Cole Ex Rel. Estate of Bearcrane v. Oravec

MEMORANDUM

Defendant-Appellant Matthew Oravec, an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, appeals from the district court’s denial of his qualified immunity motion in this Bivens action brought on behalf of two deceased Native American men. The Appellees are relatives of the two deceased men — Steven Bearcrane and Robert Springfield. The Appellees allege that Oravec violated their right to equal protection when he failed to conduct a sufficiently thorough investigation of the two deaths out of an alleged animus toward Native Americans.

To state a violation of equal protection, the Appellees must demonstrate both differential treatment and discriminatory motive. Wayte v. United States, 470 U.S. 598, 608-09 , 105 S.Ct. 1524 , 84 L.Ed.2d 547 (1985) (citations omitted). Reviewing de novo, see Dunn v. Castro, 621 F.3d 1196, 1198 (9th Cir.2010), we conclude the district court properly denied qualified immunity because the amended complaint states a valid claim against Oravec with regard to the investigation into Steven Bearcrane’s death. However, because the allegations made on deceased Robert Springfield’s behalf are not sufficient, we reverse that portion of the court’s…