Hagos et al v. Washington Mutual Bank et al
Filing
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ORDER Denying 25 Plaintiffs' Motion for District Judge to Reconsider Order. Signed by Judge Kent J. Dawson on 03/05/2013. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - AC)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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DANIEL HAGOS, et al.,
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Plaintiffs,
Case No. 2:12-CV-00587-KJD-GWF
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v.
ORDER
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WASHINGTON MUTUAL BANK, et al.,
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Defendants.
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Before the Court is Plaintiffs’ Motion for Reconsideration (#25). Defendants have filed a
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response (#26) to the Motion.
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I. Background
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On September 20, 2012, the Court granted Defendants’ Motion for Judgment on the
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Pleadings (#14). The Court noted that this action was the fourth legal proceeding related to
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foreclosure of the real property located at 6659 Catocin Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada (“the Property”).
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The Court also noted that the three previous proceedings were properly dismissed and that Plaintiffs
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failed to file points and authorities in opposition to the Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings.
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Accordingly, the Court granted judgment in favor of Defendants.
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II. Discussion
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A. Legal Standard for Reconsideration
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Where a ruling has resulted in final judgment or order, a motion for reconsideration may be
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construed either as a motion to alter or amend judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
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59(e), or as a motion for relief from judgment pursuant to Rule 60(b). School Dist. No. 1J
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Multnomah County v. AC & S, Inc., 5 F.3d 1255, 1262 (9th Cir.1993), cert. denied 512 U.S. 1236
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(1994). Because Plaintiffs filed their Motion within 28 days of the Court’s Order, the Motion is
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considered under Rule 59(e). However, the standards governing reconsideration are the same under
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either rule. The Court may grant relief for:
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(1) mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect;
(2) newly discovered evidence that, with reasonable diligence, could not have
been discovered in time to move for a new trial under Rule 59(b);
(3) fraud (whether previously called intrinsic or extrinsic), misrepresentation,
or misconduct by an opposing party;
(4) the judgment is void;
(5) the judgment has been satisfied, released, or discharged; it is based on an
earlier judgment that has been reversed or vacated; or applying it prospectively
is no longer equitable; or
(6) any other reason that justifies relief.
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Fed. R. Civ. P 60(b)
The Ninth Circuit has held that a Rule 59(e) motion for reconsideration 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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evidence, committed clear error, or if there is an intervening change in the controlling law.” Marlyn
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Nutraceuticals, Inc. v. Mucos Pharma GmbH & Co., 571 F.3d 873, 880 (9th Cir.2009) (quoting 389
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Orange St. Partners v. Arnold, 179 F.3d 656, 665 (9th Cir.1999)). A motion for reconsideration must
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set forth the following: (1) some valid reason why the court should revisit its prior order; and (2)
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facts or law of a “strongly convincing nature” in support of reversing the prior decision. Frasure v.
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United States, 256 F.Supp.2d 1180, 1183 (D.Nev.2003). A motion for reconsideration is properly
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denied when the movant fails to establish any reason justifying relief. Backlund v. Barnhart, 778
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F.2d 1386, 1388 (9th Cir.1985) (holding that a district court properly denied a motion for
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reconsideration in which the plaintiff presented no arguments that were not already raised in his
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original motion). “Motions for reconsideration are not the proper vehicles for rehashing old
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arguments, and are not intended to give an unhappy litigant one additional chance to sway the judge.”
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Retired Independent Guards Ass’n of Nevada v. Board of Trustees, Independent Guards Ass’n of
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Nevada-Wackenhut Services, Inc. Pension Trust Fund, 2012 WL 1900938, *1 D.Nev. 2012)
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(internal quotations and citations omitted).
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Plaintiffs are representing themselves pro se. Courts must liberally construe the pleadings of
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pro se parties. See United States v. Eatinger, 902 F.2d 1383, 1385 (9th Cir. 1990). However, “pro se
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litigants in the ordinary civil case should not be treated more favorably than parties with attorneys of
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record.” Jacobsen v. Filler, 790 F.2d 1362, 1364 (9th Cir.1986).
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B. Failure to File an Opposition
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The Local Rules for the District of Nevada provide that failure to provide points and
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authorities in opposition to a motion “shall constitute a consent to the granting of the motion.” LR 7-
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2(d). The Local Rules “no less than the federal rules or acts of Congress, have the force of law.”
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Corey v. McNamara, 409 F.Supp.2d 1225, 1228 (D.Nev. 2006) (citing United States v. Hvass, 355
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U.S. 570, 574-575 (1958)). The Ninth Circuit has held that delay caused by failure to adhere to local
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rules does not constitute excusable neglect. See Watson v. Schwarzenegger, 347 Fed.Appx. 282, 285
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(9th. Cir. 2009) (no abuse of discretion where district court held that unfamiliarity with local rules
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did not constitute excusable neglect).
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Plaintiffs, who have engaged in repeated litigation in relation to the Property, fail to provide
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any facts or argument offering a valid excuse for their neglect in failing to oppose the Motion for
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Judgment on the Pleadings. Instead, Plaintiffs beg the question of whether their neglect was
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excusable by asserting that their “excusable neglect was that [they] failed to file the opposition on
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time.” The Court will not reconsider its prior orders where Plaintiffs fail to offer any valid basis for
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their neglect of the Local Rules. See Backlund 778 F.2d 1388. Accordingly, the Court continues to
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view Plaintiff’s failure to respond as consent to granting of the Motion for Judgment on the
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Pleadings and reconsideration is denied.
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C. Other Basis for Reconsideration
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Plaintiffs also argue that the Court should set aside its prior Order because their late-filed
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Opposition to the Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings contains “facts and law ... of a strongly
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convincing nature.”
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The Opposition largely regurgitates the allegations of the complaint, without specifically
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responding to arguments raised in the Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. Specifically, Plaintiffs
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fail to address the following arguments made by Defendants: uninvolved entities are named in the
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Complaint; Plaintiffs cannot recover for wrongful foreclosure because they are in default and no sale
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has occurred; the fraud claim is defective and inadequately pled; the quiet title claim is invalid; and
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the claim for declaratory relief is unfounded and cannot survive in the absence if other viable claims.
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Instead, Plaintiffs’ Opposition merely rehashes discredited arguments attacking the validity of the
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MERS system, arguing that the note was split from the deed of trust when the loan was pooled, and
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asserting the inapplicable Uniform Commercial Code as a basis for their “show me the note”
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argument.
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The arguments in the late-filed Opposition do not convince the Court to reconsider its prior
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Order. Even if the Court set aside the prior Order and considered the Opposition, it would still grant
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the Motion for Judgment on the pleadings because Plaintiffs’ Complaint fails as a matter of law.
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Accordingly, reconsideration is denied.
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III. Conclusion
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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the Motion for Reconsideration (#25) is DENIED.
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DATED this 5th day of March 2013.
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_____________________________
Kent J. Dawson
United States District Judge
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