Worsley v. Gipson

Filing 10

ORDER DENYING Petitioner's 9 Motion for Reconsideration, signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 5/22/2015. (Marrujo, C)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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GERALD HAYDN WORSLEY,

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Petitioner,
v.
CONNIE GIPSON, Warden,

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Respondent.

) Case No.: 1:14-cv-01323-JLT
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) ORDER DENYING PETITIONER’S MOTION
) FOR RECONSIDERATION (Doc. 9)
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The Court dismissed this petition because it was untimely by seven years. (Doc. 7). Plaintiff

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now seeks reconsideration of that order contending that the Court should liberally construe his petition,

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he is untrained in the law, he had difficulty enlisting the aid of a “jailhouse lawyer” and that releasing

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Petitioner would be fiscally cheaper for the State of California than continuing to incarcerate him.

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(Doc. 9).

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DISCUSSION
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) governs the reconsideration of final orders of the district

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court. Rule 60(b) permits a district court to relieve a party from a final order or judgment on grounds

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of: “(1) mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect; (2) newly discovered evidence . . .; (3)

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fraud . . . of an adverse party; (4) the judgment is void; (5) the judgment has been satisfied . . . or (6)

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any other reason justifying relief from the operation of the judgment.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b). A motion

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under Rule 60(b) must be made within a reasonable time, in any event “not more than one year after the
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judgment, order, or proceeding was entered or taken.” Id.
Moreover, when filing a motion for reconsideration, Local Rule 230(j) requires a party to show

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the “new or different facts or circumstances claimed to exist which did not exist or were not shown

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upon such prior motion, or what other grounds exist for the motion.” Motions to reconsider are

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committed to the discretion of the trial court. Combs v. Nick Garin Trucking, 825 F.2d 437, 441 (D.C.

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Cir. 1987); Rodgers v. Watt, 722 F.2d 456, 460 (9th Cir. 1983) (en banc). To succeed, a party must set

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forth facts or law of a strongly convincing nature to induce the court to reverse its prior decision. See,

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e.g., Kern-Tulare Water Dist. v. City of Bakersfield, 634 F.Supp. 656, 665 (E.D. Cal. 1986), aff’d in

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part and rev’d in part on other grounds, 828 F.2d 514 (9th Cir. 1987).
Here, Petitioner fails to meet any of the requirements for granting a motion for reconsideration:

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He has not shown “mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect;” he has not shown the

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existence of either newly discovered evidence or fraud; he has not established that the judgment is

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either void or satisfied; and, finally, Petitioner has not presented any other reasons justifying relief from

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judgment. Moreover, pursuant to the Court’s Local Rules, Petitioner has not shown “new or different

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facts or circumstances claimed to exist which did not exist or were not shown upon such prior motion,

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or what other grounds exist for the motion.” Local Rule 230(j). (Emphasis supplied).
Indeed, in his response to the Order to Show Cause, Petitioner argued, as he does here, that his

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lack of legal understanding, liberal construction of pro se petitioners’ pleadings, and his lack of a

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“jailhouse lawyer,” constitute grounds for equitable tolling that should preserve the petition. (Doc. 9).

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In the order of dismissal, however, the Court expressly considered those points and rejected them.

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(Doc. 7). In sum, Petitioner provides no evidence or circumstances that would satisfy the requirements

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of Rule 60(b), and therefore his motion for reconsideration must be denied.

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ORDER

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Accordingly, it is HEREBY ORDERED that Petitioner’s motion for reconsideration (Doc. 9), is
DENIED.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

May 22, 2015

/s/ Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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