Wins

A 911 caller reported that a man in his apartment complex was acting erratically.  City of Oxnard police officers went to the complex, and ultimately used physical force to subdue the man.  A County of Los Angeles paramedic then arrived and provided him with emergency medical care while he was being transferred to a hospital.  The man later sued the City, its police officers, the County, and its paramedic in federal court for claims including excessive force and medical battery.  The district court granted summary judgment on some claims but denied it on others.  Plaintiff and the City defendants appealed.

Plaintiff’s appeal purported to encompass rulings in favor of the County and the paramedic, GMSR’s clients.  GMSR argued that the appeal as to those parties should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.  In federal court, partial summary judgment orders are not immediately appealable—review generally must wait until after the final judgment has been entered.  A narrow exception allows an appellate court to review a partial summary judgment ruling midstream if it is “inextricably intertwined” with an interlocutory ruling that is immediately appealable.  But GMSR argued that the rulings for the County and its paramedic were not inextricably intertwined with the only appealable ruling before the Court—the order denying qualified immunity for the City police officers who allegedly used excessive force before the paramedic arrived on the scene.  The Ninth Circuit agreed, dismissing the appeal as to GMSR’s clients.