SAN DIEGO (Legal Newsline) - One civil rights claim has been struck from a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the widow of an undocumented immigrant who fell off a border wall in California.
Judge James Simmons, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, on Feb. 13 granted the federal government's motion to dismiss claims under the Bane Act, a federal statute that targets those who threaten civil rights.
The plaintiff argued the Federal Tort Claims Act permits a Bane Act claim premised on a state constitutional violation, but Simmons wrote, "Creating a waiver of sovereign immunity against the United States for state constitutional claims disregards the purpose of the FTCA."
The widow of Joel Reyes Munoz, Leticia Duran Martinez, sued the federal government last year. She alleges in her complaint that her husband, who was 38 years old at that the time, died while in the custody of the U.S. Border Patrol on Jan. 12, 2022, near the Otay Mesa Port of Entry.
She claims that Munoz, who was undocumented, sustained blunt force trauma injuries after falling from the barrier. She further claims that the defendants were aware of other injuries and deaths due to the increased height of the barriers and that it was apparent her husband's condition was grave.
Duran alleges that instead of getting Munoz emergency medical care, he was arrested and transported to the Otay Mesa Port of Entry and held in custody. She claims that only after her husband lost consciousness and stopped breathing was he given CPR, which was negligently and untimely performed.
Duran alleges the defendants' negligence for failing in their duty to act with care and prudence to not cause her husband harm or injury.