Uribe v. McKesson et al
Filing
170
ORDER GRANTING Defendants' 153 Motion for Sanctions and DISMISSING Action, with Prejudice signed by Magistrate Judge Sandra M. Snyder on 9/6/2011. CASE CLOSED. (Sant Agata, S)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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CESAR URIBE,
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Plaintiff,
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CASE NO. 1:08-cv-01285-SMS PC
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION
FOR SANCTIONS AND DISMISSING ACTION,
WITH PREJUDICE
v.
J. McKESSON, et al.,
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(ECF No. 153)
Defendants.
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I.
Procedural History
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Plaintiff Cesar Uribe (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis
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in this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Following resolution of Defendants’ motion
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for summary judgment, this action is proceeding on the complaint, filed August 29, 2008, against
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Defendants McKesson, Martinez, and Zaragosa for retaliation in violation of the First Amendment.
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On June 1, 2011, Defendants filed a motion for an order to show cause why sanctions should not be
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imposed and request for an order to show cause hearing. Defendants motion alleged that Plaintiff
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had filed a false declaration of Inmate Carlos Quiroz in support of his motion for summary judgment.
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Plaintiff filed an opposition to the motion on June 17, 2011, and a declaration in support on June 22,
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2011.
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On August 4, 2011, the Court granted Defendants motion for an order to show cause hearing.
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Plaintiff filed a response to the order to show cause on August 25, 2011. A hearing on the order to
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show cause was held on August 30, 2011, to allow Plaintiff the opportunity to be heard. During the
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hearing, the Court heard testimony from Inmate Carlos Quiroz and Plaintiff. The Court issues the
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instant order finding that terminating sanctions should be imposed upon Plaintiff for filing a false
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declaration in support of his motion for summary judgment.
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II.
Legal Standard
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A.
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Federal courts have broad powers to impose sanctions against parties or counsel for improper
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conduct in litigation. The Court derives the power to impose sanctions on parties or their counsel
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from three primary sources of authority, “(1) Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, which applies to
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signed writings filed with the court, (2) 28 U.S.C. § 1927, which is aimed at penalizing conduct that
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unreasonably and vexatiously multiplies the proceedings, and (3) the court's inherent power.” Fink
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Sanctions
v. Gomez, 239 F.3d 989, 991 (9th Cir. 2001).
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1.
Rule 11
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Rule 11(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that “[b]y presenting to the court
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a pleading, written motion, or other paper--whether by signing, filing, submitting, or later advocating
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it--an attorney or unrepresented party certifies that to the best of the person's knowledge, information,
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and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances: (1) it is not being presented
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for any improper purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost
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of litigation;. . . [and] (3) the factual contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so
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identified, will likely have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation
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or discovery. . . .” Rule 11 imposes an objective standard of reasonableness, which applies to pro
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se litigants. Business Guides, Inc. v. Chromatic Communications Enterprises, Inc., 892 F.2d 802,
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811 (9th Cir. 1989).
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Rule 11(c) provides for the imposition of appropriate sanctions for a violation of Rule 11(b)
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on any attorney, law firm or party that has violated the rule or is responsible for the violation
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committed.
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conduct or comparable conduct by others similarly situated. Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(c)(4). Whether to
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impose sanctions is determined by the reasonableness of the inquiry into the law and facts. G.C. &
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K.B. Investments v. Wilson, 326 F.3d 1096, 1109 (9th Cir. 2003). “An order imposing a sanction
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must describe the sanctioned conduct and explain the basis for the sanction.” Fed. R. Civ. P.
Any sanction imposed must be limited to what suffices to deter repetition of the
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11(c)(6).
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2.
Inherent Power
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The Court has inherent power to sanction parties or their attorneys for improper conduct.
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Chambers v. Nasco, Inc., 501 U.S. 32, 43-46 (1991); Roadway Express, Inc. v. Piper, 447 U.S. 752,
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766 (1980); Fink v. Gomez, 239 F.3d 989, 991 (9th Cir. 2001). This includes the “inherent power
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to dismiss an action when a party has willfully deceived the court and engaged in conduct utterly
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inconsistent with the orderly administration of justice.” Anheuser-Busch, Inc. V. Natural Beverage
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Distrib., 69 F.3d 337, 348 (9th Cir. 1995) (quoting Wyle v. R. J. Reynolds Indus., Inc., 709 F.2d 585,
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589 (9th Cir. 1983)); see Combs v. Rockwell Intern. Corp., 927 F.2d 486, 488 (9th Cir. 1991)
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(“Dismissal is an appropriate sanction for falsifying deposition”). Because dismissal is such a harsh
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penalty, it should only be used in extreme circumstances. Wyle, 709 F.3d at 589. “It is well settled
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that dismissal is warranted where . . . a party has engaged deliberately in deceptive practices that
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undermine the integrity of judicial proceedings. . . .” Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 69 F.3d at 348.
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3.
Dismissal as Sanction
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In determining whether to dismiss an action for failure to comply with a pretrial order, the
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Court must weigh “(1) the public’s interest in expeditious resolution of litigation; (2) the court’s
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need to manage its docket; (3) the risk of prejudice to the defendants; (4) the public policy favoring
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disposition of cases on their merits; and (5) the availability of less drastic sanctions.” In re
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Phenylpropanolamine (PPA) Products Liability Litigation, 460 F.3d 1217, 1226 (9th Cir. 2006)
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(internal quotations and citations omitted). These factors guide a court in deciding what to do and
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are not conditions that must be met in order for a court to take action. In re PPA, 460 F.3d at 1226
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(citation omitted).
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III.
Discussion
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A.
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At issue here is a three page declaration which Plaintiff submitted as an exhibit in support
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of his opposition to Defendants’ motion for summary judgment. The declaration contains purported
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statements of the declarant, and the third page, bearing Carlos Eduardo Quiroz’ signature, is dated
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March 15, 2010. (Declaration of Carlos Quiroz, ECF No. 82.)
Hearing Testimony
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At the hearing Plaintiff testified that, following the incidents that are alleged in his complaint,
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he was approached by Inmate Quiroz who told him what he had observed and volunteered to testify
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on Plaintiff’s behalf. Subsequently Plaintiff was placed in administrative segregation and he did not
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obtain a declaration from Quiroz. Plaintiff claims that he had a verbal proxy from Quiroz
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authorizing Plaintiff to sign a declaration on his behalf. After Defendants’ filed their motion for
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summary judgment, Plaintiff prepared the declaration for Quiroz, signed Quiroz’ name and
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submitted the declaration to the Court. Plaintiff then contacted Quiroz by letter informing him that
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Plaintiff had submitted the declaration. Plaintiff and Quiroz exchanged letters, and Plaintiff alleges
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that Quiroz was angry because a business deal arranged by Plaintiff had fallen through.
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On February 28, 2011, Plaintiff sent a letter to Quiroz apologizing for offending him by
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signing and submitting the declaration. In his letter Plaintiff stated that after he received the motion
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for summary judgment he was under pressure to submit his response and decided to submit the
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declaration for Quiroz. Plaintiff asked Quiroz if he would rather that Plaintiff had lost the summary
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judgment motion. Additionally, Plaintiff informed Quiroz that their correspondence was likely to
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be monitored and that including the issue of the declaration in his letter could cause it to be brought
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to the attention of the Attorney General. Plaintiff told Quiroz to address these types of issues by
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sending the mail through his sister because it would not be as closely monitored as correspondence
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between inmates.
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Quiroz testified that he observed the events that occurred on February 22, 2007. However,
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according to Quiroz there were two separate incidents that he witnessed. After the second incident,
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not at issue in this action, Quiroz told Plaintiff that he had seen what occurred and would testify for
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Plaintiff. Plaintiff was placed in administrative segregation and Quiroz did not speak to or hear from
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him for the next three years.
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After Quiroz received a letter from Plaintiff in January 2011, informing him that Plaintiff had
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written the declaration and signed his name to it, Quiroz wrote back stating he was upset because
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he had not given Plaintiff the authority to sign his name and the declaration was false. After they had
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exchanged letters ,Plaintiff offered to make monthly payments to pay back money that Quiroz had
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given to Plaintiff’s sister-in-law. Plaintiff sent Quiroz the first payment of thirty dollars in March
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2011. Plaintiff told Quiroz that he would pay him back the money with any settlement he received
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from this lawsuit. Quiroz never received any additional monthly payments from Plaintiff.
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Quiroz testified that the signature on the declaration was his, however he did not sign the
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declaration or read it prior to Plaintiff signing it for him. Quiroz never gave Plaintiff permission to
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sign the declaration for him. The declaration is signed with the name Carlos Eduardo Quiroz.
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Quiroz does not use his middle name in his prison litigation. Plaintiff assisted Quiroz with some
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litigation outside of his prison litigation, and he assumes that Plaintiff had some of these documents
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and traced his signature onto the declaration. Additionally, the factual allegations in paragraphs
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seven through ten are false.
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B.
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For the reasons set forth in the following paragraphs, the Court finds that Plaintiff’s conduct
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Plaintiff’s Conduct in Submitting Declaration
in preparing the declaration justifies the imposition of sanctions.
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Although Plaintiff claims that he had a verbal proxy to sign the declaration on behalf of
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Quiroz, during the hearing Plaintiff gave conflicting testimony on whether Quiroz told him that he
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could sign the declaration on his behalf. Originally, Plaintiff testified that he told an inmate porter
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to let Quiroz know that Plaintiff would sign the document for him if Quiroz didn’t sign it before he
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was transferred. Plaintiff never heard back from Quiroz or the porter. Plaintiff later testified that
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he had received verbal permission from Quiroz to sign the declaration, but he had previously testified
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that he had not seen or heard from Quiroz after the incident in question. In the letter Plaintiff sent
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to Quiroz he acknowledged that he did not have permission to sign the declaration, and Plaintiff had
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been attempting to get in touch with Quiroz but had been unable to. Because he needed to oppose
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the summary judgment, he made a “mistake” and submitted the declaration.
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Plaintiff states that Quiroz told him that he had observed the incidents included in the
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declaration. However, Quiroz testified that, while he did observe the incident, it did not occur as
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stated in the declaration. Plaintiff was antagonizing the defendants in an attempt to get placed back
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in administrative segregation. Quiroz was adamant during the hearing that he would testify to the
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second incident because he observed it, but would not testify regarding the false information
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included in the declaration. When asked if Plaintiff had his permission to sign the declaration,
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Quiroz said that he had not given his permission because Plaintiff could have said anything in the
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declaration. Quiroz stated that he never saw or read the declaration prior to Plaintiff forging his
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name to the document, then Plaintiff attempted to “teach” him what to say to help Plaintiff win his
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lawsuit.
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Plaintiff argues that Quiroz is trying to force this action to be dismissed in retaliation for his
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sister-in-law keeping the money paid to her without providing the legal services bargained for. The
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Court notes that Plaintiff agreed to pay the money back and offered to pay Plaintiff out of any
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proceeds he obtained in this suit. Plaintiff even started making monthly payments to Quiroz.
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However, Quiroz has continually been asserting that he is upset because Plaintiff forged his signature
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on a false declaration. Since Plaintiff withdrew his request for Quiroz to be transported as a witness,
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Quiroz could simply have accepted the money and not testified.
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Finally, Plaintiff admits that he wrote the declaration, signed Quiroz’ name, and submitted
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it to the Court in support of his motion for summary judgment. The Court notes that Plaintiff traced
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Quiroz’ signature, apparently from another legal document that he assisted Quiroz in preparing. The
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Court finds that Plaintiff intentionally and in bad faith made false representations in filing Quiroz’
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declaration in support of his motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff’s conduct in filing a false
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declaration violated Rule 11 and also “willfully deceived the court” and was “conduct utterly
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inconsistent with the orderly administration of justice.” Anheuser-Busch, Inc. V. Natural Beverage
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Distrib., 69 F.3d 337, 348 (9th Cir. 1995). Such conduct justifies the issuance of sanctions “to deter
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repetition of the conduct or comparable conduct by others similarly situated.” Fed. R. Civ. P.
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11(c)(4).
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C.
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Having found that Plaintiff submitted a false declaration in bad faith, the Court turns to the
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Sanctions
propriety of dismissal as a sanction.
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Plaintiff argues that as a pro se litigant he should not be held to the same standard as an
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attorney. The Court notes that Plaintiff is a seasoned litigant, not only litigating his own cases, but
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assisting other inmates with legal issues.1 Initially, Rule 11 explicitly applies to pro se litigants and
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the express goal of Rule 11 is deterrence. Warren v. Guelker, 29 F.3d 1386, 1390 (9th Cir. 1994).
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Pro se litigants must follow the same procedural rules that govern other litigants. King v. Atiyeh,
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814 F.2d 565, 567 (9th Cir. 1987). Therefore, the fact that Plaintiff is proceeding pro se does not
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insulate him from the imposition of sanctions for his misconduct in prosecuting this action. While
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a litigant proceeding pro se is not held to precisely the same standards as an attorney, filing a false
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declaration would violate the standard for any litigant. Willful and bad faith conduct will not be
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excused because Plaintiff is representing himself in this action.
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This case has been pending since 2008, and the delay in these proceedings is due to
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Plaintiff’s conduct. The expeditious resolution of litigation and the Court’s need to manage its
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docket weigh in favor of dismissal. See In re PPA, 460 F.3d at 1227. This action has been pending
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for three years. Even if the Court found Plaintiff’s version credible, Plaintiff had ample opportunity
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to conduct discovery and contact Quiroz to obtain a declaration prior to submitting a false
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declaration. See id. The Court has an enormous caseload, and when litigants file fraudulent
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documents, the Court’s ability to manage its docket and guide cases toward resolution is significantly
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compromised. See id.
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As for the risk of prejudice to Defendants, there is no identifiable prejudice in this instance.
See id. at 1227-28.
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Regarding the fourth factor, while public policy favors disposition on the merits and therefore
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weighs against dismissal, it is Plaintiff’s own misconduct which is at issue here and which has
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stalled the case. See id. at 1228.
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Finally, there are no alternative sanctions which are satisfactory. Monetary sanctions are not
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available given that Plaintiff is incarcerated and proceeding in forma pauperis, making the imposition
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of such sanctions of no consequence. The Court could simply disregard the false declaration;
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however, allowing Plaintiff to continue this action would not deter repetition of such conduct or
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The Court takes judicial notice of court records and the cases filed by Plaintiff. Uribe v. Adams, No. 2:02cv-09449-GHK-CW (C.D.Cal. Dec. 12, 2002); Uribe v. Adams, No. 06-55252 (9 th Cir. Feb. 23, 2006);Uribe v.
McGuinness No. 1:07-cv-01064-GMS (E.D.Cal. July 25, 2007); Uribe v. Bhatt, No. 10-17845 (9 th Cir. Apr. 8,
2011).
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comparable conduct. Such a course would simply place Plaintiff back in the same position he was
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in, without the false declaration. Discovery is closed and the deadline for filing pretrial motions has
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passed, rendering unavailable the Court’s ability to impose any limitations on Plaintiff in those areas
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as a sanction. In sum, the Court finds dismissal is the only sanction that adequately redresses the
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severity of Plaintiff’s misrepresentations to this Court.
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IV.
Conclusion and Order
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Based on the foregoing, the Court finds that Plaintiff Cesar Uribe has intentionally misled
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the Court and this action is DISMISSED, with prejudice, as a sanction for Plaintiff’s filing a false
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declaration in support of his opposition to Defendants’ motion for summary judgment. All pending
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motions are terminated.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
icido3
September 6, 2011
/s/ Sandra M. Snyder
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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