Jones v. Jimenez et al

Filing 151

ORDER DENYING 149 Plaintiff's Motion for Reconsideration signed by District Judge Dale A. Drozd on 6/22/2020. (Jessen, A)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JEREMY JONES,

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No. 1:14-cv-02045-DAD-SAB (PC)
Plaintiff,

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ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
FOR RECONSIDERATION

v.
J. LUNDY, et al.,

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(Doc. No. 149)
Defendants.

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Plaintiff Jeremy Jones is a state prisoner proceeding pro se in this civil rights action
brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
On February 14, 2019, the assigned magistrate judge issued findings and

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recommendations, recommending that defendants’ motion for summary judgment be granted.

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(Doc. No. 128.) The findings and recommendations were served on the parties and contained

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notice that objections thereto were to be filed within twenty-one days. (Id. at 16.) Plaintiff filed

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requests for extensions of time (Doc. Nos. 131, 133), with the magistrate judge granting

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plaintiff’s requests in part and requiring him to file any objections to the findings and

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recommendations by April 30, 2019. (Doc. No. 136.) Nonetheless, plaintiff did not file

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objections within the allotted timeframe. On September 17, 2019, the undersigned adopted the

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magistrate judge’s February 14, 2019 findings and recommendations and granted defendants’

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motion for summary judgment. (Doc. No. 147.) Thereafter, on September 30, 2019, plaintiff
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filed a motion for reconsideration of the undersigned’s September 17, 2019 order (Doc. No. 147).

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(Doc. No. 149.) The motion for reconsideration also includes plaintiff’s untimely objections to

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the February 14, 2019 findings and recommendations. (Id. at 3–6.)

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) provides that “the court may relieve a party . . .

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from a final judgment, order, or proceeding for the following reasons: (1) mistake, inadvertence,

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surprise, or excusable neglect; (2) newly discovered evidence that, with reasonable diligence,

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could not have been discovered in time to move for a new trial under Rule 59(b); . . . or (6) any

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other reason justifying relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b). “A motion for reconsideration should not

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be granted, absent highly unusual circumstances, unless the district court is presented with newly

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discovered evidence, committed clear error, or if there is an intervening change in the controlling

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law,” and it “may not be used to raise arguments or present evidence for the first time when they

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could reasonably have been raised earlier in the litigation.” Marlyn Nutraceuticals, Inc. v. Mucos

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Pharma GmbH & Co., 571 F.3d 873, 880 (9th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks and citations

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omitted). In seeking reconsideration of an order, Local Rule 230 requires a party to show “what

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new or different facts or circumstances are 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.” L.R. 230(j)(3).

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“A party seeking reconsideration must show more than a disagreement with the Court’s

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decision, and recapitulation” of that which was already considered by the court in rendering its

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decision.” United States v. Westlands Water Dist., 134 F. Supp. 2d 1111, 1131 (E.D. Cal. 2001).

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To succeed, a party must set forth facts or law of a strongly convincing nature to induce the court

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to reverse its prior decision. See Kern-Tulare Water Dist. v. City of Bakersfield, 634 F. Supp.

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656, 665 (E.D. Cal. 1986), rev’d in part on other grounds, 828 F.2d 514 (9th Cir. 1987).

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In his motion for reconsideration, plaintiff argues that he “never received a response from

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the court on key motions . . . that proved the plaintiff’s access to the law library was indeed

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limited . . . [and that his various requests were] made in good faith and not as a delay tactic.”

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(Doc. No. 149 at 1.) As noted in the undersigned’s September 17, 2019 order, plaintiff did not

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and still has not explained why law library access was necessary in order to set forth any

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objections he might have had to the February 14, 2019 findings and recommendations. (See Doc.
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No. 147 at 2 n.1.) Moreover, even if the court were to consider plaintiff’s alleged limited access

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to the law library, plaintiff had more than sufficient time—more than seven months—to file his

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objections before the court adopted the findings and recommendations, and he failed to set forth

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any efforts on his part to comply with the deadlines for filing those objections set by the court.

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After plaintiff requested extensions of time to file his objections, the magistrate judge granted

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plaintiff until April 30, 2019 to do so. (Doc. No. 136 at 3.) Rather than filing objections within

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that timeframe, plaintiff filed additional motions asking the court to delay its ruling, and then

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seeking appointment of counsel. (Doc. Nos. 137–140, 144.) Plaintiff was provided generous

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extensions of time with which he failed to comply. Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate any basis,

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excusable neglect or otherwise, justifying the granting of reconsideration.
As noted, plaintiff’s untimely objections to the magistrate judge’s February 14, 2019

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findings and recommendations are attached as part of his motion for reconsideration. The court

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will exercise its discretion and consider plaintiff’s untimely objections. In objecting to the

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findings and recommendations, plaintiff argues that summary judgment was not appropriate on

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plaintiff’s due process claim brought against defendants Lundy and Schuyler relating to plaintiff’s

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rules violation hearing. (Doc. No. 149 at 3–6.) More specifically, plaintiff contends that his due

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process rights were violated because he was not: afforded an impartial hearing officer; allowed to

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call witnesses at the hearing; or provided copies of the rules violation report. (Id. at 4.) The

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undisputed facts before the court on summary judgment, however, demonstrate that: (1) plaintiff

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had not had any interactions with defendant Schuyler, the hearing officer, before the hearing on

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the rules violation report; (2) defendant Schuyler granted plaintiff’s request for the attendance of

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inmate witnesses, but those witnesses were not summoned by plaintiff for the hearing; and (3)

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plaintiff acknowledged receiving a written copy of the rules violation report more than twenty-

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four hours before the disciplinary hearing. (See Doc. No. 105-4, Ex. B at 3; id., Ex. C at 31.) As

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such, and as noted by the magistrate judge, plaintiff was provided the opportunity to present

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evidence in his defense and received all of the procedural due process to which he was entitled at

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the prison rules violation hearing held on June 30, 2011. (Doc. No. 128 at 8–13.)

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Plaintiff’s objections attached to his motion for reconsideration merely reiterate arguments

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previously presented and considered by the court. They provide no basis upon which to question

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the conclusions reached in the February 14, 2019 findings and recommendations nor in the

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undersigned September 17, 2019 order adopting those findings and recommendations and

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granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff’s mere disagreement with the

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court’s decision is not grounds for reconsideration. United States v. Westlands Water Dist., 134

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F. Supp. 2d at 1131.

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Accordingly, plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration (Doc. No. 149) is denied.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

June 22, 2020
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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