Warkentin v. Countrywide Home Loans, et al.

Filing 4

ORDER DISMISSING COMPLAINT for Failure to State a Claim, WITH LEAVE TO AMEND; Amended Complaint due by 12/1/2011, signed by Magistrate Judge Sandra M. Snyder on 10/26/2011. (Flores, E)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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DOYLE WARKENTIN,

CASE NO. 1:11-cv-01752-LJO-SMS

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Plaintiff,
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ORDER DISMISSING COMPLAINT FOR
FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM, WITH
LEAVE TO AMEND WITHIN THIRTY DAYS

v.
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COUNTRYWIDE HOME LOANS; RECON
TRUST COMPANY, N.A.; GOLDMAN
SACHS & COMPANY; AND DOES 1-20;

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Defendants.
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(Doc. 1)
/

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SCREENING MEMORANDUM
Plaintiff Doyle Warkentin, proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, files a complaint

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against Defendants alleging improprieties in the servicing and foreclosure of his property in

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Merced County, California. This matter has been referred to a magistrate judge pursuant to 28

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U.S.C. § 636(b) and Local Rules 72-302 and 72-304.

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I.

Screening

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A court has inherent power to control its docket and the disposition of its cases with

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economy of time and effort for both the court and the parties. Landis v. North American Co., 299

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U.S. 248, 254-55 (1936); Ferdik v. Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258, 1260 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 506

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U.S. 915 (1992). Accordingly, this Court screens all complaints filed by plaintiffs in propria

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persona to ensure that the action is not frivolous or malicious, that the action states a claim upon

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which relief may be granted, and that the complaint does not seek monetary relief from a

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defendant who is immune from such relief.

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II.

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Pleading Standards
“Notwithstanding any filing fee, or any portion thereof, that may have been paid, the

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court shall dismiss the case at any time if the court determines that . . . the action or appeal . . .

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fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii).

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“Rule 8(a)’s simplified pleading standard applies to all civil actions, with limited

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exceptions,” none of which applies here. Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N. A., 534 U.S. 506, 512

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(2002). Pursuant to Rule 8(a), a complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim

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showing that the pleader is entitled to relief . . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). “Such a statement must

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simply give the defendant fair notice of what the plaintiff’s claim is and the grounds upon which

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it rests.” Swierkiewicz, 534 U.S. at 512. Detailed factual allegations are not required, but

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“[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of the cause of action, supported by mere conclusory

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statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, ___ U.S. ___, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949 (2009), citing

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Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007). “Plaintiff must set forth sufficient

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factual matter accepted as true, to ‘state a claim that is plausible on its face.’” Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at

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1949, quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. While factual allegations are accepted as true, legal

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conclusions are not. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555.

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Although accepted as true, “[f]actual allegations must be [sufficient] to raise a right to

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relief above the speculative level.” Id. at 555 (citations omitted). A plaintiff must set forth “the

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grounds of his entitlement to relief,” which “requires more than labels and conclusions, and a

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formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action.” Id. at 555-56 (internal quotation

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marks and citations omitted). To adequately state a claim against a defendant, a plaintiff must set

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forth the legal and factual basis for his claim.

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III.

Sufficiency of Plaintiff’s Complaint

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A.

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The complaint fails at this most basic level. Plaintiff’s jumbling of facts with opinion and

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legal argument result in nearly unintelligible claims. The appendices, which have been filed with

Intelligibility

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their pages out of order, suggest that Plaintiff’s claims may already have been addressed, in

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whole or in part, in California state court.

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If Plaintiff elects to amend his complaint, as this order permits him to do, he must begin

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the complaint with allegations of fact setting forth the procedural and factual history of this case

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in chronological order. Each fact should be set forth individually in a separately numbered

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paragraph. Plaintiff should refrain from including legal argument or his personal opinions.

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Without a clear understanding of the facts of this case, this Court cannot begin to evaluate

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whether it has jurisdiction over any of Plaintiff’s claims or whether Plaintiff alleges substantively

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plausible claims.

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Once Plaintiff has fully set forth the factual and procedural background of the case, he

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may proceed to setting forth his individual claims, followed by additional facts relevant to each

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claim. A bare statement that a defendant has violated a particular statute is an impermissible

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legal conclusion. Instead, Plaintiff must set forth the facts from which the Court can evaluate his

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claims and form its own conclusion(s).

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B.

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The complaint and the exhibits to it suggest that Plaintiff may previously have raised his

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claims in state court, pursuing them unsuccessfully to the California Supreme Court. A federal

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district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to hear an appeal of a state court judgment (the

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Rooker-Feldman Doctrine). District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462

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(1983); Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co., 263 U.S. 413 (1923). See also Bianchi v. Rylaarsdam, 334

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F.3d 895, 898 (9th Cir. 2003), cert. denied, 540 U.S. 1213 (2004). In the absence of unambiguous

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authority to the contrary, a state court is presumed to be an adequate forum in which to raise

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federal claims. Pennzoil v. Texaco, Inc., 481 U.S. 1, 15 (1987). To challenge the order(s) or

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judgment(s) of the state court, Plaintiff must file an appeal with the appellate division of the state

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court. Feldman, 460 U.S. at 482-86; Rooker, 263 U.S. at 415-16. Ultimately, appellate

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jurisdiction of state court judgments rests in the United States Supreme Court, not in the federal

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district court. 28 U.S.C. § 1257. This means that if a party to a lawsuit pursues its claims

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Jurisdiction

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through the California Supreme Court, its next step is a petition for certiorari to the United

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States Supreme Court, not a new case in federal district court.

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A federal complaint must be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction if the claims

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raised in the complaint are inextricably intertwined with the state court’s decisions so that

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adjudication of the federal claims would undercut the state ruling or require the district court to

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interpret the application of state laws or procedural rules. Bianchi, 334 F.3d at 898. Put another

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way, a claim is inextricably intertwined with a state court judgment if the federal claim succeeds

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only to the extent that the state court wrongly decided the issues before it or if the relief requested

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in the federal action would effectively reverse the state court’s decision or void its ruling.

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Fontana Empire Center, LLC v. City of Fontana, 307 F.3d 987, 992 (9th Cir. 2002).

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In deciding whether to amend his complaint, Plaintiff must carefully consider whether his
claims are properly presented to the district court or must be taken to the Supreme Court.

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C.

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The Court is not a repository for the parties’ evidence. Originals or copies of evidence

Exhibits to Complaint

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are properly submitted when the course of the litigation brings the evidence into question (as

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upon a summary judgment motion, at trial, or upon the Court’s request). During the screening

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process, which Plaintiff’s complaint is now undergoing, Plaintiff is required only to state a prima

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facie claim for relief. Submission of evidence is premature. Accordingly, a plaintiff is well

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advised to state fully the facts supporting his claims against the defendants and to refrain from

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attaching exhibits.

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When screening a plaintiff’s complaint, the Court must assume the truth of the factual

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allegations. Submitting exhibits to support the complaint’s allegations is generally unnecessary.

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When a plaintiff is compelled to submit exhibits with a complaint, such exhibits must be

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attached to the complaint and incorporated by reference. Fed. R. Civ. Proc. 10(c). Plaintiff is

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cautioned that, in determining whether a complaint states cognizable claims, the Court’s duty is

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to evaluate the complaint’s factual allegations, not to wade through exhibits.

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D.

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Plaintiff also names twenty “John Doe” defendants, but never alleges who these John

“John Doe” Defendants

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Does are or what they allegedly did. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure include no provision

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“permitting the use of fictitious defendants.” McMillan v. Department of Interior, 907 F.Supp.

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322, 328 (D.Nev. 1995), aff’d, 87 F.3d 1320 (9th Cir. 1996), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 1132 (1997).

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See also Fifty Associates v. Prudential Ins. Co., 446 F.2d 1187, 1191 (9th Cir. 1970). “As a

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general rule, the use of ‘John Doe’ to identify a defendant is not favored.” Gillespie v. Civiletti,

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629 F.2d 637, 642 (9th Cir. 1980). Nonetheless, a plaintiff must be afforded an opportunity to

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identify the unknown defendants through discovery, unless it is clear that discovery will not

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reveal their identities or the complaint must be dismissed for other reasons. Id. “While Doe

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pleading is disfavored, it is not prohibited in federal practice.” Lopes v. Vieira, 543 F.Supp.2d

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1149, 1152 (E.D.Ca. 2008).

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Here, the “John Doe” defendants are simply listed in the caption without otherwise being

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specifically identified and linked to any specific act or omission relating to Plaintiff’s claims. As

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a result, the Court has no clue why the John Does are being named as defendants. Compare

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Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 390 n. 2

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(1971) (in which “the District Court ordered that the complaint be served upon ‘those federal

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agents who it is indicated by the records of the United States Attorney participated in the

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November 25, 1965, arrest of the petitioner’”), and Wakefield v. Thompson, 177 F.3d 1160, 1162

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n. 4 (9th Cir. 1999) (although the plaintiff did not know the name of the officer who refused to

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provide the plaintiff’s prescription when releasing plaintiff on parole, the plaintiff informed the

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Court that the name could be secured “by inspecting the ‘parole papers that the plaintiff signed at

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the time of his release’ and the ‘Duty Roster for that day.’”)

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VII.

Conclusion and Order

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Plaintiff’s complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. The Court

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will provide Plaintiff with an opportunity to file an amended complaint curing the deficiencies

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identified by the Court in this order. Plaintiff’s amended complaint should be brief, Fed. R. Civ.

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P. 8(a), but must identify Plaintiff’s legal claims and state what each named Defendant did that
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rendered it liable to Plaintiff under those claims. See Leer v. Murphy, 844 F.2d 628, 633-34 (9th

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Cir. 1988).

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Although accepted as true, the “[f]actual allegations must be [sufficient] to raise a right to

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relief above the speculative level . . . .” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555 (citations omitted). Plaintiff

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should focus on identifying his legal claims and setting forth, as briefly but specifically as

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possible, the facts linking the defendants he names to the claims alleged.
Plaintiff is advised that any amended complaint supercedes all prior complaints, Forsyth

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v. Humana, Inc., 114 F.3d 1467, 1474 (9th Cir. 1997), aff’d, 525 U.S. 299 (1999), and must be

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“complete in itself without reference to the prior or superceded pleading.” Local Rule 15-220.

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“All causes of action alleged in an original complaint which are not alleged in an amended

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complaint are waived.” King v. Atiyeh, 814 F.2d 565, 567 (9th Cir. 1987); accord Forsyth, 114

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F.3d at 1474.

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Based on the foregoing, it is HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1.

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Plaintiff’s amended complaint is dismissed with leave to amend for failure to state
a claim;

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2.

Within thirty (30) days from the date of service of this order, Plaintiff shall file

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an amended complaint curing the deficiencies identified by the Court in this order;

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and

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3.

If Plaintiff fails to file an amended complaint within thirty (30) days from the

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date of service of this order, this action will be dismissed with prejudice for

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failure to state a claim.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated:
icido3

October 26, 2011

/s/ Sandra M. Snyder
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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