Trevino et al v. Quigley et al
Filing
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ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE directing Plaintiffs to show cause why Judicial Defendants should not be dismissed from this case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Show Cause Response due by 5/2/2018. Signed by Judge James L. Robart. (PM) cc: plaintiffs via first class mail
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE
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FRANCIS ANTHONY TREVINO,
et al.,
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Plaintiffs,
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v.
CASE NO. C18-0487JLR
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
REGARDING SUBJECT
MATTER JURISDICTION
KEVIN W. QUIGLEY, et al.,
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Defendants.
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Before the court is pro se Plaintiffs Francis Anthony Trevino and Mark Newton
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Kelly’s (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) complaint against the Washington Department of
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Social and Health Services (“DSHS”); Kevin W. Quigley, Secretary of DSHS; Spokane
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County Superior Court Judge Gregory D. Sypolt; Spokane County Superior Court Judge
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James M. Murphy; Washington State Supreme Court Clerk Erin L. Lennon; Washington
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State Supreme Court Clerk Susan L. Carlson; and Dorothy Sawyer, CEO of Eastern State
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Hospital (collectively, “Defendants”). (See Compl. (Dkt. # 1) at 1-3.) Plaintiffs allege
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ORDER - 1
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claims for violation of the First Amendment, federal antitrust law, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, 28
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U.S.C. § 1343, 28 U.S.C. § 2201, and 28 U.S.C. § 2202. (Id. at 3.) Plaintiffs also
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characterize their suit as a qui tam action. (See id.) The court has reviewed the
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complaint and finds that Plaintiffs have failed to provide an adequate basis for subject
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matter jurisdiction over Judge Sypolt, Judge Murphy, Ms. Lennon, and Ms. Carlson
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(collectively, “Judicial Defendants”). The court therefore orders Plaintiffs to file no later
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than May 2, 2018, a submission that addresses the court’s subject matter jurisdiction over
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Judicial Defendants.
Plaintiffs assert that the court’s subject matter jurisdiction is based on a federal
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question. (Id. at 3); see also 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (stating that a federal court’s subject
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matter jurisdiction extends to “all civil actions arising under the Constitution, laws, or
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treaties of the United States”). The party invoking jurisdiction must allege facts that
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establish the court’s subject matter jurisdiction. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S.
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555, 560-61 (1992). A federal court has a duty to analyze its subject matter jurisdiction
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sua sponte, see Gonzalez v. Thaler, 565 U.S. 134, 141 (2012), and if it determines that it
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lacks subject matter jurisdiction at any time, the court must dismiss the action, see Fed.
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R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3); Rosales v. United States, 824 F.2d 799, 803 n.4 (9th Cir. 1987).
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Here, the allegations in the complaint suggest that Judicial Defendants are entitled to
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some form of judicial immunity, and therefore the court has no subject matter jurisdiction
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as to those defendants. (See Compl. at 6-30 (alleging facts suggesting that Judicial
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Defendants took actions within the scope of their judicial functions)); Gordon v. Wooten,
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ORDER - 2
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No. 1:12-cv-00012-AWI-SKO, 2012 WL 967852, at *3 (E.D. Cal. Mar. 21, 2012)
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(stating that judicial immunity deprives a court of subject matter jurisdiction).
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Judges are absolutely immune from liability for acts performed in their official
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capacities and are liable only for acts taken in the clear absence of all jurisdiction or acts
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that are not judicial in nature. See Ashelman v. Pope, 793 F.2d 1072, 1075 (9th Cir.
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1986) (en banc). The immunity applies no matter how “erroneous the [judge’s] act may
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have been, and however injurious in its consequences [the act] may have proved to the
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plaintiff.” Id. at 1074 (internal quotation marks omitted) (citing Cleavinger v. Saxner,
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474 U.S. 193 (1985). As to Judge Sypolt and Judge Murphy, Plaintiffs allege no facts
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suggesting that the judges acted without jurisdiction or outside of their judicial function.
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(See Compl. at 22, 24, 27.)
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In addition, judicial clerks enjoy quasi-judicial immunity when acting in their
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official capacities. See In re Castillo, 297 F.3d 940, 951-52 (9th Cir. 2002) (stating that
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“court clerks and other non-judicial officers” enjoy quasi-judicial immunity when they
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perform tasks that are “an integral part of the judicial process” or “for purely
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administrative acts . . . [that] are actually a part of the judicial function”); Sams v. Cty. of
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Riverside, No. EDCV 17-1848 SVW (SS), 2018 WL 147433, at *7 (C.D. Cal. Mar. 26,
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2018). Although judicial clerks may be liable for certain actions, Plaintiffs make no
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allegations specifically against Ms. Carlson and Ms. Lennon. (See Compl. at 6-30.)
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Accordingly, the court ORDERS Plaintiffs to SHOW CAUSE no later than May 2,
2018, why Judicial Defendants should not be dismissed from this case for lack of subject
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ORDER - 3
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matter jurisdiction. If Plaintiffs fail to respond or provide a basis for exercising subject
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matter jurisdiction over Judicial Defendants, the court will dismiss those defendants.
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Dated this 17th day of April, 2018.
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A
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JAMES L. ROBART
United States District Judge
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