Facts

On December 16, 2019, Odette Riegman, then 52 years old, was driving in Woodside when she drove into a steel post. Riegman, a native of the Netherlands and a professional equestrian who had no prior arrests or convictions, was arrested by San Mateo County Sheriff's deputies and taken to the County Jail. On December 23, 2020, she filed suit against San Mateo County, its sheriff department, and the deputies and nurses involved for, among others, negligence and false imprisonment.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff contended that on the days prior to her arrest, she had been feeling ill with the flu, having lain in bed with a fever for nearly four days. As she was driving her car, she nearly lost consciousness, lost control of her car, and drove into the post. After failing the field sobriety test, she repeatedly told defendant deputies that she was sick. However despite several objective signs that she was not intoxicated--testing "zero" during three separate Breathalyzer tests; no smell of alcohol emanating from her--the deputies, instead of taking her to the hospital, handcuffed, arrested and took her to jail, keeping her in a sobering cell. The nurse responsible for the intake screening, before plaintiff was placed in a cell, falsified the intake record. She did not examine plaintiff's lungs or take her temperature. Nevertheless, she wrote that Ms. Riegman's lung sounds were clear, and her temperature normal. For this reason, plaintiff was sent to a cell rather than a hospital. No one checked on her even though a jail video showed she needed support to walk to the cell. Only hours later, after collapsing on the cell floor, semi-conscious, did correctional officers check on her and even then, they assumed she was intoxicated. She was released nine hours later. A friend immediately took her to the hospital where she was diagnosed with pneumonia, sepsis, acute hyponatremia and metabolic encephalopathy. Not only was she hospitalized for eight days, it took six months to fully recover. Moreover, her business suffered due to her absence as she recovered, and because the deputies had damaged her reputation by publicizing her arrest on the internet, two days after her release, even though they knew she had not been under the influence but rather been ill. Tests of the pills and powder during the deputies search determined the substances to be legal antihistamines, and blood drawn revealed that she had neither alcohol nor narcotics in her system.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff, while very ill, decided on the morning of December 16, 2019 to go for a drive in her SUV in order to play the "Pokemon Go" video game on her phone. She lost control of her vehicle, crashed into a post on the side of the road, knocking it over, and then left the scene before being apprehended by campus security, who called sheriffs' deputies. Although the breathalyzer test was negative for alcohol, Plaintiff displayed objective indicia of being in an altered state and failed a field sobriety test. The Sheriff's deputies determined that they had probable cause to arrest her for the crime of driving under the influence. She was taken to jail, where she was medically cleared for booking by nursing staff, placed in a holding cell in the early afternoon, and subsequently released that evening. Defendants disputed the validity of the defamation claim, as it included factual information about the arrest in the Sheriff's Office's regularly issued arrest log.

Result

The case settled for $750,000, a majority of which was paid by the County's insurance carrier.