Hernandez

1. Introduction

How far does the immunity from a suit for damages accorded under the Eleventh Amendment extend to a county acting as an arm of the state? In the present case, Pedro Hernandez, a resident of Monterey County, suffered wage garnishments and a levy upon his savings account because the Family Support Division (Family Support) of the Office of San Bernardino County’s District Attorney confused Hernandez with another person owing child support payments. In his third amended complaint against the County of San Bernardino (the County), Hernandez sued the County for violation of his civil rights under title 42, section 1983 of the United States Code (section 1983). Hernandez appeals from an order granting the County’s motion for judgment on the pleadings.

We hold the court erred in granting a motion for judgment on the pleadings. At this stage in the proceedings, the complaint on its face and the undeveloped factual record did not permit the trial court to rule, as a matter of law, that Family Support was a state actor, making the County free from liability under section 1983. Nor could the trial court properly decide whether Family Support was a policymaker for…