Oppenheimer v. City of Los Angeles

104 Cal.App.2d 545 (1951) JOHN G. OPPENHEIMER, Appellant,

v.

CITY OF LOS ANGELES et al., Respondents.

Civ. No. 18034. California Court of Appeals. Second Dist., Div. Three.

June 1, 1951. John G. Oppenheimer, in pro. per., for Appellant.

Ray L. Chesebro, City Attorney, Bourke Jones, Assistant City Attorney, and Roland Wilson, Deputy City Attorney, for Respondents.

VALLEE, J.

Appeal by plaintiff from (1) a judgment of dismissal entered pursuant to an order sustaining, without leave to amend, the demurrers of the city of Los Angeles, Clemence B. Horrall, V. Fallon, and W. Erskine to the second amended complaint, (2) an order denying plaintiff's motion to vacate the judgment, (3) an order striking plaintiff's amendment to the second amended complaint, (4) an order quashing a subpoena duces tecum, and (5) an order denying plaintiff's motion to annul the order quashing the subpoena duces tecum. The foregoing defendants, in the order named, are the city of Los Angeles, a municipal corporation, the chief of police, and two police officers of the city.

[1a] The first count of the second amended complaint alleges that on November 12, 1948, while on the premises of a restaurant located at 648 South Broadway, "the defendant city by and through its agents and employees, defendants, Doe One and Doe Two [police officers], and each did, accost, seize and wilfully assault plaintiff, bruise and twist his right arm, and unlawfully arrest him at nighttime, without a warrant and against his will, on a pretended charge of a misdemeanor not witnessed by either of them, and then did turn [548] the plaintiff over to the defendants V. Fallon and W. Erskine, for them to take the said plaintiff to jail"; that "defendants V. Fallon and W. Erskine and each did, in fact then take plaintiff to city jail, on such purported charge of a misdemeanor not witnessed by them, and without a warrant of arrest, and there imprison the said plaintiff and restrain him of his liberty without any right or authority so to do, until the afternoon of the 17th day of November, 1948"; that defendant Clemence B. Horrall, "then Chief of Police of the defendant city, on or about April 6, 1949, in effect ratified, condoned and abetted the cruel and lawless actions of the other non-corporate defendants, and has never repudiated them." The complaint recites the filing of a verified damage claim with defendant city, which claim was subsequently denied. Damage in the sum of $19,000 is alleged.