Adrien Sandoval v. Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department et al
Filing
26
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFFS MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION 24 by Judge Dean D. Pregerson . (lc). Modified on 12/12/2016 (lc).
O
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
10
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
ADRIEN SANDOVAL,
Plaintiff,
v.
LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFFS
DEPARTMENT, et al.,
Defendants.
19
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
Case No. CV 11‐05874 DDP (VBK)
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION
[Dkt. 24]
20
Presently before the court is pro se Plaintiff Adrien Sandoval’s Motion for
21
22
Reconsideration of the Court’s August 5, 2013 Order accepting the findings and
23
recommendations of the United States Magistrate Judge and dismissing the Complaint.
24
(Dkt. 22) Having reviewed Plaintiff’s submissions, the court DENIES the Motion and
25
adopts the following Order.
26
27
2012, the court issued a Minute Order directing Plaintiff to submit an initial partial
28
payment of $10.00 (“initial fee”) and to complete a court‐provided “Consent to the
Plaintiff filed the instant civil rights action on July 21, 2011. (Dkt. 3.) On July 6,
1
Collection of Fees From Trust Account” form (“Consent Form”) by August 1, 2012. (Dkt.
2
13.) Plaintiff was also advised that failure to comply with the court’s order would result
3
in dismissal of the action. Plaintiff did not timely submit either the initial fee or the
4
Consent Form. Accordingly, on August 7, 2012, the Magistrate Judge issued a Report and
5
Recommendation recommending that the action be dismissed without prejudice. (Dkt.
6
15.)
7
8
fee. (See Dkt. 17.) On April 10, 2013, the court issued a second Minute Order noting that
9
Plaintiff had failed to submit the initial fee and ordering the Plaintiff to submit the initial
10
fee by May 1, 2013. (Dkt. 18.) Plaintiff was again warned that failure to comply with the
11
court’s order would result in dismissal. Plaintiff again failed to respond to the court’s
12
Order and, on August 5, 2013, the court issued an Order dismissing the action for failure
13
to prosecute or to comply with the court’s orders. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b).
14
15
case was issued, Plaintiff filed the instant Motion for Reconsideration under Federal Rule
16
of Civil Procedure 60(b). (Dkt. 24.) As an initial matter, a motion for reconsideration
17
under Rule 60(b) “must be made within a reasonable time” and “for reasons (1), (2), and
18
(3) no more than a year after the entry of the judgment.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(c)(1). Given
19
the three‐year delay in seeking reconsideration, only relief under Rule 60(b)(4), (5), and
20
(6) are available to Plaintiff. Plaintiff does not contend, nor can the court find any reason,
21
why reasons (4) and (5) would apply to the instant motion, as the judgment is not “void”
22
nor “based on an earlier judgment that has been reversed or vacated.” See Fed. R. Civ. P.
23
60(b)(4), (5).
24
25
final judgment for “any other reason that justifies relief.” This provision typically
26
provides relief when “extraordinary circumstances” have prevented an appeal. Tomlin v.
27
McDaniel, 865 F.2d 209, 211 (9th Cir. 1989); see Martella v. Marine Cooks & Stewards Union,
28
Seafarers Int’l Union of N. Am., AFL‐CIO, 448 F.2d 729, 730 (9th Cir. 1971) (“In order to
On October 15, 2012, the court received Plaintiff’s Consent Form but not the initial
On August 12, 2016, more than three years after the court’s Order dismissing the
Rule 60(b)(6) is a catchall provision that allows district courts to grant relief from a
2
1
bring himself within the limited area of Rule 60(b) (6) a petitioner is required to establish
2
the existence of extraordinary circumstances which prevented or rendered him unable to
3
prosecute an appeal.”) Plaintiff contends that his intermittent confinement in
4
administrative segregation starting in November 2012 and the fact that his legal
5
documents were allegedly misplaced by prison authorities from November 20, 2012 until
6
mid‐April 2016 constitute such extraordinary circumstances. (See Mot. 2‐3.) Neither of
7
these reasons meets the bar set by Rule 60(b)(6).
8
9
explain either the lengthy delay before filing for reconsideration or the failures to comply
Plaintiff’s account of his confinement in administrative segregation does not
10
with the court’s previous Orders. On July 6, 2012, the court first directed Plaintiff to pay
11
the initial fee by August 1, 2012. Plaintiff now explains that he failed to comply with this
12
order because he was placed in administrative segregation on November 20, 2012. This
13
does not account for why Plaintiff failed to make the required payment by the August 1
14
deadline or any time before his November confinement in administrative segregation.
15
From the Motion, it appears that Plaintiff assumed submitting the “Consent to the
16
Collection of Fees” form would have satisfied his obligation to pay the initial fee and the
17
ongoing monthly installments. This was mistaken and, as the court clarified in its second
18
Minute Order on April 10, 2013, Plaintiff was obliged to both make an initial partial
19
payment and submit a “Consent to the Collection of Fees” form.1 This time, Plaintiff was
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
To the extent that it helps Plaintiff better understand how the filing fees operate in the
future, the court briefly notes the structure and rationale of the initial partial payment
and ongoing collection requirements set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 1915.
Prior to 1996, indigents prisoners, like all other indigent persons could file civil
actions without paying filing fees. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1). However, when Congress
enacted The Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PLRA), 110 Stat. 1321‐66, it placed a
number of limitations on prisoner litigation in federal court. One of these limits was that
when a prisoner files a civil action or appeal in forma pauperis, he or she is still “required
to pay the full amount of the filing fee.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1).
Limiting the amount a prisoner is responsible for paying at any one time, the
statute requires the prisoner to make a one‐time payment or “initial partial filing fee” of
“20 percent of the greater of” the average monthly deposits in the prisoner’s account or
the average monthly balance over the preceding six months. Id. In this case, Plaintiff’s
initial partial filing fee was calculated as $10. After that, prisoners must pay monthly
installments of “20 percent of the preceding monthʹs income credited to the prisonerʹs
account” until the filing fee is paid in full. Id. § 1915(b)(2). Thus, when Plaintiff returned
3
1
1
given until May 1, 2013 to comply with the court’s Order. Plaintiff notes that he was
2
again placed in administrative segregation “on or about 2013” and “on or about 2014.”
3
Plaintiff does not specify when during these time periods he was in administrative
4
segregation or why he was specifically unable to comply with the court’s April 10, 2013
5
Order.
Even assuming that Plaintiff was somehow prevented from complying with the
6
7
court’s order because of intermittent confinement in administrative segregation, the only
8
explanation for the three‐year delay in seeking reconsideration was that prison
9
authorities had misplaced Plaintiff’s property from November 2012 until July 2016.
10
According to Plaintiff, without access to his property, Plaintiff could not find his case
11
number to check on the status of proceedings. From the evidence Plaintiff has submitted,
12
it does appear that Plaintiff reported losing some personal property while in
13
administrative segregation, but the reports do not support Plaintiff’s contention that he
14
lost relevant legal files. To the contrary, it appears that, while in administrative
15
segregation, Plaintiff was allowed to examine his property in order to review certain
16
legal files. (See Mot., Ex. 3.) On that occasion, Plaintiff reported that certain personal
17
articles were missing but did not make any claim about legal files. Moreover, Plaintiff has
18
not satisfied the high burden of showing that he had no way of accessing his case details
19
without the allegedly lost property. Accordingly, the court DENIES Plaintiff’s Motion for
20
Reconsideration.
21
IT IS SO ORDERED.
22
23
Dated: December 12, 2016
24
25
26
___________________________________
DEAN D. PREGERSON
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
27
28
the “Consent to Collection of Fees” form, he approved the monthly installments but did
not pay the initial filing fee.
4
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?