Sanford

Regina Sanford and Keaira Smith appeal the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in their section 1983 action against defendants Officer David Motts and the City of Compton. Holding that the plaintiffs’ case is not barred by Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477 , 114 S.Ct. 2364 , 129 L.Ed.2d 383 (1994), and that the plaintiffs should also have been allowed to amend their complaint to assert a .due process claim, we reverse the judgment and remand to the district court.

FACTS

Reviewing de novo the motion for summary judgment, we accept the nonmoving party’s statement of facts and the inferences to be drawn from them, as follows:

At about 8:30 on the morning of July 8, 1999, Regina Sanford (Sanford), age 23, drove to the home where her boyfriend, Anthony Love (Love), age 18, lived with his mother and his 12-year-old brother, Drequinn. Sanford had with her her children, Keaira, age 3, and Anthony, age 6 months. Officers from Los Angeles County Animal Control were in Love’s yard trying to capture a dog that belonged to Drequinn. The dog had bitten one of the officers, who now sought to catch him to test for rabies. The officers called on Compton Police for assistance.…