(PS)McGee v. Mansfiled ( 2022 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 PHILOMENA G MCGEE, et al., No. 2:21–cv–2216–KJM–KJN PS 12 Plaintiffs, ORDER 13 v. (ECF No. 7.) 14 KIMBERLY MANSFIELD, et al., 15 Defendants. 16 17 On December 2, 2021, plaintiffs filed the instant action, alleging multiple claims against 18 officers of the California Department of Justice related to an April 2021 search and seizure at 19 plaintiffs’ residence.1 Defendants now move to stay the case under Wallace v Kato, noting 20 plaintiff Bird’s criminal proceedings in state court are currently ongoing, and conviction would 21 require dismissal of this civil case under Heck v. Humphrey. (ECF No. 7.) The court ordered 22 opposition briefing, and thereafter took the matter under submission without a hearing pursuant to 23 Local Rule 230(g). (ECF No. 8.) Plaintiffs filed no opposition. 24 For the reasons that follow, the court orders this case stayed until the underlying criminal 25 proceedings have concluded. 26 /// 27 1 Plaintiffs are proceeding without assistance of counsel in this action. Thus, this case was 28 referred to the undersigned pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 636 and Local Rule 302(c)(21). 1 DISCUSSION 2 In Heck v. Humphrey, the Supreme Court held: 3 [T]o recover damages for an allegedly unconstitutional conviction or imprisonment, or for other harm caused by actions whose 4 lawfulness would render a conviction or sentence invalid, a § 1983 plaintiff must prove that the conviction or sentence has been 5 reversed on direct appeal, expunged by executive order, declared invalid by a state tribunal authorized to make such determination, or 6 called into question by a federal court's issuance of a writ of habeas corpus[.] 7 8 512 U.S. 477, 486-87 (1994). Heck does not bar a plaintiff from bringing an action raising claims 9 challenging ongoing criminal proceedings. However, the Court in Wallace v. Kato explained 10 such an action should be stayed: 11 [i]f plaintiff files a false-arrest claim before he [or she] has been convicted (or files any other claim related to rulings that likely will 12 be made in a pending or anticipated criminal trial), it is within the power of the district court, and in accord with common practice, to 13 stay the civil action until the criminal case or the likelihood of a criminal case is ended. 14 15 549 U.S. 384, 393-94 (2007). Then, “[i]f the plaintiff is convicted, and if the stayed civil suit 16 would impugn that conviction, Heck requires dismissal; otherwise, the case may proceed.” Yuan 17 v. City of Los Angeles, 2010 WL 3632810 at *5 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 19, 2010). 18 Here, plaintiff’s complaint states various constitutional claims under 42 U.S.C. Section 19 1983, all related to the seizure of his firearms in April 2021. (See ECF No. 1 at 3.) According to 20 the judicially noticeable documents submitted by defendants, plaintiff Bird has been charged with 21 violating Cal. Pen. Code § 29825(b) for possessing a firearm with temporary restraining order, 22 protective order, or injunction. (See ECF No. 7 at Ex. B, the criminal complaint, filed August 31, 23 2021.) A finding for plaintiff on his section 1983 claims could implicate the validity of any 24 criminal conviction. See, e.g., Szajer v. City of Los Angeles, 632 F.3d 607, 612 (9th Cir. 2011) 25 (noting that the outcome of the plaintiff’s Section 1983 claims related to the search and seizure of 26 weapons would “necessarily challenge the validity of the [search] and in doing so imply that there 27 was no probable cause to search for weapons,” and finding the action Heck barred). Thus, this 28 case is subject to a stay until the pending criminal case is resolved, pursuant to Wallace. 1 ORDER 2 Accordingly, it is HEREBY ORDERED that: 3 1. This case is STAYED until the conclusion of plaintiff Bird’s criminal case, as per 4 Wallace v Kato; and 5 2. Within 30 days of the resolution of the criminal case, the parties shall file a joint 6 statement with the court noting their positions on how to proceed with this civil case. 7 || Dated: January 28, 2022 Foci) Aharon 9 KENDALL J. NE megee.2216 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 10 1] 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28