Gaines v. Virk et al
Filing
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ORDER ADOPTING 45 Findings and Recommendations and DENYING Defendant's 42 Motion Order Requiring Plaintiff to Post Security, signed by Chief Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill on 01/04/2020. (Orozco, A)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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MARY LEE GAINES,
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Plaintiff,
v.
OFFICER BEAVER,
Defendant.
1:16-cv-01689-LJO-JLT (PC)
ORDER ADOPTING FINDINGS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS AND DENYING
DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR ORDER
REQUIRING PLAINTIFF TO POST
SECURITY
(Docs. 42, 45)
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Plaintiff Mary Lee Gaines is a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in
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this civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This matter was referred to a United States
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magistrate judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Local Rule 302.
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Defendant Beavers moves for an order requiring Plaintiff to post security pursuant to
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Local Rule 151(b). (Doc. 42.) On December 10, 2019, the assigned magistrate judge issued
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findings and recommendations to deny Defendant’s motion. (Doc. 45.) The magistrate judge
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found that, under federal law, Plaintiff’s prior litigation activity does not rise to the level of
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“vexatious,” thus Plaintiff should not be required to post security pursuant to Local Rule 151(b).
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(Id. at 4-5.) Local Rule 151(b) adopts as a “procedural [r]ule” of the Court “Title 3A, part 2, of
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the California Code of Civil Procedure, relating to vexatious litigants, … on the basis of which
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the Court may order the giving of a security, bond, or undertaking.” The magistrate judge found
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that, in the Eastern District, “the Court looks to state law for the procedures to use … to order a
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plaintiff to furnish” a security, but it “looks to federal substantive law to determine whether a
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litigant is ‘vexatious.’” (Id. at 2 (emphasis removed).) Under federal law, the magistrate judge
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found that Plaintiff is not vexatious and, therefore, recommended denial of Defendant’s motion.
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(Id. at 4-5.)
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Defendant filed objections to the findings and recommendations on December 23, 2019.
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(Doc. 50.) In her objections, Defendant argues that “requiring a party to post security is not a
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sanction by the Court” but instead “a procedural requirement.” (Id. at 2.) On this point, the Court
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notes that, for a plaintiff proceeding in forma pauperis, an order requiring her to post security in
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the amount of $7,700, (see Doc. 42 at 1), will likely dispose of this action. Thus, such an order
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serves as a sanction in practical terms, if not in technical ones. See Simulnet E. Assocs. v. Ramada
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Hotel Operating Co., 37 F.3d 573, 575-76 (9th Cir. 1994) (imposition of bond requirement on
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plaintiffs who could not post bond, based on belief that defendants would prevail at trial, “[i]n
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practical effect, … amounted to a judgment as a matter of law.”)
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Defendant also argues that “Plaintiff’s ‘vexatiousness’ is not at issue,” and that her motion
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“does not require a showing of ‘vexatiousness’…” (Doc. 50 at 2, 5.) However, this ignores the
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plain language of California Code of Civil procedure section 391.1, upon which Defendant’s
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motion is based, (see Doc. 42-1 at 3.) The statute provides, “[t]he motion for an order requiring
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the plaintiff to furnish security shall be based upon the ground, and supported by a showing, that
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the plaintiff is a vexatious litigant.” Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 391.1. The magistrate judge simply
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based whether such a showing is made on federal law, instead of the definition provided by
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California statute. (See Doc. 45 at 2, 4.)
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Defendants point to cases in the Eastern District where courts use the state definition of
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“vexatious litigant” in imposing a security requirement. (Doc. 50 at 3-4). The Court
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acknowledges that the case history regarding whether to apply the state or federal definition of
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vexatiousness is unhelpfully mixed. Compare, e.g., Benyamini v. Vance, No. 2:13-cv-00910-
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TLN-AC, 2016 WL 1253898, at *4 (E.D. Cal. 2016) (utilizing California law), with Smith v.
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Officer Sergent, No. 2:15-cv-0979-GEB-DBP, 2016 WL 6875892, at *2 (E.D. Cal. 2016)
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(utilizing federal law).
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The crux of the matter, though, is that the decision to require a plaintiff to post security is
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a discretionary one. See Local Rule 151(b) (the Court may order the giving of a security, bond, or
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undertaking, although the power of the Court shall not be limited thereby) (emphasis added); see
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also Bradford v. Brooks, 659 F. App’x 935, 936 (9th Cir. 2016) (“district court did not abuse its
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discretion by requiring [plaintiff] to post a security after declaring him a vexatious litigant…”).
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Here, the magistrate judge relied on federal law to recommend that Plaintiff not be declared a
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vexatious litigant, and thereby required to post security pursuant to Local Rules, based on the
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only five cases to which Defendant points—two of which involved the same matter at the trial
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and appellate levels, and none of which were deemed frivolous or patently without merit. (See
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Doc. 45 at 4-5.) The Court agrees that the present case does not warrant the imposition of a
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security requirement that will likely dispose of this matter. Simulnet E. Assocs., 37 F.3d at 575-76
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(“In requiring a security bond for defendants’ costs, care must be taken not to deprive a plaintiff
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of access to the federal courts. To do so has serious constitutional implications.”). It is in the
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Court’s discretion to decline to impose such requirement.
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Accordingly, the Court HEREBY ORDERS:
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1.
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The findings and recommendations issued on December 10, 2019, (Doc. 45), are
ADOPTED;
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Defendant’s motion for an order requiring Plaintiff to post security, (Doc. 42), is
DENIED.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:
/s/ Lawrence J. O’Neill _____
January 4, 2020
UNITED STATES CHIEF DISTRICT JUDGE
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