Zloza v. Something et al

Filing 15

ORDER re Plaintiff's 14 MOTION to Re-Open Case. The Court ORDERS Mr. Zloza to file, by no later than 10/17/2024, a document responding to this Order. The Clerk is DIRECTED to re-note Mr. Zloza's 14 Motion to Reopen for 10/17/2024. Signed by Judge James L. Robart. (cc: Plaintiff via USPS)(MJV)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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JOSEPH ZLOZA,

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v.

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Plaintiff,

ORDER

BRANDON SOMETHING, et al.,
Defendants.

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CASE NO. C23-5532JLR

Before the court is Plaintiff Joseph Zloza’s motion to reopen this matter. (Mot.
(Dkt. # 14).) The court DENIES the motion.
On July 2, 2023, the court dismissed Mr. Zloza’s original complaint with leave to

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amend pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). (7/2/23 Order (Dkt. # 8).) The court

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concluded that (1) Mr. Zloza’s speculative allegation that Defendant “Brandon

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Something” (“Brandon”) might be a “dirty Federal Agent” was insufficient to establish

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federal question subject matter jurisdiction over this case (id. at 3 (quoting Compl. (Dkt.

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# 7) at 3)) and (2) Mr. Zloza did not allege sufficient facts, such as the date and place
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where Brandon allegedly spat at him, to give Defendants “fair notice of what [Mr.

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Zloza’s] claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” (Id. (quoting Pac. Coast Fed’n of

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Fishermen’s Ass’ns v. Glaser, 945 F.3d 1076, 1086 (9th Cir. 2019))). Mr. Zloza timely

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filed an amended complaint, but that complaint (1) still did not specify the constitutional

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or statutory provision on which he based his claim and (2) alleged that Brandon spat on

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him on June 1, 2020. (See Am. Compl. (Dkt. # 9).)

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On July 19, 2023, the court dismissed Mr. Zloza’s amended complaint pursuant to

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28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) and entered judgment. (7/19/23 Order (Dkt. # 10); Judgment

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(Dkt. # 11).) The court concluded that Mr. Zloza still had not plausibly alleged facts that

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would allow the court to conclude that his claim “aris[es] under the Constitution, laws, or

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treaties of the United States” as required to support federal question subject matter

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jurisdiction over his claim. (7/19/23 Order at 3 (quoting 28 U.S.C. § 1331).) The court

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also found that the claim was untimely because Mr. Zloza filed the complaint more than

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three years after his encounter with Brandon. (Id. (citing Prop. Compl. (Dkt. # 1)); see

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RCW 4.16.100(1) (setting a two-year statute of limitations for actions for “libel, slander,

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assault, assault and battery, or false imprisonment”).)

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) grants district courts discretion to relieve a

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party from a judgment or order only where the party demonstrates: (1) mistake,

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inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect; (2) newly discovered evidence which by due

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diligence could not have been discovered before the court’s decision; (3) fraud by the

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adverse party; (4) the judgment is void; (5) the judgment has been satisfied; or (6) any

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other reason justifying relief. “A motion under Rule 60(b) must be made within a
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reasonable time—and for reasons (1), (2), and (3) no more than a year after the entry of

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the judgment or order or the date of the proceeding.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(c)(1).

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Here, Mr. Zloza asserts that the court should reopen this case because he “had

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major brain damage.” (Mot. at 1.) Because more than one year has elapsed since the

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court entered judgment in this case, the court interprets Mr. Zloza’s motion to reopen as a

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motion for relief from judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(6),

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Rule 60’s “catch-all” provision. See Marroquin v. City of Los Angeles, 112 F.4th 1204,

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1217 (9th Cir. 2024). “[R]elief under Rule 60(b)(6) is reserved for ‘extraordinary

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circumstances[.]’” Id. (quoting Martinez v. Shinn, 33 F.4th 1254, 1262 (9th Cir. 2022)

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(per curiam). “‘Extraordinary circumstances occur where there are “other compelling

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reasons” for opening the judgment’ that prevented the movant from raising the basis of

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the motion during the pendency of the case.” Martinez, 33 F.4th at 1262 (quoting Bynoe

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v. Baca, 966 F.3d 972, 979, 983 (9th Cir. 2020)). The court concludes that Mr. Zloza’s

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brain damage may, depending on the circumstances, provide “compelling reasons” to

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reopen this matter. See id.

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Accordingly, the court ORDERS Mr. Zloza to file, by no later than October 17,
2024, a document responding to the following:
A.

Mr. Zloza shall provide additional details about how his brain damage

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provides a basis for his motion to reopen. This filing shall inform the court (1) when and

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where Mr. Zloza suffered his brain damage; (2) the circumstances under which he

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suffered the brain damage; (3) the effect the brain damage had on Mr. Zloza’s ability to

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proceed with this lawsuit; and (4) whether the brain damage was the result of conduct by

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any of the Defendants in this case.

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B.

Because the court previously found that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction

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over this case (see generally 7/19/23 Order), Mr. Zloza shall also provide the following

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information: (1) the specific basis of the court’s jurisdiction over this matter; (2) if Mr.

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Zloza continues to assert federal question jurisdiction, the constitutional or statutory

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provision under which his claim arises; (3) the name of the Defendant or Defendants who

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violated that provision; (4) exactly what that Defendant did or failed to do and when that

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conduct occurred; (5) how the Defendant’s action or actions are connected to the

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violation of Mr. Zloza’s rights; and (6) the specific injury Mr. Zloza suffered as result of

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that Defendant’s conduct and when he suffered it. (See 7/2/23 Order at 4.)

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Failure to timely file a response to this order that addresses the foregoing

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questions will result in the denial of the motion to reopen. The Clerk is DIRECTED to

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re-note Mr. Zloza’s motion to reopen for October 17, 2024.

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Dated this 23rd day of September, 2024.

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A

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JAMES L. ROBART
United States District Judge

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