated undisputed facts 18 demonstrating his reasonable suspicion, which are wholly apart from the content of 19 plaintiff's speech, that plaintiff posed a danger to the officer or the public. Therefore, 20 Officer Wilkening would have conducted the frisk and subsequent search and seizure 21 whether or not plaintiff disagreed with his issuance of a bicycle citation. Mendocino 22 Environmental Center v. Mendocino County, 192 F.3d 1283 (9th Cir. 1999). The 23 proper inquiry is whether an "official's acts would chill or silence a person of ordinary 24 firmness from future First Amendment activities." Mendocino Env'l Ctr., 192 F.3d at 25 1300. 26 15. To demonstrate retaliation in violation of the First Amendment, 27 [plaintiff] must ultimately prove first the [defendant] took action that would chill or 28 silence a person of ordinary firmness from future First Amendment activities… The 14 UNCONTROVERTED FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER THEREON 1 second requirement is [that] [plaintiff] must ultimately prove that [defendant's] desire 2 to cause the chilling effect was a but-for cause of [defendant's] action." Dietrich v. 3 John Ascuaga's Nugget, 548 F.3d 892, 900-01(9th Cir. 2008), quoting Skoog v. County 4 of Clackamas, 469 F.3d 1221, 1231-32 (9th Cir. 2006) To rise to the level of a 5 constitutional violation, plaintiff must prove that the challenged conduct would chill 6 or silence a person or ordinary firmness from future First Amendment activities and 7 also that the defendant's desire to cause the chilling effect was a but-for cause of the 8 action. Dietrich, 548 F.3d at 900-01; Skoog, 469 F. 3d at 1231-32. The relevant 9 causation is understood to be but-for causation, without which the adverse action 10 would not have been taken. Hartman v. Moore, 547 U.S. 250, 260, 126 S. Ct 1695, 11 164 L. Ed. 2d 441 (2006). 12 16. Further, based on the conclusions of law articulated above, and on the 13 undisputed facts presented in this case, defendant Officer Wilkening is entitled to 14 qualified immunity on Plaintiff's Third Claim for First Amendment Retaliation. See, 15 Holland v. City of San Francisco, 2013 WL 968295 (N.D.Cal. 2013). 16 17. Although plaintiff and defendant disagree on who escalated the tone and 17 volume of the conversation during the stop in which defendant cited plaintiff for 18 riding his bicycle on the sidewalk, that dispute is not material. Plaintiff has failed to 19 established any material facts to defeat summary judgment on behalf of Officer 20 Wilkening, because for purposes of summary judgment, a dispute is material only if it 21 would affect the outcome of the action. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 22 (1986). 23 /// 24 /// 25 /// 26 /// 27 /// 28 /// 15 UNCONTROVERTED FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER THEREON 1 18. Therefore, there are no genuine disputes of material fact and the 2 defendant, Officer Wilkening, is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law 3 under Rule 56 on all of plaintiff's remaining claims (First, Second and Third Claims) 4 5 6 IT IS HEREBY SO ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED: Dated this 21st day of August, 2013 7 8 9 _____________________________ HONORABLE MANUEL L. REAL United States District Judge 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Presented By: 18 19 20 21 22 23 MARSHA JONES MOUTRIE City Attorney /s/Carol Ann Rohr By______________________ CAROL ANN ROHR Deputy City Attorney Attorney for Defendant Officer Wilkening 24 25 26 27 28 16 UNCONTROVERTED FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER THEREON 1 PROOF OF SERVICE Richard J. Glair v. City of Santa Monica, et al 2 CV 11 0093 R (RNB) 3 6 I am employed in the County of Los Angeles, State of California. I am over the age of 18 and not a party to the within action. My business address is 1685 Main Street, Third Floor, Santa Monica, California 90401-3295. On August 6, 2013, I served the document(s) described as UNCONTROVERTED FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER THEREON on the interested parties in this action as follows: 7 by placing the original envelopes addressed as follows: a true copy thereof enclosed in sealed Richard J. Glair 1183 Queen Anne Place Los Angeles, CA 90019 Plaintiff – in pro per Telephone No.: (323) 860-8719 4 5 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 BY MAIL: I am readily familiar with the firm’s practice of collection and processing correspondence, pleadings, and other matters for mailing with the United States Postal Service. In the ordinary course of business, the correspondence would be deposited with the United States Postal Service on that same day with postage thereon fully prepaid at Santa Monica, California in the ordinary course of business. I am aware that on motion of the party served, service is presumed invalid if the postal cancellation date or postage meter date is more than one day after date of deposit for mailing in affidavit. BY FEDERAL EXPRESS UPS NEXT DAY AIR OVERNIGHT DELIVERY: I deposited such envelope in a facility regularly maintained by FEDERAL EXPRESS UPS Overnight Delivery [specify name of service: ] with delivery fees fully provided for or delivered the envelope to a courier or driver of FEDERAL EXPRESS UPS OVERNIGHT DELIVERY [specify name of service:] authorized to receive documents at 1685 Main Street, Santa Monica, California 90401, with delivery fees fully provided for. 17 18 BY FAX: I telecopied a copy of said document(s) to the following addressee(s) at the following number(s) in accordance with the written confirmation of counsel in this action. 19 BY PERSONAL SERVICE: Santa Monica Express, Inc., personally delivered such envelope by hand to the addressee(s). 20 21 [State] I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the above is true and correct. 22 [Federal] I declare that I am employed in the office of a member of the Bar of this Court at whose direction the service was made. 23 24 Executed on August 6, 2013, at Santa Monica, California. 25 /s/ Maria Comer 26 MARIA COMER 27 28 17 UNCONTROVERTED FACTS AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER THEREON

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