Calvary Chapel San Jose et al v. Cody et al, No. 5:2020cv03794 - Document 222 (N.D. Cal. 2022)
Court Description: ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART 179 PARTIAL MOTION TO DISMISS AND MOTION TO STRIKE FOURTH AMENDED COMPLAINT. Signed by Judge Beth Labson Freeman on 10/6/2022. (blflc3, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 10/6/2022)
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1 2 3 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 4 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 5 SAN JOSE DIVISION 6 7 CALVARY CHAPEL SAN JOSE, et al., Plaintiffs, 8 9 10 United States District Court Northern District of California 11 Case No. 20-cv-03794-BLF v. SARA CODY, et al., Defendants. ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART PARTIAL MOTION TO DISMISS AND MOTION TO STRIKE FOURTH AMENDED COMPLAINT [Re: ECF No. 179] 12 13 14 This case challenges policies and orders of the County of Santa Clara designed to slow the 15 spread of COVID-19, a highly transmissible respiratory disease that has claimed over 1 million 16 lives in the United States and over 6 million lives worldwide since December 2019. Beginning in 17 March 2020, the County issued emergency orders that instituted capacity limits for certain types of 18 facilities, restricted the practice of certain activities (including singing and chanting), and required 19 individuals to wear masks in many situations. Those orders have been repeatedly amended in 20 response to changing circumstances and new variants of COVID-19. 21 Plaintiffs Calvary Chapel San Jose, a Christian church; Mike McClure, its lead pastor; 22 Southridge Church, another Christian church; and Micaiah Irmler, its lead pastor, have sued the 23 County, alleging that the emergency orders imposed harsher restrictions on churches than other 24 institutions. Plaintiffs allege that when they admittedly defied the County’s orders, the County 25 levied against them millions of dollars in fines for the violations and sent threatening letters to the 26 Calvary Chapel’s bank. 27 28 In their Fourth Amended Complaint, Plaintiffs bring eight claims, alleging violations of their First, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights under the Federal Constitution, violations of 1 the California Constitution, and a violation of California’s Bane Act. Each claim is asserted 2 against Santa Clara County (the “County”) and several county officials in their official capacities 3 (the “County Officials”). The County Officials are Dr. Sarah H. Cody in her official capacity as 4 the County’s Public Health Officer; James Williams in his official capacity as director of the Santa 5 Clara County Emergency Operations Center; and Mike Wasserman, Cindy Chavez, Dave Cortese, 6 Susan Ellenberg, and Joe Simitian, each in their official capacity as a member of the Santa Clara 7 County Board of Supervisors. Before the Court is the County’s motion to dismiss. Mot., ECF No. 179; Reply, ECF No. United States District Court Northern District of California 8 9 193. The County’s motion asks that the court dismiss or strike four components of Plaintiffs’ 10 complaint. First, the County asks the Court to dismiss all claims against the County Officials 11 because they are redundant defendants to the County itself. Second, the County asks the Court to 12 strike allegations concerning Defendants’ letters to Calvary Chapel’s bank because the Court has 13 already held that the Noerr-Pennington doctrine protected the defendants from suit for sending the 14 letters. Third, the County asks the Court to dismiss Plaintiffs’ Bane Act claim because the 15 conduct upon which Plaintiffs base their claim does not violate the Bane Act and is protected 16 under the Noerr-Pennington Doctrine. The County further argues that the Court should dismiss 17 the claim because Plaintiffs failed to plead that they have complied with the claim presentation 18 requirements with the Government Claims Act. Fourth, the County asks the Court to dismiss the 19 damages component of Plaintiffs’ California Constitutional claims because, as with their Bane Act 20 claim, Plaintiffs have failed to plead compliance with the Government Claims Act. Plaintiffs 21 oppose the motion. See Opp’n, ECF No. 185. The Court held a hearing on September 21, 2022. For the reasons discussed on the record at the hearing and explained below, the Court 22 23 GRANTS IN PART WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND AND DENIES IN PART the County’s 24 partial motion to dismiss. 25 26 I. BACKGROUND As alleged in Plaintiffs’ Fourth Amended Complaint and assumed true for the purposes of 27 this order, in December 2019, the World Health Organization reported the emergence of a novel 28 coronavirus in Wuhan, China. 4th Am. Compl. ¶ 22, ECF No. 167 (“4AC”). The virus, dubbed 2 1 COVID-19, was detected in California in late January 2020. Id. ¶¶ 22-23. Although State health 2 officials initially characterized the risk of COVID-19 to the general public as “low,” on March 3, 2020, 3 the State Department of Public Health issued detailed guidelines for fighting COVID-19. Id. ¶¶ 24-26. 4 Governor Newsom declared a state of emergency the next day, and on March 12, 2020, he issued an 5 executive order invoking his emergency powers to “ensure adequate facilities exist to address the 6 impacts of COVID-19.” Id. ¶¶ 27, 29 & Exhs. 1, 2. A. 8 A few days after Governor Newsom’s March 12, 2020, executive order, officials in the 9 United States District Court Northern District of California The County’s Policies in Response to COVID-19 7 County—spurred by Defendants Dr. Cody and Mr. Williams—issued a “Shelter in Place Order” 10 requiring residents to shelter in place indefinitely. 4AC ¶ 32 & Exh. 3. Dr. Cody, as the final 11 policymaker for the Santa Clara County Public Health Department, and Mr. Williams, as the final 12 policymaker for the Emergency Operations Center, made the joint decision to cancel all indoor 13 gatherings. Id. ¶ 32. 14 The County’s Shelter in Place Order designated certain activities “essential” and others “non- 15 essential.” Id. ¶ 36. Essential activities were allowed to continue, while non-essential activities were 16 “shut down.” Id. Churches were deemed non-essential. Id. ¶ 37. Without evidence, County officials 17 asserted that the risk of COVID-19 infection was increased in churches because people gathered close 18 together for extended periods of time and sang. Id. ¶ 45. In May, the County extended its Shelter in 19 Place Order indefinitely. Id. ¶ 42. 20 The County banned indoor religious activities and imposed harsher restrictions on churches 21 than similarly situated secular activities even after the federal government declared houses of worship 22 “essential” and the Justice Department sent California’s Governor a letter stating that the “lockdown” 23 of churches violated the First Amendment. Id. ¶¶ 53, 55. 24 In the summer of 2020, COVID-19 cases surged across California, including in Santa Clara 25 County. Id. ¶ 50. County officials, including Dr. Cody, were aware that the virus was “likely” 26 spreading among individuals gathering at protests following the death of George Floyd, but the County 27 officials did not punish those individuals for violating COVID-19 orders. Id. ¶¶ 51-52. 28 On July 2, 2020, the County issued a Risk Reduction Order, which imposed capacity restrictions 3 1 on indoor and outdoor gatherings, but exempted certain industries like childcare settings, school 2 settings, transportation, hospitals, offices, stores, and restaurants. Id. ¶ 62. Dr. Cody issued a revised 3 order on October 5, 2020, that allowed more businesses to reopen but continued to ban indoor 4 gatherings. Id. ¶¶ 64-65. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Cody issued a “Revised Mandatory Gatherings 5 Directive” that allowed indoor religious gatherings but was more restrictive than contemporaneous 6 State guidance. Id. ¶ 65. United States District Court Northern District of California 7 Around November 16, 2020, the State of California moved the County into the strictest tier of 8 the California Department of Public Health’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy (“Blueprint”). Id. 73. 9 The Blueprint established a procedure for assigning counties to one of four tiers based on the severity 10 of the COVID-19 outbreak in the county. Id. ¶ 63, 73. Around the same time, Dr. Cody issued a 11 “Mandatory Directive on Capacity Limitations” that banned indoor worship services but allowed 12 shopping centers, retail stores, grocery stores, public transit, and construction sites to remain open at 13 limited capacity. Id. ¶ 73. 14 On February 5, 2021, the United States Supreme Court enjoined California from enforcing the 15 Blueprint’s Tier 1 prohibition on indoor worship services. See id. ¶ 78; see also S. Bay United 16 Pentecostal Church v. Newsom, 141 S. Ct. 716 (2021) (mem.). A week later, directed by Dr. Cody 17 and Mr. Williams acting in their capacities as public health policymakers, the County reinstated its ban 18 on indoor worship services. 4AC ¶ 79. The Supreme Court enjoined enforcement of parts of the 19 County’s orders banning indoor worship services on February 26, 2021. Id.; see also Gateway City 20 Church v. Newsom, 141 S. Ct. 1460 (2021) (mem.). 21 B. 22 Plaintiffs are two churches and their two lead pastors. Plaintiff Calvary Chapel San Jose is 23 a Christian church located in San Jose, California led by lead pastor Plaintiff Mike McClure. 4AC 24 ¶¶ 10-11. Plaintiff Southridge Church is a Christian church also located in San Jose, California 25 and led by lead pastor Plaintiff Micaiah Irmler. Id. ¶¶ 12-13. As churches located in Santa Clara 26 County, Calvary Chapel and Southridge were both subject to County orders issued in the wake of 27 the coronavirus. Plaintiffs admittedly violated County orders by not complying with indoor 28 gathering restrictions, face covering mandates, or the singing and chanting ban and by failing to Plaintiffs and Enforcement Actions Against Them 4 1 2 On August 11, 2020, the County issued an Urgency Ordinance permitting it to issue fines for 3 violations of its COVID-19 orders. Id. ¶ 80 & Exh. 18. During that month, the County began issuing 4 what would eventually amount to more than $2.8 million in fines against Plaintiffs for violating its 5 COVID-19 orders, despite no COVID-19 case being traced to Plaintiffs’ church gatherings. Id. The 6 County has also sought to enforce its orders in state court. See People v. Calvary Chapel San Jose, 7 No. 20CV372285 (Super. Ct.). 8 9 United States District Court Northern District of California sign the County’s social distancing protocols. Id. ¶ 80. The County has also allegedly taken other “extreme measures to collect the fines.” 4AC ¶ 82. The County, led by Williams, sent letters to Calvary Chapel’s bank in December 2020 and January 10 2021 informing it that Calvary Chapel had been fined over $1 million and held in contempt for 11 violating COVID-19 orders. Id. ¶ 81 & Exs. 19-20. The bank allegedly interpreted the letters “as a 12 threat that the County intended to take the church property to satisfy the fines” and sent a notice of 13 default to Calvary Chapel for noncompliance with government regulations (which was only withdrawn 14 when the bank learned the church was contesting the fines). Id. ¶ 83. Calvary Chapel was forced to 15 make over $800,000 in accelerated payments to the bank, diverting funds from investment in other 16 church efforts. Id. ¶ 84. 17 The County orders allegedly interfered with the religious practice of Plaintiffs and their 18 members. Id. ¶¶ 86-87. Plaintiffs and their members believe that it is essential for Christians to gather 19 in person to worship. Id. Many congregants who are elderly or have health problems have difficulty 20 sitting for long periods of time while wearing a face mask, and social distancing rules inhibited their 21 ability to pray for one another. Id. Several congregants also felt intimidated by the County’s 22 enforcement efforts against Calvary Chapel, with some believing that the County may arrest them for 23 going to church. Id. ¶ 88. 24 C. 25 Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit on June 9, 2020, against the County. See ECF No. 1. On 26 November 5, 2020, the Court granted the County’s motion to dismiss the initial complaint with leave 27 to amend. See ECF No. 30. Plaintiffs amended their complaint and added various state defendants. 28 See ECF No. 38. Plaintiffs then sought a temporary restraining order enjoining the state court This Lawsuit 5 1 proceedings instituted against them for violation of the County orders. See ECF No. 42. The Court 2 denied the motion for a temporary restraining order, abstaining on the basis of Younger v. Harris, 401 3 U.S. 37 (1971). See ECF No. 67. By stipulation, Plaintiffs filed a Second Amended Complaint, see 4 ECF Nos. 80, 81, and later, the Court granted Plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file a Third Amended 5 Complaint, see ECF Nos. 115, 116. On March 18, 2022, the Court concurrently ruled on separate 6 motions to dismiss filed by the state defendants and the County. See ECF No. 156. The Court granted 7 the state defendants’ motion to dismiss and dismissed the state defendants. Id. The Court granted in 8 part and denied in part the County’s motion to dismiss. Id. Plaintiffs later filed a Fourth Amended 9 Complaint, which is the operative complaint. See ECF No. 167. United States District Court Northern District of California 10 The Fourth Amended Complaint asserts eight causes of action against the County. Plaintiffs 11 assert four Section 1983 claims for violations of the First Amendment’s guarantee of the free exercise 12 of religion, the First Amendment’s guarantee of the right to assemble, the Fourteenth Amendment’s 13 guarantee of equal protection, the Eighth Amendment’s guarantee of freedom from the imposition of 14 excessive fines. See 4AC ¶¶ 95-104 (First Amendment free exercise), 110-19 (First Amendment 15 assembly), 120-125 (Fourteenth Amendment equal protection), 126-132. Plaintiffs also assert a fifth 16 Section 1983 claim for violations of “First, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments,” citing Monell v. 17 Department of Social Services of City of New York, 436 U.S. 658 (1978), as the basis for this claim. 18 Id. ¶¶ 137-40. Plaintiffs assert two claims under the California Constitution for violations of the free 19 exercise clause (Article I, Section 4) and the excessive fines clause (Article I, Section 17).1 See 4AC 20 ¶¶ 105-09 (free exercise), ¶¶ 133-36 (excessive fines). Finally, Plaintiffs assert a claim under 21 California’s Bane Act, Cal. Civ. Code § 52.1. See id. ¶¶ 141-45. This motion followed. 22 23 24 25 26 1 27 a typo, as Section 17 contains the California Constitution’s excessive fines clause. The Court’s 28 analysis below is the same regardless of the provision Plaintiffs seek to invoke. 6 Plaintiffs cite Article 1, Section 7 as the basis for their excessive fines claim. This appears to be United States District Court Northern District of California 1 II. LEGAL STANDARD 2 A. 3 “A motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a Federal Rule of Procedure 12(b)(6) 4 claim upon which relief can be granted ‘tests the legal sufficiency of a claim.’” Conservation 5 Force v. Salazar, 646 F.3d 1240, 1241-42 (9th Cir. 2011) (quoting Navarro v. Block, 250 F.3d 6 729, 732 (9th Cir. 2001)). When determining whether a claim has been stated, the Court accepts as 7 true all well-pled factual allegations and construes them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. 8 Reese v. BP Expl. (Alaska) Inc., 643 F.3d 681, 690 (9th Cir. 2011). However, the Court need not 9 “accept as true allegations that contradict matters properly subject to judicial notice” or 10 “allegations that are merely conclusory, unwarranted deductions of fact, or unreasonable 11 inferences.” In re Gilead Scis. Sec. Litig., 536 F.3d 1049, 1055 (9th Cir. 2008) (internal quotation 12 marks and citations omitted). While a complaint need not contain detailed factual allegations, it 13 “must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible 14 on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 15 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). A claim is facially plausible when it “allows the court to draw the 16 reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. On a motion to 17 dismiss, the Court’s review is limited to the face of the complaint and matters judicially 18 noticeable. MGIC Indem. Corp. v. Weisman, 803 F.2d 500, 504 (9th Cir. 1986); N. Star Int’l v. 19 Ariz. Corp. Comm’n, 720 F.2d 578, 581 (9th Cir. 1983). 20 B. 21 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f) permits a court to “strike from a pleading an Federal Rule of Procedure 12(f) 22 insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter.” The 23 function of a motion made under this rule is “to avoid the expenditure of time and money that 24 must arise from litigating spurious issues by dispensing with those issues prior to trial.” 25 Whittlestone, Inc. v. Handi-Craft Co., 618 F.3d 970, 973 (9th Cir. 2010) (quoting Fantasy, Inc. v. 26 Fogerty, 984 F.2d 1524, 1527 (9th Cir. 1993), rev’d on other grounds by Fogerty v. Fantasy, Inc., 27 510 U.S. 517 (1994)) (internal quotation marks omitted). “Immaterial matter is that which has no 28 essential or important relationship to the claim for relief or the defenses being pleaded.” See 7 1 Fantasy, 984 F.2d at 1528 (quoting 5 Charles A. Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and 2 Procedure § 1382, at 706–07 (1990) (internal quotations omitted)). “Impertinent matter consists 3 of statements that do not pertain, and are not necessary, to the issues in question.” Id. “While a Rule 12(f) motion provides the means to excise improper materials from United States District Court Northern District of California 4 5 pleadings, such motions are generally disfavored because the motions may be used as delaying 6 tactics and because of the strong policy favoring resolution on the merits.” Barnes v. AT & T 7 Pension Ben. Plan-Nonbargained Program, 718 F. Supp. 2d 1167, 1170 (N.D. Cal. 2010). “If 8 there is any doubt whether the portion to be stricken might bear on an issue in the litigation, the 9 court should deny the motion.” Platte Anchor Bolt, Inc. v. IHI, Inc., 352 F. Supp. 2d 1048, 1057 10 (N.D. Cal. 2004) (citations omitted). “Ultimately, whether to grant a motion to strike lies within 11 the sound discretion of the district court.” Cruz v. Bank of N.Y. Mellon, 2012 WL 2838957, at *2 12 (N.D. Cal. July 10, 2012) (citing Whittlestone, 618 F.3d at 973). 13 III. 14 DISCUSSION In its motion, the County asks that the court dismiss or strike four parts of Plaintiffs’ 15 complaint. Specifically, the County asks the Court to (1) dismiss all claims against the County 16 Officials (2) strike allegations concerning Defendants’ letters to Calvary Chapel’s bank (3) dismiss 17 Plaintiffs’ Bane Act claim, and (4) dismiss the damages component of Plaintiffs’ California 18 Constitutional claims. For the reasons below, the Court grants the County’s motion with regard to 19 issues 1, 2, and 3, and denies with regard to issue 4. 20 A. 21 The County requests that the Court dismiss all claims against the County Officials. The 22 County argues that the County officials are redundant defendants because they are sued only in 23 their official capacity and each claim asserted against them is also asserted against the County 24 itself. Mot. 7-10. Plaintiffs conceded at oral argument that the County Officials are redundant to 25 the County itself. 26 Claims Against County Officials The Court GRANTS the County’s request to dismiss all claims against the County 27 Officials. “When both a municipal officer and a local government entity are named, and the 28 officer is named only in an official capacity, the court may dismiss the officer as a redundant 8 United States District Court Northern District of California 1 defendant.” Ctr. for Bio-Ethical Reform, Inc. v. Los Angeles Cnty. Sheriff Dep’t, 533 F.3d 780, 2 799 (9th Cir. 2008). Here, Plaintiffs assert each of their claims against the County itself and the 3 County Officials in their official capacity. Moreover, Plaintiffs have conceded that the County 4 Officials are redundant to the County. The Court therefore finds it appropriate to DISMISS all 5 claims against the County Officials WITH PREJUDICE, as they are redundant defendants. See 6 Luke v. Abbott, 954 F. Supp. 202, 204 (C.D. Cal. 1997) (“[I]t is no longer necessary or proper to 7 name as a defendant a particular local government officer acting in official capacity. To do so only 8 leads to a duplication of documents and pleadings, as well as wasted public resources for increased 9 attorneys fees.”). 10 B. 11 The County requests that the Court strike Plaintiffs’ allegations concerning letters the Bank Letter Allegations 12 County Officials sent to Cass Commercial Bank (“Cass Bank”) telling it that CCSJ had been held 13 in contempt and fined over $1 million for violating COVID-19 orders. See Mot. 13; see also 4AC 14 ¶¶ 81-83. The County argues that the Noerr-Pennington doctrine immunizes the County from suit 15 for sending the letters and that the Court held as much in its Order granting in part the County’s 16 motion to dismiss the Third Amended Complaint. Mot. 13. Plaintiffs contend that the Noerr- 17 Pennington doctrine does not apply and note that they disagree with the Court’s prior ruling. 18 Opp’n 1, 8-9. Plaintiffs also argue that the Court should not strike the allegations because they are 19 important to Plaintiffs’ claims. Id. 20 The Court GRANTS the County’s request to strike Plaintiffs’ allegations concerning the 21 Cass Bank letters. The Court explained in its order granting in part the County’s motion to 22 dismiss Plaintiffs’ Third Amended Complaint that the County’s conduct—enforcement efforts 23 following judicially approved imposition of fines—is conduct incidental to litigation and therefore 24 falls within the protection of the Noerr-Pennington doctrine. Calvary Chapel San Jose v. Cody, 25 No. 20-CV-03794-BLF, 2022 WL 827116, at *11 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 18, 2022). The Court is 26 unaware of, and Plaintiffs do not provide, any case law that would change this outcome when the 27 alleged conduct is a “central part of this case.” See Opp’n 8-9. Because sending the letters was 28 privileged conduct under the Noerr Pennington doctrine, it cannot supply a basis for any of 9 1 Plaintiffs’ claims and thus becomes immaterial. The Court therefore STRIKES the allegations 2 regarding the letters as immaterial to Plaintiffs’ claims. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(f) (court may strike 3 “immaterial” matter); see also Fantasy, 984 F.2d at 1528 (district court has discretion to strike 4 allegations when there are no legal theories under which the allegations are relevant). 5 C. 6 7 8 9 Bane Act Claim (Eighth Cause of Action) The County requests that the Court dismiss Plaintiffs’ claim alleging violations of California’s Tom Bane Civil Rights Act, Cal. Civ. Code § 52.1. The County correctly notes that the Court dismissed the Bane Act claim in Plaintiffs’ Third Amended Complaint for failure to plead compliance with the Government Claims Act’s presentation requirement.2 See Mot. 15; see 10 also Calvary Chapel San Jose, 2022 WL 827116, at *14. The County argues that the Bane Act 11 United States District Court Northern District of California claim in the Fourth Amended Complaint fails for the same reason. Mot. 15, 17. The County also 12 argues that Plaintiffs have failed to plead facts showing threats, intimidation, or coercion required 13 14 15 16 by the Bane Act. Id. at 18. Plaintiffs respond that the Government Claims Act’s presentation requirement does not apply because their Bane Act claim “primarily seeks declaratory and injunctive relief with an ancillary request for nominal damages and a civil penalty.” Opp’n 7. As to the sufficiency of their pleadings, Plaintiffs argue that the County’s imposition of fines and its 17 letters to Cass Bank amount to threats, intimidation, or coercion. Id. at 5-6. 18 The Court GRANTS the County’s motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ Bane Act claim because 19 Plaintiffs were required to comply with the Government Claims Act. The Court therefore does not 20 reach the County’s argument that Plaintiffs have not plausibly pled the threats, intimidation, or 21 coercion required to state a claim under the Bane Act. 22 Under the Government Claims Act, a claim for money damages against a local public 23 entity must be presented to the entity within six months or a year after the cause of action accrues 24 depending on the cause of action. See Cal. Gov’t Code §§ 905, 911.2. “[F]ailure to allege facts 25 26 27 2 28 See Cal. Gov’t Code § 810(b). The Government Claims Act covers Sections 810-998.3 of the California Government Code. 10 1 demonstrating or excusing compliance with the claim presentation requirement subjects a claim 2 against a public entity to a [motion to dismiss] for failure to state a cause of action.” State v. 3 Superior Ct., 32 Cal. 4th 1234, 1239 (2004) (citing Cal. Gov’t Code §§ 905, 911.2, 945.4); see 4 also Karim-Panahi v. Los Angeles Police Dep’t, 839 F.2d 621, 627 (9th Cir. 1988) (claims 5 properly dismissed for failure to allege compliance with Government Claims Act). United States District Court Northern District of California 6 Plaintiffs do not dispute that they have failed to comply with the Government Claims Act. 7 They instead argue that they were excused from presenting their Bane Act claim because the 8 damages they seek are “ancillary” to the declaratory and injunctive relief they seek. See Opp’n 7. 9 Plaintiffs further contend that the Court should disregard their failure to comply with the 10 Government Claims Act because “the Bane Act claim arose [during the litigation]” and therefore 11 the County had “sufficient notice to satisfy any statutory requirements that applied.” See Opp’n 7- 12 8. The Court finds neither argument persuasive. 13 Plaintiffs’ Bane Act claim is a “claim for money damages” and is therefore subject to the 14 presentation requirement of the Government Claims Act. 15 that Plaintiffs seek damages “pursuant to California Civil Code Sections 52 and 52.1.” 4AC 16 ¶ 145; see also Opp’n 1 (stating that Plaintiffs seek a “civil penalty” for violations of the Bane 17 Act). Plaintiffs confirmed at the hearing that they intended to pursue these damages and 18 acknowledged that such damages could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Such civil 19 penalties constitute “money or damages” within the Bane Act. See Lozada v. City & Cnty. of San 20 Francisco, 145 Cal. App. 4th 1139, 1163 (2006) (“We are not persuaded that substantial civil 21 penalties and actual damages do not constitute ‘money or damages’ within the meaning of the 22 Government Claims Act.”); see also Gatto v. Cty. of Sonoma, 98 Cal. App. 4th 744, 763 (2002) 23 (“Exempting damage actions under Sections 51 and 52.1 from the claim filing requirement, even 24 in a case in which that is the primary relief sought, . . . would conflict with the statutory scheme 25 relating to damage claims against public entities and with relevant case law.”). 26 The Fourth Amended Complaint states The Court is not convinced by Plaintiffs’ argument that the money damages they seek 27 under the Bane Act are incidental to their request for declaratory and injunctive relief and 28 therefore exempt from the claim presentation requirement. To be sure, courts have suggested that 11 United States District Court Northern District of California 1 a claim may be exempt from the presentation requirement when the monetary relief sought is 2 incidental to the primary injunctive or other extraordinary relief. See Lozada, 145 Cal. App. 4th at 3 1164-65 (collecting cases). But Plaintiffs have identified, and the Court is aware of, no case in 4 which a claim seeking civil penalties on the order of hundreds of thousands of dollars was held to 5 be incidental to the requested nonmonetary relief. See Williams v. City of Antioch, No. C 08- 6 02301 SBA, 2010 WL 3632199, at *5 (N.D. Cal. Sept. 2, 2010) ($4,000 fine across 1000 class 7 members not incidental despite Plaintiffs’ assertion that primary purpose of action was to obtain 8 injunctive and declaratory relief). This is unsurprising, as allowing such claims to escape the 9 claim presentation requirement would frustrate the Government Claims Act’s purpose of enabling 10 a public entity to engage in fiscal planning for potential liabilities. See Gatto, 98 Cal. App. 4th at 11 763. 12 Nor is the Court convinced by Plaintiffs’ argument that it should be excused from the 13 presentation requirement because the County was on notice of Plaintiffs’ potential claim. 14 Plaintiffs cite the City of San Jose v. Superior Court, 12 Cal. 3d 447 (1974), for the proposition 15 that “courts have disregarded technical defects in the notification process if there was ‘some 16 compliance with all of the statutory requirements’ and the claim discloses sufficient information to 17 enable the public entity to adequately investigate the merits of the claim.” But Plaintiffs do not plead 18 “some compliance with all of the statutory requirements.” They plead no compliance at all. In such 19 cases, the question of whether a defendant knew about potential claims is irrelevant. See City of San 20 Jose, 12 Cal. 3d at 456-57 (predicate question is whether there has been “some compliance with all of 21 the statutory requirements” (cleaned up)). As the California Supreme Court explained: “It is well- 22 settled that claims statutes must be satisfied even in face of the public entity’s actual knowledge of the 23 circumstances surrounding the claim. Such knowledge—standing alone—constitutes neither 24 substantial compliance nor basis for estoppel.” Id. at 455. 25 Accordingly, Plaintiffs were required to comply with the Government Claims Act’s 26 presentation requirement. Their failure to do so bars their Bane Act claim. As Plaintiffs have now 27 had multiple opportunities to address the deficiencies in their Bane Act claim, this claim is 28 DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. 12 D. 1 State Law Claims (Second and Sixth Causes of Action) The County lastly requests that the Court strike or dismiss the damages component of 2 Plaintiffs’ claims asserting violations of the California Constitution. The County argues that these 3 claims, like the Bane Act claim, must fall because Plaintiffs failed to plead compliance with the 4 claim presentation requirement Government Claims Act. Mot. 19, Reply 9-10. Plaintiffs counter 5 that that their state law Constitutional Claims seek only nominal damages and are therefore 6 presentation was not required. Opp’n 9. 7 The Court DENIES the County’s request to dismiss or strike any of the relief Plaintiffs 8 seek under the California Constitution. Aside from declaratory and injunctive relief, these claims 9 seek only nominal damages.3 4AC ¶¶ 109, 136. Such claims are not subject to the claim 10 presentation requirement of the Government Claims Act, as nominal damages are incidental to the 11 United States District Court Northern District of California declaratory and injunctive relief. Cf. Indep. Hous. Servs. of San Francisco v. Fillmore Ctr. 12 Assocs., 840 F. Supp. 1328, 1358 (N.D. Cal. 1993) (claim presentation requirement does not apply 13 14 where “potential damages are small and particularly inconsequential compared to the effect of the declarations it seeks”); M.G.M. Const. Co. v. Alameda Cnty., 615 F. Supp. 149, 151 (N.D. Cal. 15 1985) (same). 16 17 IV. ORDER For the foregoing reasons, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 18 • 19 The County’s motion to dismiss all claims against the County Officials is GRANTED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND. 20 • 21 The County’s motion to strike allegations regarding the County’s letters to Cass Bank is GRANTED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND. 22 23 24 3 Plaintiffs also seek costs and attorney’s fees. The County does not argue that these necessitate 25 filing a claim under the Government Claims Act. Although Plaintiffs do not expressly state the 26 basis for their request for attorney’s fees, the Court notes that statutory attorney’s fees are costs 27 and therefore not subject to claim presentation requirement. See Lozada, 145 Cal. App. 4th at 28 1160. 13 1 • GRANTED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND. 2 3 4 5 6 7 The County’s motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ Bane Act Claim (Eighth Cause of Action) is • The County’s motion to dismiss the damages portion of Plaintiffs’ state law constitutional claims (Second and Sixth Causes of Action) is DENIED. Dated: October 6, 2022 ______________________________________ BETH LABSON FREEMAN United States District Judge 8 9 10 United States District Court Northern District of California 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 14
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