Bonner v. City of Santa Ana

In Bonner v. City of Santa Ana (1996) 45 Cal. App. 4th 1465, 1471-1476 53 Cal. Rptr. 2d 671, a homeless person brought an action for money damages against the city, alleging he was deprived of his rights under the state Constitution's equal protection and due process provisions when a city worker threw away a bag containing his possessions. (Bonner, supra, 45 Cal. App. 4th at p. 1468.) Agreeing with Gates's voter intent analysis, the Bonner court held the plaintiff could not recover damages for his claimed equal protection violation. (Id. at pp. 1472-1473.) But the court distinguished the voters' intent with respect to the state's due process provision. (Id. at pp. 1473-1476.) In so doing, the court focused on the November 1974 voter pamphlet's statement that the proposition adds "three rights" (including due process and equal protection) that are " 'presently . . . contained in the Federal Constitution.' " (Id. at p. 1474). In finding the voters' intent less clear than the Gates court, the Bonner court focused on the portion of the voter pamphlet that indicated: "The proposition puts the following three rights into the State Constitution. These rights presently are contained in the Federal Constitution." (Ballot Pamp., op. cit. supra, at p. 26.) The Bonner court concluded the voters intended to put in the State Constitution what was in the federal, and under Davis v. Passman (1979) 442 U.S. 228 60 L. Ed. 2d 846, 99 S. Ct. 2264 (Davis), violations of federal due process rights could be enforced by an action for money damages. (Bonner, 45 Cal. App. 4th at p. 1474.) The Davis decision, however, was predicated on the lack of an alternative remedy; since the plaintiff in Bonner had an alternative remedy, a conversion action, he had no right to money damages for violation of his due process or equal protection rights. (45 cal. App. 4th at pp. 1475-1476.)