Cutlip v. Deutche Bank National Trust Company for the Harborview Mortgage Loan Trust Pass-Through Certificates 2007-7

Filing 59

ORDER DENYING 57 PLAINTIFFS MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION. Signed by Judge Beth Labson Freeman. (blflc2S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 10/13/2015)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SAN JOSE DIVISION

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WILLIAM CUTLIP,

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Case No. 15-cv-01345-BLF

Plaintiff,
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v.

ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION

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DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST
COMPANY FOR THE HARBORVIEW
MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST PASSTHROUGH CERTIFICATES 2007-7, et al.,

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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[Re: ECF 57]

Defendants.

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Before the Court is pro se Plaintiff’s Motion for Reconsideration of the Court’s dismissal

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of this case. ECF 57. Plaintiff does not identify the rule pursuant to which he brings this motion.

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The Court considers Plaintiff’s motion under each possible basis: as a Motion for Reconsideration

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pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7-9, a Motion to Alter or Amend a Judgment pursuant to Rule 59(e),

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and a Motion for Relief pursuant to Rule 60(b). Defendant Deutsche Bank National Trust

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Company for the Harborview Mortgage Loan Trust Pass-Through Certificates 2007-7

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(“Defendant”)1 opposes the Motion on each basis, arguing that it “is improper, cites no new law or

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fact, and is a regurgitation of Plaintiff’s Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss.” Def.’s

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Opp., ECF 58 at 1. Plaintiff did not file a Reply.
For the reasons discussed below, the Motion is DENIED.

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I.

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For nearly four years, Plaintiff has been asserting his interest in real property located at 619

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BACKGROUND

Union Avenue Campbell, California. The parties have litigated in California superior court,

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Defendant Benjamin Petiprin was never served. See Summons, ECF 43.

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including Plaintiff’s action for quiet title and Defendant’s action for unlawful detainer, and

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bankruptcy court. Def.’s MTD FAC, ECF 33 at 1. In each proceeding, the courts ruled in

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Defendant’s favor. See FAC, ECF 21 at 7; Def.’s RJN, ECF 34 Exh. 4. Plaintiff appealed both of

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the superior court orders, but both were affirmed. See FAC at 7, Def.’s RJN Exhs. 2, 3, 5.

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Plaintiff next advanced an “independent action in equity” before this Court, seeking to set

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aside the unlawful detainer court’s judgment on the basis that Defendant allegedly defrauded the

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state court. See FAC at 47. On August 28, 2015, this Court dismissed the action for lack of

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subject-matter jurisdiction. Order, ECF 55.
Plaintiff now moves for reconsideration. Specifically, Plaintiff requests an opportunity to

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amend his complaint to “make his argument clearer” and “add[] new information obtained from

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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[Rooz v. Kimmel, 55 Cal. App. 4th 573 (1997)].” Pl.’s Mot. at 16. The Court considers this Motion

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pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7-9, Rule 60(b), and Rule 59(e).

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II.

ANALYSIS

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A. Civil Local Rule 7-9
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Under Civil Local Rule 7-9, a party may request leave to file a motion for reconsideration
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before a judgment has been entered. Civ. L.R. 7-9(a). Here, the Court entered judgment on August
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28, 2015. ECF 56. Plaintiff did not file this Motion until September 9, 2015. ECF 57. Thus,
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Plaintiff’s Motion, if construed as a motion for reconsideration under Civil Local Rule 7-9, is

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improper.
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Furthermore, a party must seek leave to file such a motion. Civ. L.R. 7-9(a). Plaintiff
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neither sought nor obtained such leave.
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Finally, even if Plaintiff had brought this Motion prior to judgment and after seeking leave
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from the Court, the motion would not qualify under Civil Local Rule 7-9. A motion for
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reconsideration may be made on three grounds: (1) a material difference in fact or law exists from
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that which was presented to the court, which, in the exercise of reasonable diligence, the moving
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party did not know at the time of the order for which reconsideration is sought; (2) the emergence
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of new material facts or a change of law; or (3) a manifest failure by the court to consider material
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facts or dispositive legal arguments. Civ. L.R. 7-9(b)(1)-(3). The moving party may not reargue

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any written or oral argument previously asserted to the court. Civ. L.R. 7–9(c).

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Plaintiff has not identified the 7-9(b) ground for his Motion. Instead, he simply restates

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the arguments he previously asserted to the Court. See Def.’s Opp. at 2; Pl.’s Mot. at 12.

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Accordingly, to the extent that this Motion is a motion for reconsideration pursuant to Civil Local

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Rule 7-9, it is DENIED.

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B. Rule 59(e)
The grounds for a motion to amend or alter judgment under Rule 59(e) are nearly identical
to those discussed above. “A motion for reconsideration under Rule 59(e) should not be granted,

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absent highly unusual circumstances, unless the district court is presented with newly discovered

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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evidence, committed clear error, or if there is an intervening change in the controlling law.”

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McDowell v. Calderon, 197 F.3d 1253, 1254 (9th Cir.1999) (per curiam) (internal quotation and

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citation omitted). “A motion for reconsideration may not be used to raise arguments or present

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evidence for the first time when they could reasonably have been raised earlier in the litigation.”

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Marlyn Nutraceuticals, Inc. v. Mucos Pharma GmbH & Co., 571 F.3d 873, 880 (9th Cir. 2009)

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(internal quotation and citation omitted).

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Here, Plaintiff does not identify the Rule 59(e) grounds for his Motion and the Court

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cannot find support for any of the three grounds. Plaintiff offers no newly discovered evidence,

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nor does he allege that this Court committed clear error. The only case Plaintiff seeks to discuss

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further is Rooz—a 1997 California case that this Court not only considered, but also cited, in its

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initial Order. See ECF 55 at 8. Accordingly, to the extent that this Motion is a motion to alter or

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amend a judgment pursuant to Rule 59(e), it is DENIED.

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C. Rule 60(b)
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Federal Rule 60(b) provides for relief from a judgment or order in six circumstances.
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Though Plaintiff’s motion is unclear, he appears to cite the following grounds: 1) mistake,
inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect; 3) fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct by an
opposing party; 4) the judgment is void; or 6) any other reason that justifies relief. Pl.’s Mot. at 12.

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Again, Plaintiff makes no attempt to identify the supposed mistake, fraud, void judgment,

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or other reason that would support this Motion. While he discusses at length the extrinsic fraud he

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alleges occurred in the state court case—the same alleged fraud that he raised, first, in his

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Complaint and, again, in his Opposition to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss—Plaintiff does not

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identify any fraud in this case. Similarly, he seems to suggest that the state court judgment is

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void—but he has previously raised this argument before the Court and it does not challenge the

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validity of this Court’s Order, as Rule 60(b) would require. As Plaintiff himself notes, he seeks to

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make his prior arguments clearer for the Court, but such clarification is not grounds for the

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requested relief.
Accordingly, to the extent that this Motion is a motion for relief pursuant to Rule 60(b), it

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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is DENIED.
The Court recognizes the importance of allowing plaintiffs the opportunity to present their

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cases on the merits and to liberally allow amendment where the pleading deficiencies can be

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cured. As the Court stated in its prior order, see ECF at 10, based upon a careful review of all of

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Plaintiff’s papers, no amendment could have addressed the legal deficiencies in the FAC regarding

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absence of subject matter jurisdiction under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine.

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III.

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ORDER
For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff’s Motion is DENIED with prejudice.

Dated: October 13, 2015
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BETH LABSON FREEMAN
United States District Judge

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