B.B. v. County Of Los Angeles

471 P.3d 329 (2020)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

Residents heard frantic screams for help and saw a man, later identified as the decedent, Darren Burley, straddling a woman in the street. Two residents confronted Burley and pushed him off the struggling woman, allowing her to flee. Others called 911 to report the incident. Deputies Aviles and Fernandez were the first to arrive at the scene. They approached Burley. He stood up, faced them, and, with a blank stare, began making grunting sounds while moving toward them in slow, stiff, exaggerated robotic movements, leading the deputies to conclude that he might be under the influence of PCP. Aviles ordered Burley to get on his knees facing away from the deputies. Burley did not respond. A distraught woman ran into the street, pointed at Burley, and yelled, “He tried to kill me!” Burley's attention turned to the woman, and as he moved to pursue her, Fernandez “hockey checked” him, causing Burley to hit his head on a parked truck before falling to the ground. After a struggle, the deputies maneuvered Burley to a prone position, facedown on the concrete. Aviles then mounted Burley's upper back, while pinning Burley's chest to the ground with the maximum body weight he could apply. Fernandez knelt on Burley's upper legs with all of his weight, Aviles pressed his right knee down on the back of Burley's head, near the neck, and his left knee into the center of Burley's back. Burley struggled against the deputies, trying to raise his chest from the ground. Boyer witnessed the altercation. He testified that one of the deputies held Burley in some type of “head-lock” during most of the struggle. Boyer also saw a deputy hit Burley in the head several times with a flashlight. He said Burley appeared to be gasping for air. When Deputy Beserra arrived, Burley was facedown and Aviles and Fernandez were trying to restrain him. Deputies Lee, Celaya, and LeFevre arrived soon after. Beserra attempted to restrain Burley's left arm, while Lee assisted on the right and Celaya held Burley's feet. Celaya and Lee “Tased” Burley multiple times without apparent effect. Eventually, the deputies succeeded in handcuffing Burley and hobbling his legs. Beserra estimated three to four and a half minutes passed between his arrival and Burley's handcuffing. Burley was prone on his stomach the whole time, with Aviles on his back. Beserra stayed with Burley. Approximately two minutes later, Beserra heard Burley's breathing become labored and felt his body go limp. Beserra did not administer CPR. Paramedics arrived. Captain Henderson of the Compton Fire Department found Burley still face down on his stomach, with Beserra pressing his knee into the small of Burley's back. Burley had no pulse. Paramedics immediately began treating him with CPR, a bag-valve-mask connected to an oxygen tank, and an endotracheal tube. After five minutes, they restored Burley's pulse and transported him to the hospital. Burley never regained consciousness and died 10 days later. The cause of death was brain death and swelling from lack of oxygen following a cardiac arrest “due to status post-restraint maneuvers or behavior associated with cocaine, phencyclidine and cannabinoids intake.” The manner of death was marked, “could not be determined.” Everybody sued Ds. Ds moved for summary adjudication of the civil rights claim. The court granted the motion, and the consolidated cases proceeded to trial on the battery and negligence claims against the County and Deputies Aviles, Fernandez, Beserra, Celaya, Lee, and LeFevre. The jury found Aviles liable for battery and Beserra liable for negligence. The jury attributed 40 percent of the fault to Burley for his own death, and found Aviles 20 percent at fault, Beserra 20 percent at fault, and the remaining deputies 20 percent at fault. The jury awarded $8 million in noneconomic damages for Burley's wrongful death. The court entered judgment against Beserra and the County for $1.6 million (20 percent of the damages award) and against Aviles and the County for the full $8 million award. Ds appealed. Ds contend the trial court erred by failing to apportion damages according to the jury's comparative fault determinations. The appeals court agreed and allocated the damages for Aviles, an intentional tortfeasor, by fault. Ps appealed. The court held that each defendant shall be liable only for the amount of non-economic damages allocated to that defendant in direct proportion to that defendant's percentage of fault. Aviles's liability is governed by section 1431.2, the judgment must be vacated and separate judgments must be rendered against (i) Beserra and the County and (ii) Aviles and the County, in direct proportion to each defendant's percentage of fault, as found in the jury's comparative fault determinations. Ps appealed.