Erickson v. Huber et al
Filing
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ORDER granting 6 Defendant's Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim. Defendant Brian C. Huber is terminated from this action. Signed by Judge Thomas O. Rice. (BF, Paralegal) (Service of Notice on parties not registered as users of the Court CM/ECF system accomplished via USPS mail.)
Case 2:22-cv-00033-TOR
ECF No. 14
filed 05/06/22
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
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AMY ERICKSON,
NO. 2:22-CV-0033-TOR
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Plaintiff,
ORDER DISMISSING DEFENDANT
BRIAN C. HUBER
v.
BRIAN C. HUBER; ANTHONY
CASTELDA; ANDREW CHASE; and
KEVIN W. MORRIS,
Defendants.
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BEFORE THE COURT is Defendant Brian C. Huber’s Motion to Dismiss.
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ECF No. 6. The Court has reviewed the record and files herein, the completed
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briefing, and is fully informed. For the reasons discussed below, all claims against
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Defendant Brian C. Huber are DISMISSED with prejudice.
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BACKGROUND
Plaintiff Amy Erickson, proceeding pro se, filed this suit on February 25,
2022, against the above-named parties. ECF No. 1. Defendant Brian C. Huber is a
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Douglas County Superior Court Judge. ECF No. 1 at ¶ 3. Plaintiff complains of
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Judge Huber’s rulings in a civil proceeding entitled: In Re the Estate of Mark A.
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Gunderson, Case No. 20-4-00036-09. Id. at ¶¶ 7-16. Plaintiff alleges five causes
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of action against all named Defendants: fraud, abuse of process, RICO, violation of
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the Americans with Disabilities Act, and civil conspiracy. Id. at ¶¶ 32-40.
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Plaintiff seeks compensatory and punitive damages. Id. at 17.
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DISCUSSION
A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim “tests the legal sufficiency”
of the plaintiff’s claims. Navarro v. Block, 250 F.3d 729, 732 (9th Cir. 2001). To
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withstand dismissal, a complaint must contain “enough facts to state a claim to
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relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570
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(2007). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content
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that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable
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for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citation
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omitted). This requires the plaintiff to provide “more than labels and conclusions,
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and a formulaic recitation of the elements.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. While a
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plaintiff need not establish a probability of success on the merits, he or she must
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demonstrate “more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.”
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Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678.
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When analyzing whether a claim has been stated, the Court may consider the
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“complaint, materials incorporated into the complaint by reference, and matters of
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which the court may take judicial notice.” Metzler Inv. GMBH v. Corinthian
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Colleges, Inc., 540 F.3d 1049, 1061 (9th Cir. 2008) (citing Tellabs, Inc. v. Makor
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Issues & Rights, Ltd., 551 U.S. 308, 322 (2007)). A complaint must contain “a
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short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.”
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Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). A plaintiff’s “allegations of material fact are taken as true
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and construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff[,]” however “conclusory
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allegations of law and unwarranted inferences are insufficient to defeat a motion to
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dismiss for failure to state a claim.” In re Stac Elecs. Sec. Litig., 89 F.3d 1399,
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1403 (9th Cir. 1996) (citation and brackets omitted).
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The Court “does not require detailed factual allegations, but it demands
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more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Iqbal,
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556 U.S. at 662. “To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain
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sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible
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on its face.’” Id. at 678 (citation omitted). A claim may be dismissed only if “it
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appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his
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claim which would entitle him to relief.” Navarro, 250 F.3d at 732.
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The Ninth Circuit has repeatedly held that “a district court should grant
leave to amend even if no request to amend the pleading was made, unless it
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determines that the pleading could not possibly be cured by the allegation of other
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facts.” Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1127 (9th Cir. 2000). The standard for
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granting leave to amend is generous. The court considers five factors in assessing
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the propriety of leave to amend—bad faith, undue delay, prejudice to the opposing
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party, futility of amendment, and whether the plaintiff has previously amended the
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complaint. United States v. Corinthian Colleges, 655 F.3d 984, 995 (9th Cir.
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2011).
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Judges are absolutely immune from liability for monetary damages as a
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result of judicial acts performed in their judicial capacity. Stump v. Sparkman, 435
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U.S. 349, 356 (1978); Reynaga Hernandez v. Skinner, 969 F.3d 930, 937 n.1 (9th
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Cir. 2020). To qualify for judicial immunity, a judge must have performed
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“judicial acts” within the scope of his or her jurisdiction. Stump, 435 U.S. at 356-
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57. “An act is judicial in nature if it is a function normally performed by a judge
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and the parties to the act were dealing with the judge in his judicial capacity.”
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Stump, 435 U.S. at 362.
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Judges “enjoy absolute immunity even when their actions are erroneous,
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malicious, or in excess of judicial authority.” Tanner v. Heise, 879 F.2d 572, 576
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(9th Cir. 1989); see also Stump, 435 U.S. at 355-56 (“[J]udges . . . are not liable to
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civil actions for their judicial acts, even when such acts are in excess of their
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jurisdiction, and are alleged to have been done maliciously or corruptly.” (quoting
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Bradley v. Fisher, 13 Wall. 335, 351 (1872)); Ashelman v. Pope, 793 F.2d 1072,
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1075 (9th Cir. 1986) (en banc) (“Judicial immunity applies, ‘however erroneous
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the act may have been, and however injurious in its consequences it may have
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proved to the plaintiff.” (quoting Cleavinger v. Saxner, 474 U.S. 193, 199 (1985)).
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Judicial immunity “is an immunity from suit, not just from ultimate assessment of
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damages.” Mireles v. Waco, 502 U.S. 9, 11 (1991).
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Judicial immunity is not lost by allegations that a judge conspired with a
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third party. As long as the judge’s ultimate acts are judicial actions taken within
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the court’s subject matter jurisdiction, immunity applies. Ashelman v. Pope, 793
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F.2d 1072, 1078 (9th Cir. 1986). A party dissatisfied with a judge’s rulings may
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challenge those rulings “only via appeal, not by suing the judges.” In re Thomas,
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508 F.3d 1225, 1227 (9th Cir. 2007) (citing Mireles v. Waco, 502 U.S. 9, 11-12
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(1991)).
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Here, the complained of acts all occurred under Judge Huber’s judicial
authority. Thus, the complaint against him must be dismissed.
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Additionally, Defendant seeks dismissal for failure to properly serve.
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Plaintiff did not respond to this argument. Because the time for proper service has
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not expired, the Court does not base its decision to dismiss on this argument.
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Finally, Plaintiff seeks to empanel a grand jury and bring criminal charges.
ECF No. 10 at 3-4. Plaintiff cannot initiate criminal charges, only the government
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may prosecute crimes. See Linda R. S. v. Richard D., 410 U.S. 614, 619 (1973).
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Criminal actions in district court must be brought by the United States Attorney.
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28 U.S.C. § 547(1); United States v. Batchelder, 442 U.S. 114, 124 (1979)
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(“Whether to prosecute and what charge to file or bring before a grand jury are
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decisions that generally rest in the prosecutor’s discretion.”).
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The Court finds that the complaint against Judge Huber fails to state a claim
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upon which relief may be granted and amendment would be futile. The complaint
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against Judge Huber is therefore dismissed without leave to amend.
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ACCORDINGLY, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:
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1. Defendant Brian C. Huber’s Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 6 is
GRANTED.
2. All Plaintiff’s claims against Defendant Brian C. Huber are DISMISSED
with prejudice.
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3. Defendant Brian C. Huber shall be terminated from the docket.
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The District Court Executive is directed to enter this Order and provide
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copies to the parties.
DATED May 6, 2022.
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THOMAS O. RICE
United States District Judge
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ORDER DISMISSING DEFENDANT BRIAN C. HUBER ~ 6
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