Hsien I. Peng v. Mei Chin Penghu Jonathan Hu S. Gage, Los Angeles County Deputy, Badge No. 406857, Sued Individually

Hsien I. Peng appeals the district court’s dismissal of his civil rights action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 .

Peng was arrested for robbery by Los Angeles County Deputy Scott Gage, based on allegations that Peng forcibly took land title documents from his sister, Mei Chin Peng Hu (“Mei Hu”). Peng was released when the district attorney’s office determined that there was insufficient evidence to press charges. Peng claims that his Fourth Amendment right to be free from an unlawful seizure was violated because Gage lacked probable cause to arrest him. Peng alleges that his sister, Mei Hu, and her son, Jonathan Hu, also violated his Fourth Amendment right to be free of unlawful seizure because their allegedly false statements to Gage caused Peng’s arrest. Thus, argues Peng, they were essentially state actors for the purposes of § 1983. Peng appeals the two district court orders that dismissed his claims. The first order granted Deputy Gage qualified immunity from suit. The second order held that the court did not have subject matter jurisdiction over the remaining claims against Mei Hu and Jonathan Hu because they were not state actors within the meaning of § 1983.…