On Aug. 27, 2010, plaintiffs’ decedent Mario Lopez, Jr., a 45-year-old suffering from schizoaffective disorder and serious depression, was at home with his mother in Ivanhoe when his mental health deteriorated and he became suicidal. As a result, his mother called 911 and asked to have her son taken away. Deputy Christopher Landin responded to the Lopez home, where previous aggressive encounters between the mother and son were known to take place. Lopez was subsequently arrested and taken to jail in Tulare County. On Nov. 24, 2010, Lopez committed suicide in jail. Lopez’s mother, Elida Lopez, and his two sons,Mario Lopez III and Michael Lopez, sued the county of Tulare, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department, Tulare County Sheriff-Coroner William Wittman and Deputy Christopher Landin. They claimed that the defendants negligently withheld proper medical care to Lopez and were deliberately indifferent to his condition, in violation of his constitutional rights, making the defendants’ liable for his wrongful death. Lopez’s mother claimed that she contacted 911 to have her son transported to Kaweah Delta Hospital for treatment due to the deterioration of his mental health. She claimed that she then informed the responding deputy, Landin, of Lopez’s condition, but that instead of taking her son to the hospital, as she repeatedly requested, Landin arrested him and took him to the Tulare County jail to be charged with a third-strike crime for allegedly threatening her. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that Lopez waited in jail without proper medical care. Specifically, counsel contended that while Lopez waited for placement, the jail staff were deliberately indifferent to his need for proper care and treatment for his persistent suicidality, which only worsened due to their indifference. Counsel also noted that the court had already had found Lopez incompetent to stand trial and the decedent was awaiting an order of placement to a state psychiatric hospital prior to his wrongful death. Landin claimed that when he responded to the home where previous aggressive encounters were known to take place, Lopez’s mother requested to have her son taken to jail, as prior hospital treatment had not helped him. Defense counsel contended that Landin exercised his own independent judgment correctly and determined that a probable violation of the California Penal Code had occurred. Counsel asserted that since Landin’s judgment happened to coincide with the wishes expressed by Lopez’s mother, Lopez was taken into custody and transported to jail. Defense counsel also contended that the healthcare personnel at the jail were knowledgeable about Lopez’s mental history and needs, and responded sensitively to those needs when he demonstrated any behavior that was potentially suggestive of an intent to harm himself. Counsel noted that as such, Lopez was placed periodically in a safety cell on those occasions and would be returned to the jail population, successfully, after he became rational and indicated that self-harm was not an option for him. Defense counsel contended that even though Lopez had attempted suicide and/or engaged in suicidal ideation well before the end of 2010, on the day of his death, Lopez indicated to a psychiatric technician that he wished to return to the general jail population and no longer had suicidal thoughts. Counsel asserted that this was an example of communication that had occurred multiple times previously and which Lopez had also previously honored. However, after returning to the general jail population, and later returning to a cell by himself, Lopez hanged himself on the afternoon of Nov. 24, 2010., Lopez’s serious mental illness and suicide risk were documented throughout his three months in jail, and he had numerous safety cell placements, some lasting several days. Two months after his arrest, the Tulare County Superior Court found him incompetent to stand trial and scheduled a hearing for placement at an in-patient mental health hospital. On the afternoon of Nov. 23, 2010, Lopez was still suicidal and was placed in a safety cell, but the next morning, a mental health worker made the decision to return him to general population. A few hours later, Lopez was able to take his own life by hanging himself with bed sheets on the horizontal bars of his single cell. He was not on suicide watch or any other precautions. Lopez was survived by his two adult sons, Mario Lopez III and Michael Lopez, as well as his mother, Elida Lopez. His family sought recovery of damages for the decedent’s wrongful death and violation of rights.