Facts

Prior to 1998, the County has been informed of various incidents of suspected abuse or neglect of the plaintiff Cathy Burgess' children. In March of 1998, the County was notified of another suspected case of child abuse. According to the police report, on March 14, 1998, one of the plaintiff's neighbors telephoned the City of Hayward Police Department that she feared that the plaintiff was going to beat her 11-year-old son. The report further stated that the son had told the neighbor that he had accidentally broken a window in their apartment that day, and that he was terrified that his mother was going to beat him when she found out; that the son told the neighbor that his mother beats him with a vacuum cleaner cord and that he has had lash marks up and down his legs as a result of being beaten with a cord; that the plaintiff's nine-year-old daughter told the neighbor that when her mother found out about the broken window, she was going to beat her 11-year-old brother "until he can't walk." The City of Hayward Police responded.

The police reported that in the course of their investigation, the plaintiff began hitting one of the police officers, screaming and shouting hysterically, and attempted to grab a gun (with bullets taped to the handle), which she had placed under her bed. The police arrested the plaintiff on suspicion of child abuse and resisting arrest. The police reported that while the plaintiff was in jail, she defecated on the floor and attempted suicide. The police sent the plaintiff to a psychiatric hospital pursuant to Welfare & Institutions Code section 5150. Because there was no one to care for the plaintiff's two children while the plaintiff was in jail, the police took the plaintiff's two children into protective custody. The Alameda County Child Protective Service ("CPS") was then notified.

Based in part on the police report of the foregoing incident, the County filed a juvenile dependency petition pursuant to Welfare & Institutions Code Section 300 (b) and (g). The County, through CPS, initiated the proceeding because it believed that the plaintiff posed a substantial risk of physically harming her two children. Three months after the petition was filed, the plaintiff agreed to informal supervision whereby the plaintiff and her family would enroll in family counseling and the plaintiff agreed not to keep a gun in her home. The Juvenile Court therefore agreed to dismiss the petition without prejudice.

In March 1999, the plaintiff filed a complaint alleging several causes of action. The plaintiff sought declaratory relief, injunctive relief, and damages. The plaintiff's complaint included a claim against the County of Alameda alleging that the County violated Title 2 of the Americans With Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. Section 12132. The plaintiff alleged that the County filed the petition as a pretext to conceal its true motive to discriminate against the plaintiff based on her actual and perceived mental disabilities. The County denied it discriminated against the plaintiff based on any myth, fear, or stereotype of the mentally disabled. The County asserted that it properly initiated and maintained the dependency proceedings because it had legitimate conduct-based concerns for the safety and well being of the plaintiff's two young children.

The plaintiff also alleged a Title 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 claim against the social worker that filed the dependency petition and a Section 1983 Monell claim against the County. These civil rights claims were based on the plaintiff's belief that the County had managed to obtain her private medical/psychiatric records without her consent and that the County had relied on these records in deciding to initiate and maintain the dependency proceedings. The County and the social worker denied the plaintiff's allegations and asserted that they never obtained, reviewed, or relied upon any of the plaintiff's private medical/psychiatric records (CONT'D)

Settlement Discussions

The plaintiff's last demand was for $85,000 and that the County changes the language in the mandatory Judicial Council forms used in California for dependency proceedings. The County's last offer was for $5,000.

Damages

The only damages sought at trial by the plaintiff were for general emotional distress she allegedly suffered as a result of the pending juvenile dependency proceedings. The proceedings lasted three months.

Result

At a pretrial conference, plaintiff's claims for declaratory and injunctive relief were dismissed. The plaintiff later dismissed her Section 1983 action. The case went to trial on only her disability claims under the ADA against the county. The jury returned a defense verdict. The plaintiff filed an appeal in pro se.

Other Information

In post-trial interviews, the jurors stated that they believed that the County did not discriminate against the plaintiff, but that it had properly filed and maintained the dependency petition as part of its lawful duty to protect children, pursuant to California's juvenile dependency laws.

Deliberation

three hours

Poll

8-0

Length

five days