Carter v. Reese et al

Filing 16

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S SECOND MOTION FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER AND PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION. Signed by Judge Maxine M. Chesney on November 9, 2012. (mmclc2S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 11/9/2012) (Additional attachment(s) added on 11/9/2012: # 1 Certificate of Service) (tlS, COURT STAFF).

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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DARRYL CARTER,

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ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S
SECOND MOTION FOR TEMPORARY
RESTRAINING ORDER AND
PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

Plaintiff,
v.
CLYDE REESE III, et al.,
Defendants

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No. C 12-5537 MMC

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Before the Court is plaintiff Darryl Carter’s “Second Motion for Temporary
Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction,”1 filed November 6, 2012, by which plaintiff
seeks an order directing defendants Clyde Reese III, in his official and individual capacity
as Commissioner of Georgia Department of Human Services, and Keith Horton, in his
official and individual capacity as Director of the Division of Child Support Services, to
release a hold they assertedly have placed on his driver’s license and directing nonparty
California Department of Motor Vehicles to process his driver’s license application. Having
read and considered plaintiff’s motion, the Court hereby rules as follows.
The Court will deny plaintiff’s request. A district court has no authority to grant relief
in the form of temporary restraining order and permanent injunction where it has no

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By order filed November 2, 2012, the Court denied plaintiff’s first request for a
restraining order, for failure to comply with Rule 65(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure.

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jurisdiction over the parties. See Ruhrgas AG v. Marathon Oil Co., 526 U.S. 574, 584

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(1999) ("Personal jurisdiction . . . is an essential element of the jurisdiction of a district

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court, without which the court is powerless to proceed to an adjudication.") (internal

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quotation and citation omitted); Paccar Int'l, Inc. v. Commercial Bank of Kuwait, S.A.K., 757

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F.2d 1058 (9th Cir. 1985) (vacating district court’s order granting preliminary injunction for

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lack of personal jurisdiction); see also Lockheed Missile & Space Co., Inc. v. Hughes

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Aircraft Co., 887 F. Supp. 1320, 1323 (N.D. Cal. 1995) (noting “[t]he standard for issuing a

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temporary restraining order is identical to the standard for issuing a preliminary injunction”).

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Plaintiff has failed to show this Court has jurisdiction over any defendant named in

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his complaint. In particular, both of the named defendants are officials of the state of

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Georgia, and there is no showing they have any contacts with the state of California. See

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Schwarzenegger v. Fred Martin Motor Co., 374 F.3d 797, 801-07 (9th Cir. 2004)

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(discussing contacts necessary for general and specific jurisdiction).

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Accordingly, plaintiff’s motion is hereby DENIED.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: November 9, 2012
MAXINE M. CHESNEY
United States District Judge

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