Villareal et al v. Seneca Mortgage Servicing, LLC et al
Filing
35
ORDER Re: IFP Status On Appeal (ECF No. 33 ), signed by Magistrate Judge Erica P. Grosjean on 3/25/2016. This Order serves as notice to the parties and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit of the finding that Plaintiffs are not entitled to proceed in forma pauperis for this appeal under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 24(a)(3).(Fahrney, E)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
9
EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
10
11
12
JUAN H. VILLAREAL; LORENA
VILLAREAL,
15
16
17
18
Appeal No. 16-15447
Plaintiffs,
13
14
Case No. 1:15-cv-01400-EPG
ORDER RE: IFP STATUS ON APPEAL
v.
(ECF No. 33)
SENECA MORTGAGE SERVICING,
LLC; U.S. BANK, N.A.; and DOES 1 –
20, inclusive,
Defendants.
By notice entered March 18, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth
19
Circuit referred this matter to the District Court for the limited purposed of determining whether
20
the in forma pauperis status of Plaintiffs Juan and Lorena Villareal should continue for this
21
appeal or whether the appeal is frivolous or taken in bad faith. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3); see
22
also Hooker v. American Airlines, 302 F.3d 1091, 1092 (9th Cir. 2002).
23
Permitting litigants to proceed in forma pauperis is a privilege, not a right. Franklin v.
24
Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1231 (9th Cir. 1984); Williams v. Field, 394 F.2d 329, 332 (9th Cir.
25
1968), cert. denied, 393 U.S. 891 (1968); Williams v. Marshall, 795 F.Supp. 978, 978-79 (N.D.
26
Cal. 1992). A federal court may dismiss a claim filed in forma pauperis prior to service if it is
27
satisfied that the action is frivolous or malicious. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2); see Sully v. Lungren,
28
842 F.Supp. 1230, 1231 (N.D. Cal. 1994). A claim is „frivolous‟ when it is without „basis in law
1
1
or fact,‟ and „malicious‟ when it is „filed with the intention or desire to harm another.‟” Knapp v.
2
Hogan, 738 F.3d 1106, 1109 (9th Cir. 2013). A finding of frivolity in this context is equivalent to
3
finding a lack of good faith. Id. at 1110. A lack of good faith can be inferred where “plaintiffs
4
seek to exploit the court system solely for delay or to vex defendants.” Vega v. JPMorgan Chase
5
Bank, N.A., 654 F.Supp.2d 1104, 1121 (E.D. Cal. 2009).
6
In its order dismissing this action, the Court found that Plaintiffs‟ claims lacked any basis
7
in statutory law. (ECF No. 27.) As part of that holding, the Court took judicial notice of the fact
8
that Plaintiffs had filed at least four separate bankruptcy petitions in the United States Bankruptcy
9
Court for the Eastern District of California within one year, each of which was dismissed for
10
failure to file the required documents. On at least two occasions, the bankruptcy petitions were
11
filed shortly before dates that Defendants had noticed for the sale of property that was occupied
12
by Plaintiffs and that Defendants were attempting to foreclose on.1 At the hearing on Defendants‟
13
Motion to Dismiss, Plaintiffs also noted that they had a pending unlawful detainer proceeding in
14
Tulare County Superior Court involving Defendant U.S. Bank and requested that the Court
15
intervene and place a stay on those proceedings.
16
Plaintiffs previously filed a similar suit against Defendant Seneca Mortgage alleging
17
fraudulent loan modification practices while initiating foreclosure proceedings. Plaintiffs‟ claims
18
in that case were similarly dismissed without leave to amend on July 9, 2015. See Villareal v.
19
Seneca Mortgage Services et al., Case No. 1:14-cv-02033-MCE-GSA. In both the current case
20
and in their previous case, Plaintiffs ignored multiple instructions to update their address for
21
service and delayed proceedings by filing multiple and/or untimely opposition briefs. Given
22
these facts, the Court finds that Plaintiffs‟ claims are frivolous because they lack a basis in fact or
23
law and are not brought in good faith because they are brought to delay and vex defendants.
24
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
25
1. This matter is declared frivolous;
26
2. Plaintiffs are not entitled to proceed in forma pauperis in Appeal No. 16-15447, filed
27
1
28
In the present case, Plaintiffs contended that the filing of their bankruptcy petitions precluded any foreclosure
proceedings from occurring.
2
1
on March 16, 2016, under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3);
2
3. This Order serves as notice to the parties and the United States Court of Appeals for
3
the Ninth Circuit of the finding that Plaintiffs are not entitled to proceed in forma
4
pauperis for this appeal under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 24(a)(3); and,
5
4. The Clerk of the Court is DIRECTED to serve a copy of this Order on Plaintiffs and
6
the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
7
8
9
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
March 25, 2016
/s/
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
3
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?