Abdullah v. Ortiz et al
Filing
25
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER by District Judge William P. Johnson GRANTING 22 MOTION to Dismiss Complaint as Moot. (kg)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO
____________________
ABDULRAHMAN ABBAS ABDULLAH,
Plaintiff,
17-CV-793-WJ/LF
v.
MARIO ORTIZ; JESSE MENDEZ;
HECTOR BALDERAS; GENERAL COUNSEL
US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY;
JAMES CONEY; JAMES McCAMENT
Defendant.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS
PLAINTIFF’S COMPLAINT AS MOOT
THIS MATTER comes before the Court upon a Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Civil
Rights Complaint as Moot, filed by the Federal Defendants on December 11, 2017 (Doc. 22).
Mr. Abdullah, who is proceeding pro se, alleges that he has been waiting for United States
Citizen and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) to schedule an interview for his N-400 application
for thirty-three (33) months. He has filed this lawsuit to compel Defendants to perform their
duties in relation to the processing of his immigration application.
In the instant motion, the Federal Defendants state that the USCIS has adjudicated and
approved Plaintiff’s naturalization application and seek dismissal based on mootness.1 They filed
this motion after unsuccessful attempts to contact Plaintiff asking him to voluntarily dismiss his
Complaint.
Defendants also note that Plaintiff was scheduled for an oath ceremony on
December 29, 2017, but the notice for that ceremony had not yet been generated at the time
1
The Court recently granted a motion to dismiss filed by Defendant Balderas, who is the Attorney General of the
State of New Mexico on the grounds that this state defendant has no responsibility for immigration matters under 8
U.S.C. §1252. See Doc. 21.
Defendants filed the motion, although it was mailed to Mr. Abdullah between December 12 and
December 15, 2017.
Plaintiff has not filed a response to Defendants’ motion, and under this Court’s local
rules, “[t]he failure of a party to file and serve a response in opposition to a motion within the
time prescribed for doing so constitutes consent to grant the motion.” D.N.M.LR-Civ.7.1(b).
Thus, Defendants’ motion may be granted on this basis alone, although the Court finds it
preferable to grant dismissal on the basis requested by Defendants.
According to the exhibits presented by Defendants in their motion, Mr. Abdullah’s
naturalization application has been adjudicated and approved. See Doc. 22-2 (Approved N-440).
As a result, the Court finds that it no longer has jurisdiction over this case. The matter has
become moot now that Plaintiff has been afforded the full relief he sought in his lawsuit. See
Massachusetts v. E.P.A., 549 U.S. 497, 516 (2007) (“For a case or controversy to be justiciable,
it must involve “questions presented in an adversary context and . . . capable of resolution
through the judicial process.”). Further, because mootness is a threshold issue that is required “at
all stages of federal judicial proceedings,” a plaintiff cannot maintain a lawsuit even if the relief
was obtained after the filing of his complaint. McClendon v. City of Albuquerque, 100 F.3d 863,
867 (10th Cir. 1996) (citation omitted).
Accordingly, the Court GRANTS the Federal Defendants’ motion to dismiss this lawsuit
as moot. A Rule 58 Judgment will be entered separately.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
________________________________
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
2
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