Williams v. Williams et al

Filing 4

ORDER and FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 9/5/2017 GRANTING 2 Motion to Proceed IFP; DENYING 3 Application for Electronic Filing as moot; RECOMMENDING that the 1 Complaint be dismissed without leave to amend and that the Clerk of Court be directed to close this case; REFERRING this matter to Judge Morrison C. England, Jr.; ORDERING that any objections be filed and served within fourteen (14) days. (Michel, G.)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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GEORGE M. WILLIAMS,

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Plaintiff,

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v.

No. 2:16-cv-2344-MCE-EFB PS

ORDER AND FINDINGS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

KATHRYN A. WILLIAMS, ESTATE OF
ERIC WILLIAMS, STOMA VENTURES,
LLC,

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Defendants.

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Plaintiff seeks leave to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1915.1 His

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declaration makes the showing required by 28 U.S.C. §1915(a)(1) and (2). See ECF No. 2.

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Accordingly, the request to proceed in forma pauperis is granted. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a).

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Determining that plaintiff may proceed in forma pauperis does not complete the required

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inquiry. Pursuant to § 1915(e)(2), the court must dismiss the case at any time if it determines the

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allegation of poverty is untrue, or if the action is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim on

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which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief against an immune defendant. As discussed

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below, plaintiff’s complaint must be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

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This case, in which plaintiff is proceeding in propria persona, was referred to the
undersigned under Local Rule 302(c)(21). See 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1).
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Although pro se pleadings are liberally construed, see Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519,

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520-21 (1972), a complaint, or portion thereof, should be dismissed for failure to state a claim if it

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fails to set forth “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl.

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Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 554, 562-563 (2007) (citing Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41

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(1957)); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). “[A] plaintiff’s obligation to provide the ‘grounds’ of

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his ‘entitlement to relief’ requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of

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a cause of action’s elements will not do. Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to

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relief above the speculative level on the assumption that all of the complaint’s allegations are

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true.” Id. (citations omitted). Dismissal is appropriate based either on the lack of cognizable

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legal theories or the lack of pleading sufficient facts to support cognizable legal theories.

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Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep’t, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1990).

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In reviewing a complaint under this standard, the court must accept as true the allegations

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of the complaint in question, Hospital Bldg. Co. v. Rex Hosp. Trustees, 425 U.S. 738, 740 (1976),

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construe the pleading in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and resolve all doubts in the

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plaintiff’s favor, Jenkins v. McKeithen, 395 U.S. 411, 421 (1969). A pro se plaintiff must satisfy

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the pleading requirements of Rule 8(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Rule 8(a)(2)

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requires a complaint to include “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader

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is entitled to relief, in order to give the defendant fair notice of what the claim is and the grounds

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upon which it rests.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555 (citing Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41 (1957)).

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Additionally, a federal court is a court of limited jurisdiction, and may adjudicate only

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those cases authorized by the Constitution and by Congress. Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co.,

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511 U.S. 375, 377 (1994). The basic federal jurisdiction statutes, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 & 1332,

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confer “federal question” and “diversity” jurisdiction, respectively. Federal question jurisdiction

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requires that the complaint (1) arise under a federal law or the U. S. Constitution, (2) allege a

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“case or controversy” within the meaning of Article III, § 2 of the U. S. Constitution, or (3) be

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authorized by a federal statute that both regulates a specific subject matter and confers federal

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jurisdiction. Baker v. Carr, 369 U.S. 186, 198 (1962). To invoke the court’s diversity

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jurisdiction, a plaintiff must specifically allege the diverse citizenship of all parties, and that the
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matter in controversy exceeds $75,000. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a); Bautista v. Pan American World

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Airlines, Inc., 828 F.2d 546, 552 (9th Cir. 1987). A case presumably lies outside the jurisdiction

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of the federal courts unless demonstrated otherwise. Kokkonen, 511 U.S. at 376-78. Lack of

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subject matter jurisdiction may be raised at any time by either party or by the court. Attorneys

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Trust v. Videotape Computer Products, Inc., 93 F.3d 593, 594-95 (9th Cir. 1996).

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The complaint alleges that in early 2013, plaintiff’s brother Eric Williams (the decedent)

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invented a revolutionary dental device. ECF No. 1 at 8. Prior to the creation of the dental device,

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the decedent “entered into oral and written agreements with his five brothers (including plaintiff)

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and adult niece promising to compensate them in exchange for investing in his dental invention

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by providing the start-up capital for” Stoma Ventures, LLC (“Stoma”), the company under which

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the decedent created the dental device. Id. at 15.

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In June 2014, the decedent died intestate. Id. at 9. At the time of the decedent’s death, his

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assets included a purchase order (presumably of dental devices) from the United States Veterans

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Administration totaling $4.2 million. Id. Two months after the decedent’s death, defendant

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Kathryn Williams, the decedent’s wife, filed a Spousal Property Petition in the San Joaquin

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County Superior Court, requesting a transmutation of incorporated business assets to community

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property. The petition was granted and all of the defendant’s property, as well as the money

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plaintiff invested in Stoma, were transferred to Kathryn Williams.

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Plaintiff alleges that he “unsuccessfully appealed the San Joaquin Superior court’s

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granting of the spousal property order on the grounds that defendant Kathryn Williams sought to

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evade formal probate proceedings by fraudulently representing to the court that the estate of the

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decedent did not exceed $150,000 in clear violation of Probate Code Section 13100.” Id. at 10.

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Plaintiff contends that the petition should not have been granted, as the estate’s interest in Stoma

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exceeded a million dollars. Id. Plaintiff made several attempts to inform the probate court that its

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“order had the unintended consequence of inadvertently depriving [him and the rest of the

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decedent’s family] of substantial investment profits,” but he was unsuccessful. Id. at 11-12.

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Plaintiff now alleges two breach of contract claims against defendants Kathryn Williams,
Robert Vanderselt, a managing partner for Stoma, and the estate of Eric Williams, claiming that
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these defendants deprived him of the profits he would have received for the sale of the dental

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device. Id. at 16-17.

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The complaint fail to establish subject matter jurisdiction. Plaintiff alleges only state law

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claims for breach of contract and, contrary to plaintiff’s contention, there is no diversity of the

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parties. Rather, the complaint alleges that plaintiff is a citizen of California, id. at 1, and as

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discussed below, the estate is also a citizen of California. Although plaintiff claims that the estate

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of Eric Williams is a citizen of Virginia because Kathryn Williams, the representative of the

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estate, resides in that state, for purposes of diversity jurisdiction “the legal representative of the

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estate of a decedent shall be deemed to be a citizen only of the same State as the decedent . . . .”

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28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(2). Documents attached to the complaint, including a declaration plaintiff

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submitted to the probate court, show that the decedent was a resident of California at the time of

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his death. Thus, both plaintiff and the estate of Eric Williams are citizens of California, and

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therefore diversity jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332 is defeated.

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More significantly, the complaint indicates that plaintiff’s claims are barred by the

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Rooker-Feldman doctrine. The Rooker-Feldman doctrine bars jurisdiction in federal district court

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if the exact claims raised in a state court case are raised in the subsequent federal case, or if the

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constitutional claims presented to the district court are “inextricably intertwined” with the state

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court’s denial of relief. Bianchi v. Rylaarsdam, 334 F.3d 895, 898-99 (9th Cir. 2003) (quoting

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Feldman, 460 U.S. at 483 n. 16). Rooker-Feldman thus bars federal adjudication of any suit

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where a plaintiff alleges an injury based on a state court judgment or directly appeals a state

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court’s decision. Id. at 900 n. 4.

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The district court lacks subject matter jurisdiction either to conduct a direct review of a

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state court judgment or to scrutinize the state court’s application of various rules and procedures

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pertaining to the state case. Samuel v. Michaud, 980 F. Supp. 1381, 1411-12 (D. Idaho 1996),

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aff’d, 129 F.3d 127 (9th Cir. 1997); see also Branson v. Nott, 62 F.3d 287, 291-92 (9th Cir. 1995)

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(finding no subject matter jurisdiction over section 1983 claim seeking, inter alia, implicit

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reversal of state trial court action). “That the federal district court action alleges the state court’s

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action was unconstitutional does not change the rule.” Feldman, 460 U.S. at 486. In sum, “a
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state court’s application of its rules and procedures is unreviewable by a federal district court.

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The federal district court only has jurisdiction to hear general challenges to state rules or claims

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that are based on the investigation of a new case arising upon new facts.” Samuel, 980 F. Supp. at

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1412-13.

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The crux of plaintiff’s complaint is that the state probate court wrongfully awarded his

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interest in Stoma to defendant Kathryn Williams based on her misrepresentation of the value of

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the estate. Under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, plaintiff is precluded from challenging the

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probate court’s order in this court. Accordingly, the court lacks jurisdiction over plaintiff’s

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claims.

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As the court is without jurisdiction over plaintiff’s claims, the complaint must be

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dismissed without leave to amend.2 See Noll v. Carlson, 809 F.2d 1446, 1448 (9th Cir. 1987)

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(While the court ordinarily would permit a pro se plaintiff leave to amend, leave to amend should

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not be granted where it appears amendment would be futile).

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Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that:

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1. Plaintiff’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 2) is granted; and

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2. Plaintiff’s application to file documents electronically (ECF No. 3) is denied as moot.

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Further, it is RECOMMENDED that plaintiff’s complaint be dismissed without leave to

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amend and the Clerk be directed to close this case.

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These findings and recommendations are submitted to the United States District Judge

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assigned to the case, pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(l). Within fourteen days

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after being served with these findings and recommendations, any party may file written

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objections with the court and serve a copy on all parties. Such a document should be captioned

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“Objections to Magistrate Judge’s Findings and Recommendations.” Failure to file objections

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Plaintiff also filed an application to file documents electronically. In light of the
recommendation that the action be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, that motion is denied as
moot.
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within the specified time may waive the right to appeal the District Court’s order. Turner v.

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Duncan, 158 F.3d 449, 455 (9th Cir. 1998); Martinez v. Ylst, 951 F.2d 1153 (9th Cir. 1991).

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DATED: September 5, 2017.

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