Manning Kass Obtains Writ of Mandate, Vindicating County of Nevada and Deputy Sheriff

June 5, 2025

In a recently published opinion, the California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District, issued a writ of mandate ordering the lower court to grant our motion for summary judgment on behalf of the County of Nevada and a deputy. The County and two of its deputy sheriffs were sued following an incident in which a woman was shot and killed by one of the deputies. Los Angeles Equity Partner Mildred K. O’Linn and Partners Steven J. Renick, Lynn L. Carpenter, and Kayleigh A. Andersen secured the decision in favor of our clients, clearing the County and the deputies of liability. 

In this case, the deputies were dispatched to conduct a welfare check after two Alta Sierra neighborhood residents placed 9-1-1 calls regarding the decedent’s behavior during their interactions with her. Upon arriving at the scene, the primary deputy explained to the woman that she was not in trouble and asked if he could speak with her. Instead, the woman unsheathed a large knife and began screaming at him and the second deputy, who had arrived as backup. After ignoring several commands from the deputies to drop the knife, the woman repeatedly advanced toward the primary deputy, who backed away to give her space. As he did so, the backup deputy attempted to follow behind the woman and deploy his TASER, which was ineffective. The woman then turned and ran toward the backup deputy with the knife overhead. As the woman continued to chase the backup deputy across the roadway with the knife, the primary deputy was forced to use deadly force to protect the life of his partner. 

The woman’s children, through their guardian ad litem, sued the two deputies and the County, asserting causes of action for negligence, wrongful death, and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Plaintiffs also asserted a separate cause of action against the backup deputy under the Bane Civil Rights Act, which prohibits the interference or attempted interference with a person’s constitutional rights by means of threat, intimidation, or coercion. Plaintiffs argued that the backup deputy’s unreasonable conduct created the need for his partner to use deadly force against the woman. Defendants moved for summary judgment, which the lower court granted as to the primary deputy and denied as to the backup deputy and the County. The lower court concluded that a reasonable juror could find that the backup deputy’s pre-shooting conduct was unreasonable – specifically, his decision to close the distance between himself and the woman and his subsequent decision to deploy his TASER. It thus denied the County’s motion as to the backup deputy, as it could be held vicariously liable for his conduct.

Our team filed a writ petition with the Court of Appeal, contending that the lower court should have granted our clients’ motion for summary judgment because the backup deputy acted reasonably in light of the totality of the circumstances. The Court of Appeal agreed: if one applied the perspective of a reasonable officer at the scene, rather than 20/20 hindsight, no reasonable juror could conclude that the backup deputy’s actions were unreasonable. Therefore, because each of plaintiffs’ claims was based on this underlying assertion, the Court of Appeal determined that the lower court should have granted summary judgment in our clients’ favor. Further, because the County’s alleged liability is purely vicarious, the Court of Appeal found that the lower court should have granted summary judgment in the County’s favor, as well.

Read the Court's full opinion on Westlaw (subscription required).

About Our Team

Mildred K. O’Linn is the co-leader of the Governmental Entity Liability team. She has an unparalleled background as an attorney and technical expert in peace officer civil liability, use of force, training and tactics, and the defense of governmental entities. In her almost 40-year legal career, Ms. O'Linn has been repeatedly recognized for her skills as a litigator. She is a member of the distinguished American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), an award only bestowed upon proven trial attorneys. She has also been inducted into the Litigation Counsel of America as a Senior Fellow, an invitation-only trial lawyer honorary society representing less than 0.5% of American lawyers. She has also received numerous awards and acknowledgments for her contributions to the defense of the law enforcement community, including the California POST Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement Training.

Kayleigh A. Andersen is a member of the Governmental Entity Liability team. She has extensive experience dealing with high-profile cases, including allegations of wrongful death, excessive force, dangerous condition of public property, medical malpractice, as well as a variety of other matters on behalf of public entities and their employees.

Lynn L. Carpenter is a member of the Governmental Entity Liability team. Prior to joining Manning Kass, Ms. Carpenter was an Assistant District Attorney in Oklahoma, where her work resulted in the successful prosecution of complex felony trials including child abuse, sexual assault, and domestic violence. In her current role, she has successfully defended several high-exposure civil rights cases involving claims against law enforcement at trial. She has also been instrumental in obtaining favorable pretrial settlements for her clients. 

Steven J. Renick is a member of the Appellate Law (Strategy, Writs, & Appeals) team. He has concentrated on appellate law for 25 years, acting as lead counsel in more than 100 appellate matters, 13 of which have resulted in published opinions. He has argued three cases in the California Supreme Court and has had two petitions for certiorari granted by the United States Supreme Court, and he briefed a third case on the merits at the U.S. Supreme Court. All six of these cases resulted in unanimous reversals in favor of the firm’s clients. He is also a 2009-2018, 2023-2025 Super Lawyer.