Chaena Dade and Keishunn Johnson Secure Complete Dismissal

Chaena Dade and Keishunn Johnson Secure Complete Dismissal of All Claims Against Large Public Entity in Multi‑Defendant Wrongful Death Action

Ms. Dade and Mr. Johnson obtained a full dismissal of all claims asserted against a large public entity in a complex wrongful‑death lawsuit. The Plaintiff alleged negligent emergency medical response, failure to conduct a mandatory statutory death inquiry, misclassification of the manner of death, and loss of critical forensic evidence. The operative complaint asserted multiple causes of action, including medical negligence, violation of mandatory duty, wrongful death, and survival.

Ms. Dade and Mr. Johnson prepared a demurrer addressing each statutory and common‑law theory asserted against the large public entity. Their briefing demonstrated that the Plaintiff could not state a viable claim under Government Code sections 815.2 or 815.6, that the statutory framework governing death investigations does not create a private right of action under the circumstances alleged, and that the pleading failed to establish any actionable duty or causation theory attributable to the public entity. The Court agreed in full and sustained the demurrer without leave to amend.

As a result, all claims against the large public entity were dismissed at the pleading stage, eliminating the entity from the litigation entirely and avoiding the burden of discovery, expert analysis, and trial.