Bella v. Palace Station Hotel and Casino, Inc.

Filing 15

ORDER Granting 13 Defendant's Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction. Signed by Judge James C. Mahan on 5/2/12. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - EDS)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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MICHELLE BELLA,

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2:11-CV-1042 JCM (PAL)

Plaintiff,
v.
PALACE STATION HOTEL &
CASINO aka STATION CASINOS, et
al.,
Defendants.

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ORDER

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Presently before the court is defendant Station Hotel and Casino, Inc.’s motion to dismiss

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plaintiff Michelle Bella’s complaint for want of jurisdiction. (Doc. #13). Ms. Bella has failed to file

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a response.

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Plaintiff’s complaint seeks compensation for an alleged incident at the Palace Hotel and

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Casino, wherein she was allegedly bitten by bed bugs in June 2009. Defendant asserts that the

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medical bills plaintiff has provided total only$1,200 and thus the amount in controversy requirement

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to invoke this court’s subject matter jurisdiction is lacking. See 28 U.S.C. § 1332.

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Pursuant to Local Rule 7-2(b), an opposing party’s failure to file a timely response to any

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motion constitutes the party’s consent to the granting of the motion and is proper grounds for

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dismissal. U.S. v. Warren, 601 F.2d 471, 474 (9th Cir. 1979). However, prior to dismissal, the

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district court is required to weigh several factors: “(1) the public's interest in expeditious resolution

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James C. Mahan
U.S. District Judge

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of litigation; (2) the court's need to manage its docket; (3) the risk of prejudice to the defendants; (4)

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the public policy favoring disposition of cases of their merits; and (5) the availability of less drastic

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sanctions.” Ghazali v. Moran, 46 F.3d 52, 53 (9th Cir. 1995) (citing Henderson v. Duncan, 779 F.2d

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1421, 1423 (9th Cir. 1986)).

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In light of the plaintiff’s failure to respond and weighing the factors identified in Ghazali,
the court finds dismissal appropriate.

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Accordingly,

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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that defendant’s motion to

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dismiss (doc. #13) be, and the same hereby is, GRANTED.
DATED May 2, 2012.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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James C. Mahan
U.S. District Judge

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