Shuler v. City of L.A.

Filed 4/5/21 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION EIGHT

UNUVA SHULER, B304465

Plaintiff and Appellant, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. 19STCV19156) v.

CITY OF LOS ANGELES et al.,

Defendants and Respondents.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Randolph Hammock, Judge. Affirmed. Reed & Garcia Law and Muammar Reed for Plaintiff and Appellant. Michael N. Feuer, City Attorney, Kathleen A. Kenealy, Chief Deputy City Attorney, Scott Marcus, Senior Assistant City Attorney, Blithe S. Bock, Managing Assistant City Attorney, and Michael M. Walsh, Deputy City Attorney, for Defendants and Respondents.

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Unuva Shuler brought suit in federal court against the City of Los Angeles and three Los Angeles Police Department officers for arresting and strip searching her. A federal jury unanimously found the police acted reasonably. This verdict defeated Shuler’s federal claims. After United States District Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. then dismissed Shuler’s state law claims, Shuler filed a second lawsuit in state court. Based on the strip search, Shuler alleged negligence and other state law claims against the City and the three officers. The defense moved for judgment on the pleadings, saying the case was barred as merely repetitive. The trial court agreed, saying at oral argument the issue was “not even close.” The court granted the motion without leave to amend. We affirm. I We summarize the facts and procedural background. LAPD officers stopped Shuler’s car and detained her during a narcotics investigation. They arrested her passenger, Jerome Jones, on suspicion of drug dealing. Jones’s arrest report lists Shuler as an “involved person.” There is no arrest report for Shuler. The officers took Shuler, Jones, and the car to an LAPD station. At the station, an officer strip searched Shuler, told her to urinate in front of the officer, and kept her in a holding cell for two hours before releasing her without charges. The officers searched the car but found no drugs. They did find and seize about $1,400 in cash. Shuler later reclaimed this money. Shuler brought federal and state law claims against the City of Los Angeles and the three officers in federal court. Shuler’s federal claim alleged a violation of section 1983 of Title