Pacific County Tea Party et al v. Inslee et al

Filing 39

ORDER denying Plaintiff's 38 MOTION for Reconsideration re 37 Judgment by Court filed by James J O'Hagan. Signed by Judge Lauren King.(MW) (cc: Plaintiff via USPS)

Case 2:20-cv-00971-LK Document 39 Filed 07/12/22 Page 1 of 3

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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PACIFIC COUNTY TEA PARTY,

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v.

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Plaintiff,

CASE NO. 20-cv-00971-LK
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR
RECONSIDERATION

JAY INSLEE, et al.,

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Defendants.

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This matter comes before the Court on a motion for reconsideration filed by James

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O’Hagan. Dkt. No. 38. Mr. O’Hagan seeks reconsideration of the Court’s order adopting Judge

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Tsuchida’s Report and Recommendation and granting Defendants’ motion to dismiss. Dkt. No.

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36.

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“Motions for reconsideration are disfavored,” and the Court “will ordinarily deny such

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motions in the absence of a showing of manifest error in the prior ruling or a showing of new facts

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or legal authority which could not have been brought to its attention earlier with reasonable

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diligence.” LCR 7(h). Mr. O’Hagan’s motion is not properly before the Court. He is the only

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signatory to the motion, and he identifies himself below the signature line as “Political Prisoner &
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION - 1

Case 2:20-cv-00971-LK Document 39 Filed 07/12/22 Page 2 of 3

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Next Friend James J. O’Hagan, by and for the Pacific County Tea Party.” Dkt. No. 38 at 5. Mr.

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O’Hagan was a party in his own right, but he voluntarily dismissed his claims and is no longer

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pursuing any claims on his own behalf. Dkt. No. 15; Dkt. No. 36 at 3 n.3. Nor can he represent or

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file documents on behalf of Pacific County Tea Party; he is not an attorney. See, e.g., D-Beam Ltd.

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P’ship v. Roller Derby Skates, Inc., 366 F.3d 972, 974 n.1 (9th Cir. 2004) (emphasizing that

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pleadings submitted by a non-attorney on behalf of a limited partnership “are not even valid”);

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Rowland v. California Men’s Colony, Unit II Men’s Advisory Council, 506 U.S. 194, 201–02

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(1993) (“It has been the law for the better part of two centuries . . . that a corporation may appear

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in the federal courts only through licensed counsel.”); Her Oceans v. Cmty. Outreach Behav.

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Servs., Inc., No. 1:21-CV-00198-DCN, 2021 WL 3172914, at *1 (D. Idaho July 27, 2021) (holding

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that a registered agent of a corporation could not represent it in federal court because the agent was

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not an attorney). Therefore, his motion for reconsideration is not properly before the Court and

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must be denied for that reason alone.

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Even if the Court were to consider the filing, it does not demonstrate manifest error in the

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Court’s prior order or new facts or legal authority. Instead, the motion reiterates arguments

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previously submitted to the Court. Compare Dkt. No. 24 with Dkt. No. 38.

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Despite those shortcomings, the Court also addresses Mr. O’Hagan’s argument that he

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should be allowed to represent the Pacific Tea Party as its “next friend.” As the Supreme Court

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has explained, non-attorneys have been allowed to appear on behalf of others as their “next friends”

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only in narrow, specific circumstances that do not exist in this case. See, e.g., Whitmore v.

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Arkansas, 495 U.S. 149, 162–63 (1990) (noting that “next friends” most frequently appear in court

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on behalf of detained prisoners who are unable to seek relief themselves; in such cases, the

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purported next friend is required to prove that the real party in interest has a disability and a

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“significant relationship” with the filing party); 28 U.S.C. § 2242 (allowing next friend
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Case 2:20-cv-00971-LK Document 39 Filed 07/12/22 Page 3 of 3

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applications for a writ of habeas corpus); Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(c)(2) (providing that a “minor or an

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incompetent person who does not have a duly appointed representative may sue by a next friend”).

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Mr. O’Hagan does not cite any statute or court rule that would give him next friend status in this

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lawsuit. And Pacific Tea Party has not asserted any claims or alleged any circumstances that could

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even potentially grant Mr. O’Hagan next friend status to sue on its behalf. See generally Dkt. Nos.

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1, 15.

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Accordingly, the Court DENIES Mr. O’Hagan’s motion for reconsideration. Dkt. No. 38.

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The Clerk is directed to send uncertified copies of this Order to all counsel of record and

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to any party appearing pro se at said party’s last known address.
Dated this 12th day of July, 2022.

A

Lauren King
United States District Judge

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ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR RECONSIDERATION - 3