Kitchen v. City of San Leandro

Background

Addie Kitchen, as administrator of the estate of Steven Taylor, and Macala Moore and Asha Atkins, as guardians of minors, sued the City of San Leandro and Police Officers Jason Fletcher and Stefan Overton. The lawsuit arose from an incident at Walmart in which Taylor was fatally shot after officers responded to a report about a person allegedly shoplifting while holding a baseball bat.

According to the complaint, Fletcher encountered Taylor holding the bat, attempted to take it, used a taser twice, and then shot Taylor in the chest. Overton entered as Fletcher fired, and later used his taser after Taylor had dropped the bat. The complaint asserted five causes of action: excessive force under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, municipal liability under § 1983, disability-discrimination claims under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, battery resulting in wrongful death, and negligence resulting in wrongful death.

The City moved to dismiss the second and third causes of action, and Officers Fletcher and Overton joined the motion.

Municipal-Liability Claim

The second cause of action alleged municipal liability, commonly called a Monell claim, against the City. The defendants argued that the complaint did not provide enough information to support the existence of a widespread custom or policy. The plaintiffs voluntarily withdrew this claim. The court therefore granted the motion to dismiss as to the second claim.

Disability-Discrimination Claims

The court analyzed the Title II and Rehabilitation Act claims together because it found no significant difference between the relevant rights and obligations under the two statutes. The plaintiffs alleged that the officers failed to make reasonable modifications to policies and practices to accommodate Taylor’s disability during the encounter.

The court concluded that the complaint did not adequately allege that Taylor had a qualifying disability under the ADA. The complaint stated only that Taylor was experiencing a mental-health episode. It did not identify whether that episode involved a qualifying impairment, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. It also did not explain how the episode related to a broader impairment or whether it was a first or recurring episode.

The court also found insufficient allegations that the officers knew Taylor had a disability or that their actions were motivated by it. The statement that Fletcher recognized Taylor was having a mental-health episode did not explain how Fletcher knew that. The court further held that claims under Title II of the ADA could not be brought against the officers individually because individual officers are not public entities for purposes of that statute.

Disposition

The court granted the motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). It dismissed the ADA claim against Officers Fletcher and Overton without leave to amend and dismissed the ADA claim against the City with leave to amend. The order also granted leave to amend the withdrawn municipal-liability claim. Plaintiffs could file an amended complaint by October 28, 2022.