Gardner v. Darden

Filing 20

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Allison Claire on 03/06/15 denying 19 Motion for Reconsideration. This action shall remain closed for the reasons set forth in the court's order filed 1/09/13 13 . The clerk of court is directed to ignore any further filings by plaintiff in this action. (Plummer, M)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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DENNIS GARDNER,

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Plaintiff,

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No. 2:12-cv-01963 AC P

ORDER1

v.
STEVE DARDEN,

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Defendant.

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Plaintiff commenced this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, on July 26,

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2012, shortly after his release from Solano County Jail, challenging the conduct of a Vallejo

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police officer and seeking a jury trial and damages. ECF No. 1. The court granted plaintiff’s

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request to proceed in forma pauperis but dismissed his original complaint for failure to state a

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cognizable claim; however, plaintiff was granted leave to file an amended complaint. ECF No. 6.

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Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint, filed November 2, 2012, was also dismissed for failure to

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state a claim. ECF No. 12. In explaining the deficiencies in the pleading, the undersigned

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emphasized that plaintiff was foreclosed from proceeding on his claim for money damages

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against defendant arresting officer, under Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 114 S. Ct. 2364

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(1994). Nevertheless, the court again granted plaintiff leave to file a further amended complaint.

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Plaintiff has consented to the jurisdiction of the magistrate judge for all purposes pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 636(c), and Local Rule 305(a). (See ECF No. 5.)
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Id.

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On January 9, 2013, in light of plaintiff’s failure to respond to the court’s November 26,

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2012 order, the court dismissed this action with prejudice due to the noncognizability of

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plaintiff’s claims. ECF No. 13.

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Commencing four months later, plaintiff filed three notices of change of address

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(explaining that he had been temporarily incarcerated), a request for information concerning how

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to reopen this case, and, a year later, the instant motion for reconsideration. See ECF Nos. 15-9.

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Local Rule 230 requires that a motion for reconsideration include identification of “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,” and a statement explaining

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“why the facts or circumstances were not shown at the time of the prior motion.” Local Rule

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230(j)(3), (4). This rule derives from the “law of the case” doctrine, which provides that legal

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decisions made in a case “should be followed unless there is substantially different evidence . . . ,

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new controlling authority, or the prior decision was clearly erroneous and would result in

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injustice.” Handi Inv. Co. v. Mobil Oil Corp., 653 F.2d 391, 392 (9th Cir. 1981); see also

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Waggoner v. Dallaire, 767 F.2d 589, 593 (9th Cir. 1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1064 (1986).

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In addition, Rule 60, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, authorizes relief from an order for

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“any . . . reason that justifies relief,” Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(6), subject to an “extraordinary

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circumstances” standard, so as not to permit “a second bite at the apple,” but to avoid inequitable

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results and accomplish justice, In re Pacific Far East Lines, Inc., 889 F.2d 242, 250 (9th Cir.

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1989).

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In the present case, plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration states only: “I’m writing this

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missive in regards to Case No. 2:12-cv-01963 AC request for reconsideration to open this case.”

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ECF No. 19. Plaintiff has not made the requisite showing to obtain reconsideration of the court’s

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dismissal of this action.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration, ECF No. 19, is denied.

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2. This action shall remain closed for the reasons set forth in the court’s order filed
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January 9, 2013, ECF No. 13.
3. The Clerk of Court is directed to ignore any further filings by plaintiff in this action.
DATED: March 6, 2015

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