James v. United States Marshals Service Agents et al
Filing
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ORDER Granting 32 Motion for Extension of Time to File First Amended Complaint; and Denying 30 Motion for Immediate Action. Plaintiff is granted sixty (60) days leave to file a FAC from the date this Order is filed. Signed by Judge William Q. Hayes on 1/11/18. (All non-registered users served via U.S. Mail Service)(dlg)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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KYLE JAMES,
Case No.: 3:17-cv-0414-WQH-BLM
Plaintiff,
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ORDER:
v.
UNITED STATES MARSHAL
SERVICE, et al.,
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(1) DENYING MOTION FOR
IMMEDIATE ACTION; AND
Defendants.
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(2) GRANTING EXTENSION OF
TIME TO FILE TO FILE FIRST
AMENDED COMPLAINT
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Kyle James (“Plaintiff”), currently housed at the San Diego Central Jail located in
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San Diego, California, and proceeding pro se, has filed this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C.
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§ 1983 and the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”). See Compl. at 1, ECF Doc. No. 1.
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On August 8, 2017, the Court DISMISSED this action for failing to state a claim
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pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. ECF Doc. No. 18. Plaintiff was granted forty five (45)
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days leave to file a First Amended Complaint. Id. When that time passed and Plaintiff
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failed to comply with the Court’s Order, the entire action was dismissed. ECF Doc. No.
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19.
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3:17-cv-0414-WQH-BLM
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Plaintiff later filed a Motion to Set Aside the Judgment which the Court
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GRANTED, in part, on November 20, 2017. ECF Doc. No. 27. Plaintiff was given an
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additional sixty (60) days leave to file a First Amended Complaint. Id.
On January 3, 2018, Plaintiff filed a “Motion for Immediate Action” which the
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Court liberally construes as a motion seeking immediate injunctive relief and a “Motion
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for Extension of Time to File First Amended Complaint.” ECF Doc. Nos. 30, 32.
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I.
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Plaintiff’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction
Procedurally, a federal district court may issue emergency injunctive relief only if
it has personal jurisdiction over the parties and subject matter jurisdiction over the
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lawsuit. See Murphy Bros., Inc. v. Michetti Pipe Stringing, Inc., 526 U.S. 344, 350 (1999)
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(noting that one “becomes a party officially, and is required to take action in that
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capacity, only upon service of summons or other authority-asserting measure stating the
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time within which the party served must appear to defend.”). The court may not attempt
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to determine the rights of persons not before it. See, e.g., Hitchman Coal & Coke Co. v.
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Mitchell, 245 U.S. 229, 234-35 (1916); Zepeda v. INS, 753 F.2d 719, 727-28 (9th Cir.
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1983). Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(d)(2), an injunction binds only
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“the parties to the action,” their “officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys,”
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and “other persons who are in active concert or participation.” FED. R. CIV. P.
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65(d)(2)(A)-(C).
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In Plaintiff’s Motion, he claims that he is now a “pretrial detainee” and is housed at
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the San Diego Central Jail. Pl.’s Mot., ECF Doc. No. 30, at 1. He claims that he arrived
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there from Corcoran State Prison on December 21, 2017 but as of December 27, 2017 he
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has not been given his boxes of legal property. Id. at 1-2. Plaintiff seeks an Order from
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this Court ordering the “Office of County Counsel to track legal property and ensure
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Plaintiff’s very expensive library of legal books and case discovery be returned.” Id. at 2.
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All the named Defendants in the matter before this Court are alleged to be federal
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employees and none of the name Defendants are alleged to be employed by the County of
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San Diego. Plaintiff is seeking injunctive relief that would require the Court to presume
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3:17-cv-0414-WQH-BLM
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jurisdiction over parties who are not part of this action. The Court cannot grant Plaintiff
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injunctive relief because it has no personal jurisdiction over County of San Diego
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officials. See FED. R. CIV. P. 65(a)(1), (d)(2); Murphy Bros., Inc., 526 U.S. at 350;
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Zepeda, 753 F.2d at 727-28. A district court has no authority to grant relief in the form of
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a temporary restraining order or permanent injunction where it has no jurisdiction over
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the parties. Ruhrgas AG v. Marathon Oil Co., 526 U.S. 574, 584 (1999) (“Personal
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jurisdiction, too, is an essential element of the jurisdiction of a district ... court, without
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which the court is powerless to proceed to an adjudication.”) (citation and internal
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quotation omitted).
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In addition, Plaintiff has indicated that his counsel representing him in his state
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criminal proceedings is already seeking this relief in the State Court on his behalf. See
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Pl.’s Mot. at 2-3. Thus, Plaintiff’s submission fails to set out “specific facts in an
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affidavit or a verified complaint ... [which] clearly show that immediate and irreparable
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injury, loss, or damage will result ... before the adverse party can be heard in opposition.”
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Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(b)(1)(A); Gomez v. Vernon, 255 F.3d 1118, 1128 (9th Cir. 2001)
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(“[I]njunctive relief is ‘to be used sparingly, and only in a clear and plain case,’”
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especially when the court is asked to enjoin the conduct of a state agency) (quoting Rizzo
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v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362, 378 (1976)).
Therefore, Plaintiff’s Motion for “Immediate Action” must be DENIED.
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II.
Conclusion and Order
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For these reasons, IT IS ORDERED that:
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(1)
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Plaintiff’s Motion for “Immediate Action,” ECF Doc. No. 30, is DENIED
without prejudice.
(2)
Plaintiff’s Motion for Extension of Time to file his First Amended
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Complaint (“FAC”), ECF Doc. no. 32, is GRANTED. The Court will grant Plaintiff one
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final extension to file his FAC in this matter. Plaintiff is granted sixty (60) days leave to
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file a FAC from the date this Order is filed. Plaintiff’s FAC must cure all the problems
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with his previous pleadings identified in the Court’s August 8, 2017 Order.
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If Plaintiff fails to file an amended pleading within sixty (60) days, this entire
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action will be dismissed for the reasons set forth in the Court’s August 8, 2017 Order and
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for failing to comply with a Court Order.
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Dated: January 11, 2018
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