Stafford, et al. v. Kramer, et al.

Filing 26

ORDER AMENDING Judgment Under Rule 60(b); ORDER for Clerk to Enter Amended Judgment Pursuant to this Order and CLOSE CASE signed by Magistrate Judge Gary S. Austin on 8/17/2021. (Sant Agata, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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WILLIAM STAFFORD,

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Plaintiff,

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ORDER AMENDING JUDGMENT UNDER
RULE 60(b)

v.
NORM KRAMER, et al.,

1:15-cv-00038-NONE-GSA-PC

ORDER FOR CLERK TO ENTER AMENDED
JUDGMENT PURSUANT TO THIS ORDER
AND CLOSE CASE

Defendants.

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I.

BACKGROUND
Plaintiff William Stafford is a civil detainee proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis with

this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

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On May 12, 2017, this case was dismissed with prejudice based on plaintiff’s failure to

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state a claim, and judgment was entered. (Doc. Nos. 17, 18.) On May 25, 2017, plaintiff filed a

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notice of appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. (Doc. No. 20.) On June 10, 2021, the

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Ninth Circuit issued a memorandum affirming in part and vacating in part the district court’s

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substantive determination and remanding the case to the district court. (Doc. No. 24.)

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The Ninth Circuit remanded the case to the district court with instructions to modify the

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judgment to make clear that the dismissal of the state law claims is without prejudice, as follows:

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“[W]hen a court ‘dismisses the federal claim leaving only state claims for

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resolution, the court should decline jurisdiction over the state claims and dismiss

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them without prejudice.’ Gini v. Las Vegas Metro. Police Dep’t., 40 F.3d 1041,

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1046 (9th Cir. 1994) (quoting Les Shockley Racing v. Nat’l Hot Rod Ass’n, 884
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F.2d 504, 509 (9th Cir. 1989)). The district court here properly declined to

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exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Stafford’s state law claims but should

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have dismissed the state law claims without prejudice. Accordingly, while we

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affirm the district court’s substantive determinations, we vacate the judgment and

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remand the case to the district court with instructions to modify the judgment to

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make clear that the dismissal of the state law claims is without prejudice. See id.

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(doing the same).”

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(Ninth Circuit’s Memorandum, ECF No. 24 at 5.)

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II.

RULE 60(a) OF THE FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(a) states, in relevant part, that “[t]he court may correct

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a clerical mistake or a mistake arising from oversight or omission whenever one is found in a

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judgment, order, or other part of the record.” “In determining whether a mistake may be corrected

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under Rule 60(a), ‘[the Ninth Circuit] focuses on what the court originally intended to do.’”

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Tattersalls, Ltd. v. DeHaven, 745 F.3d 1294, 1297 (9th Cir. 2014) (quoting Blanton v. Anzalone,

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813 F.2d 1574, 1577 (9th Cir. 1987)). “The basic distinction between ‘clerical mistakes’ and

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mistakes that cannot be corrected pursuant to Rule 60(a) is that the former consists of ‘blunders

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in execution’ whereas the latter consist of instances where the court changes its mind . . . .” Id.,

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813 F.2d at 1577 n.2.

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“The quintessential ‘clerical’ errors are where the court errs in transcribing the judgment

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or makes a computational mistake.” Tattersalls, Ltd., 745 F.3d at 1297 (citation omitted). But

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Rule 60(a) “covers more than those situations.” Id. For example, a district court may correct a

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final judgment pursuant to Rule 60(a) to change a dismissal for want of prosecution without

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prejudice to with prejudice. See Huey v. Teledyne, Inc., 608 F.2d 1234, 1236–37 (9th Cir. 1979);

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Turner v. Las Vegas Metro. Police Dep’t, No. 2:16–cv–02413–RFB–VCF, 2017 WL 2869500,

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at *2 (D. Nev. July 3, 2017); accord Rivera v. PNS Stores, Inc., 647 F.3d 188, 194 (5th Cir. 2011)

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(“Inadvertently designating a dismissal as being ‘without prejudice’ instead of ‘with prejudice’

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is the type of rote, typographical error of transcription that could be committed by a law clerk or

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a judicial assistant. It is not an error of judgment or legal reasoning.”); see also 11 Fed. Prac. &
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Proc. Civ. § 2854 (3d ed.) (“A great variety of matters have been held by the courts to come

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within Rule 60(a),” including “clerical errors, the failure to enter judgment or an opposing party’s

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motion, the omission of a filing date, and mathematical computations,” as well as if the judgment

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“wrongly apportions the damages between the parties, confuses special and general damages, or

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reverses answers in the verdict.”) In sum, Rule 60(a) “allows a court to clarify a judgment in

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order to correct a failure to memorialize part of its decision, to reflect the necessary implications

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of the original order, to ensure that the court’s purpose is fully implemented, or to permit

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enforcement.” Tattersalls, Ltd., 745 F.3d at 1298 (quoting Garamendi v. Henin, 683 F.3d 1069,

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1079 (9th Cir. 2012)).

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III.

CONCLUSION

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In this case, the court failed to clarify in the Final Judgment for this case, entered on May

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12, 2017, that Plaintiff’s state law claims were dismissed without prejudice. Accordingly, the

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court shall amend the Final Judgment to reflect dismissal of Plaintiff’s state law claims without

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prejudice, reflecting the necessary implications of the original order and ensuring that the court’s

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purpose is fully implemented..

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Based on the foregoing, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1.

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Pursuant to Rule 60(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the court amends
the Final Judgment in this case, which was entered on May 12, 2017; and

2.

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The Clerk is directed to:
(1)

Enter an Amended Judgment in this case reflecting that Plaintiff’s federal

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claims are dismissed with prejudice, but Plaintiff’s state law claims are

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dismissed without prejudice; and

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(2)

Close this case.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

August 17, 2021

/s/ Gary S. Austin
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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