Martin v. James

Filing 5

ORDER. Signed by Judge Hamilton on 6/10/2015. (pjhlc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 6/10/2015)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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YOHONIA MARTIN,

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v.

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ELENA JAMES,

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

Case No. 15-cv-2417-PJH

Plaintiff,

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ORDER DISMISSING CASE

Defendant.

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Plaintiff Yohonia Martin filed this action on June 1, 2015, asserting unspecified

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claims against Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James of this court, in connection with

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rulings issued in Martin v. Wells Fargo Bank (N.D. Cal., No. C-12-0244 MEJ). Also on

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June 1, 2015, plaintiff filed a request for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”).

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The court may authorize a plaintiff to file an action in federal court without

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prepayment of fees or security if the plaintiff submits an affidavit showing that he or she is

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unable to pay such fees or give security therefor. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1). Plaintiff has

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submitted a declaration in which she makes the showing required under 28 U.S.C.

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§ 1915(a). Accordingly, the request to proceed IFP will be granted.

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However, § 1915 imposes the additional requirement that the court must dismiss

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the action prior to service of process if the complaint is frivolous or malicious, fails to state

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a claim on which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary damages against defendants

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who are immune from suit. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2); see also Franklin v. Murphy, 745

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F.2d 1221, 1226-27 (9th Cir. 1984).

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Here, while the complaint is not entirely comprehensible, it is clear that plaintiff is

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attempting to assert claims against Judge James in connection with rulings and other

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actions taken in connection with Case No. C-12-0244 MEJ. A federal judge is absolutely

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immune from civil liability for acts performed in his judicial capacity and, unlike the judicial

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immunity available to state judges sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal judge's

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immunity is not limited to immunity from damages, but extends to actions for declaratory,

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injunctive and other equitable relief. See Moore v. Brewster, 96 F.3d 1240, 1243 (9th Cir.

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1996); Mullis v. U.S. Bankruptcy Court, 828 F.2d 1385, 1394 (9th Cir. 1987) (applying

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judicial immunity to actions under Bivens). Accordingly, because Judge James is

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immune from suit relating to actions performed in her judicial capacity, regardless of the

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basis of any claim plaintiff may be attempting to assert, the action must be DISMISSED.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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The court notes further that rather than submitting the IFP request on the form

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approved by this judicial district, which appears on the court’s website, plaintiff has used

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a more abbreviated form. This court’s form requests more financial information than the

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form submitted by plaintiff, and also asks whether the complaint the plaintiff is seeking to

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file raises claims that have been presented in other lawsuits, while the form utilized by

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plaintiff does not. The court has searched PACER, and has learned that plaintiff has

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previously filed more than one lawsuit in which she raises claims that appear to relate to

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the claims asserted in C-12-0244 MEJ, and thus to the present action.

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On October 13, 2011, plaintiff filed suit in the Northern District of Georgia, alleging

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that in 1999 she opened an account with Wells Fargo Bank in Pittsburg, California; that

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an acquaintance stole some unspecified amount of money from the account; that in April

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2000 she went into the East Leland Branch of the bank, located inside Kroger, and

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discovered that Wells Fargo had closed the account for fraudulent activity; one week later

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she learned that a check for the balance of $20,000 had been issued in her name and

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sent to her “alternate” address, which was the home of her grandparents; and that she

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had for many years been attempting to recover the funds. See Martin v. Wells Fargo

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Bank (N.D. Ga., C-11-0285 RWS), Doc. 1. On November 15, 2011, the Georgia court

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dismissed the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction (no federal question and
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failure to allege jurisdictional minimum) without prejudice, and entered judgment. Id.,

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Docs. 7, 8.

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On December 12, 2011, plaintiff filed suit in the Eastern District of California,
alleging that she opened an account with Wells Fargo Bank in August 1999; that Wells

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Fargo closed the account for fraudulent activity; that $58,000 had been stolen from the

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account but Wells Fargo failed to use the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

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procedure to return the funds to her; that the bank sent a check for the remaining balance

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of $30,000 to her “permanent” address in San Pablo, California; and that she has for

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many years been attempting to recover the funds. See Martin v. Wells Fargo Bank (E.D.

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Cal., C-11-3294 EFB), Doc. 1. On March 6, 2012, the court dismissed the complaint with

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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leave to amend. Id., Doc. 3. On May 14, 2012, after plaintiff failed to file an amended

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complaint, the court dismissed the action without prejudice and entered judgment. Id.,

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Docs. 5, 6.

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Meanwhile, on January 13, 2012, plaintiff filed suit in this court, alleging that she

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opened an account with Wells Fargo Bank in August 1999; that an acquaintance stole

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$58,000 from the account; that Wells Fargo Bank closed the account in 2001, at which

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time it had a balance of $20,000; that Wells Fargo recovered the $58,000 from the

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Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, but did not return the funds to her; that Wells

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Fargo mailed a check for $20,000 to her “permanent” address in San Pablo, California;

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that the $20,000 check was cashed by another person without permission; and that she

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has for many years been attempting to recover the funds. See Martin v. Wells Fargo

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Bank, (N.D. Cal., C-12-0244 MEJ), Docs. 1, 30. This is the lawsuit whose handling by

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Judge James is the subject of the complaint in the instant action.

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On August 1, 2012, the court referred the case for a settlement conference, which

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was held on November 14, 2012. Id., Doc. 43. The case settled, and the parties were

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ordered to submit a stipulation and proposed order of dismissal. Id. No stipulation or

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proposed order appears on the docket. Three months later, on February 11, 2013, the

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court, noting that the parties had advised that the case had settled, issued a conditional
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dismissal, dismissing the case with prejudice. Id., Doc. 44. The order added that if any

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party certified to the court within thirty days of the date of the dismissal that the

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consideration for the settlement had not been delivered, the order of dismissal would be

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vacated and the cause restored to the calendar to be set for trial. Id. Nothing was filed

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by either party within 30 days of the February 11, 2013 order.

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On September 9, 2013, and again on January 29, 2014, plaintiff filed letters in the
case. The letters were largely incomprehensible, but neither appeared to have any direct

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connection with the settlement or the order of dismissal. Id., Docs. 46, 47. In a third

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letter, also filed on January 29, 2014, entitled “Factors to be Considered by the Court

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Before Entering Judgment,” plaintiff asserted that “[t]he five hundred dollar settlement

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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allowed plaintiff was a signature of gross negligence while defendant was not prepared

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for the case.” Id., Doc. 48. While this letter overall was largely incomprehensible, it

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appears that plaintiff may have been attempting to make some argument regarding the

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settlement, almost eleven months after the date set by the court for the parties to request

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that the order of dismissal be vacated.

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On August 29, 2013, plaintiff filed what appeared to be a prisoner civil rights suit in

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this court, challenging the “legitamacy [sic] of actual banking institution” of Wells Fargo

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Bank located inside the “Kroger Grocery on East Leland in Pittsburg California.” Martin v.

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Wells Fargo Bank (C-13-4022 HRL), Doc. 1. This case was randomly assigned to Judge

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Lloyd. The complaint mentioned “November 14” (possibly a reference to the dates of the

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settlement conference in C-12-0244 MEJ), and also mentioned the “amount before the

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closing of the account by Wells Fargo 58,000” (possibly a reference to the amount

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plaintiff previously claimed had been unlawfully withdrawn from her account before it was

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closed by the bank). Id. However, the complaint was incomprehensible overall, and

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more importantly, did not assert any basis for maintaining a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983

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against Wells Fargo Bank. On November 12, 2013, the court dismissed the complaint for

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failure to state a claim. Id., Doc. 9. The dismissal was with leave to amend. Plaintiff

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failed to file an amended complaint within the 28-day deadline imposed by the court. On
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January 6, 2014, the court dismissed the complaint without prejudice, and entered

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judgment. Id., Docs. 11, 12.

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On January 6, 2014, plaintiff filed yet another suit in this court, alleging that Wells

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Fargo had paid only $500 for the settlement of Case No. C-0244 MEJ, which amount was

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inadequate to compensate plaintiff for her losses, and requesting the court to “re-open

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the case.” Martin v. Wells Fargo Bank (N.D. Cal. C-14-0081 MEJ), Doc. 1. This case

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was randomly assigned to Judge James. On January 15, 2014, the court issued an order

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dismissing the case, finding that it lacked jurisdiction to enforce the settlement

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agreement, and dismissing the case without prejudice to re-filing in state court. Id., Doc.
6. On January 15, 2014, and January 29, 2014, plaintiff filed two letters similar to (or

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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identical to) letters she had filed in Case No. C-12-0224 MEJ after that case was

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dismissed. See id., Docs. 9, 10. On February 3, 2014, the court issued an order in which

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it noted that plaintiff appeared to be seeking to appeal the dismissal, and also to

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subpoena documents. Id., Doc. 11. The court noted that any appeal must be taken to

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the Ninth Circuit, and that any request to subpoena documents was moot in light of the

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dismissals of both cases. Id.

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On May 11, 2015, plaintiff filed a “Request and Authorization for Expert Services”

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in Case No. 12-0244, in which she purported to seek compensation in the amount of

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$70,800, apparently for costs incurred in the lawsuit. Martin v. Wells Fargo Bank (N.D.

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Cal., C-12-0244), Doc. 50. On May 11, 2015, the court issued an order denying plaintiff’s

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request for reimbursement, noting that the case had been dismissed in February 2013

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pursuant to the parties’ settlement agreement, and that the court had not retained

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jurisdiction over the case, including any dispute regarding the settlement agreement or

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any other aspect of the case. Id., Doc. 51. The court instructed the Clerk of the Court to

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accept no further filings from plaintiff in the case, and to return any documents plaintiff

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submitted for filing. Id. On May 18, 2015, plaintiff filed a notice of appeal of the May 11,

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2015 order. Id., Doc. 52. Thus, plaintiff has filed five cases – three in this court – based

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on what appear to be the same facts involving the Wells Fargo Bank account.
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On June 1, 2015, plaintiff filed the present action against Judge James in

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connection with Case No. C-12-0244 MEJ, one of the cases previously filed against

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Wells Fargo in this district, which settled in November 2012. For the reasons stated

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above, Judge James is absolutely immune from civil liability for acts performed in her

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judicial capacity. Thus, the present action is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.

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In addition, the court notes that in light of the parties’ settlement of plaintiff’s claims

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against Wells Fargo Bank in C-12-0244 MEJ, plaintiff will be precluded from further

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pursuit of any claim against Wells Fargo regarding the bank account described above.

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Had the present action named Wells Fargo as a defendant, the court would have issued
a prefiling order, but cannot do so in this case as the sole named defendant is Judge

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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James.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: June 10, 2015

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__________________________________
PHYLLIS J. HAMILTON
United States District Judge

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