William Sepatis v. City and County of San Francisco

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent*
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
The Honorable Matthew F. Kennelly, United States District Judge for**
the Norther District of Illinois, sitting by designation.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
WILLIAM SEPATIS,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN
FRANCISCO, et al.,
Defendants - Appellees.
No. 09-16537
D.C. No. 3:08-cv-02497-JCS
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of California
Joseph C. Spero, Magistrate Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted November 5, 2010
San Francisco, California
Before: ALARCÓN and RYMER, Circuit Judges, and KENNELLY, District
Judge.**
William Sepatis appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in
favor of the City and County of San Francisco and several police officers on his
FILED
NOV 12 2010
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U .S. C OU R T OF APPE ALS

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claim that the officers towed his car in retaliation for his exercise of his First
Amendment rights.
We affirm. Sepatis’s evidence of retaliatory motive was very weak at best,
and the officers unquestionably had probable cause to tow his car for investigation
of a hit-and-run accident involving property damage. Summary judgment is
appropriate in a case like this one involving “very strong evidence of probable
cause and very weak evidence of a retaliatory motive.” Dietrich v. John Ascuaga’s
Nugget, 548 F.3d 892, 901 (9th Cir. 2008). Because no reasonable jury could find
in Sepatis’s favor on his claim, we need not reach the question of whether the
officers are entitled to qualified immunity.
The district court’s grant of summary judgment is AFFIRMED.

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