Belmonte v. King County et al

Filing 10

ORDER ON MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM JUDGMENT re 8 MOTION for Relief filed by David L Belmonte. The Court GRANTS Plaintiff's Motion for Relief from Judgment. Dkt. # 8. The Court's prior Order is VACATED. Dkt. # 6. Plain tiff shall file any objections to the Report and Recommendation within fourteen (14) days of this Order. Objections should be noted for consideration for twenty-one (21) days after they are filed. Responses to objections may be filed within fourtee n (14) days after service of objections. The Clerk is instructed to transmit to Plaintiff a copy of the complete record in this matter. Signed by Judge Richard A. Jones. Objections to R&R due by 3/18/2025, Noting Date 3/25/2025. **3 PAGE(S), PRINT ALL** (David Belmonte, Prisoner ID: 445865) (RE)

Case 2:24-cv-01764-RAJ

Document 10

Filed 03/04/25

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HONORABLE RICHARD A. JONES

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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DAVID L. BELMONTE,

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Plaintiff,

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CASE NO. 2:24-cv-01764-RAJ

ORDER

v.

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KING COUNTY et al.,

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Defendants.

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THIS MATTER comes before the Court on pro se Plaintiff David L. Belmonte
(“Plaintiff”)’s Motion for Relief from Judgment. 1 Dkt. # 8. For the reasons set forth below,
the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s Motion.
As a preliminary matter, the Court must address that Plaintiff has filed identical
motions before several other judges in this District. The timing of events in the instant
matter is most similar to that in Plaintiff’s case before The Honorable Tana Lin. See
generally No. 2:24-cv-01762-TL. This Court adopts the reasoning elucidated in Judge
Lin’s Order. Dkt. # 11, No. 2:24-cv-01762-TL.

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Plaintiff is also known as Dameas Shiruk Duranzan. Dkt. # 8 at 1.

ORDER – 1

Case 2:24-cv-01764-RAJ

Document 10

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On January 6, 2025, the Honorable Michelle L. Peterson issued a Report and

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Recommendation (the “Report”) advising that the Court dismiss this action without

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prejudice. Dkt. # 4. Plaintiff states that he “never received service and/or notice of the

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R&R denying him any meaningful opportunity to raise objections.” Dkt. # 8 at 2. He then

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provides that he was transferred from King County Jail to Coyote Ridge Corrections Center

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on November 19, 2024, and that the Washington Department of Corrections “lost [his] case

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files, including all records and filings with this court.” Dkt. # 9 at ¶ 7. Finally, Plaintiff

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notes that upon asking the law librarian to search his case history, “[t]he Librarian

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responded they [sic] found no cases with [his] name.” Id. at ¶ 8.

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) “permits a party to seek relief from a final

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judgment, and request reopening of his case, under a limited set of circumstances.” Kemp

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v. United States, 596 U.S. 528, 533 (2022) (quotation marks omitted). Among those

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reasons, “a party may seek relief based on ‘mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable

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neglect.’” Id. (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(1)).

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Here, there are sufficient grounds to grant Plaintiff’s Motion. The Clerk informed

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Plaintiff of a deficiency with his application to proceed in forma pauperis in a letter mailed

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on October 30, 2024. Dkt. # 2. Plaintiff had until November 29, 2024, to correct his

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application, but during that time, he was transferred between correctional facilities and lost

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the pertinent case files. Accordingly, it is plausible that Plaintiff’s failure to file objections

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to the Report may have been the result of excusable neglect.

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The Court also finds that Plaintiff’s request to consolidate this action with Belmonte

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v. King Cnty., No. 2:24-cv-00518-JNW (W.D. Wash) is premature. That matter has yet to

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commence, as Plaintiff has neither paid the filing fee nor been approved to proceed in

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forma pauperis. See LCR 3(b)–(c), 103(d). Moreover, Plaintiff should make such a

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request in a separate motion.

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Based on the foregoing reasons, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s Motion for Relief

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from Judgment. Dkt. # 8. The Court’s prior Order is VACATED. Dkt. # 6. Plaintiff shall

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ORDER – 2

Case 2:24-cv-01764-RAJ

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file any objections to the Report and Recommendation within fourteen (14) days of this

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Order. Objections should be noted for consideration for twenty-one (21) days after they

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are filed. Responses to objections may be filed within fourteen (14) days after service of

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objections. The Clerk is instructed to transmit to Plaintiff a copy of the complete record in

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this matter.

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Dated this 4th day of March, 2025.

A

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The Honorable Richard A. Jones
United States District Judge

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ORDER – 3