Dowling v. National Credit Union Administration

CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedOctober 21, 2024
Docket4:24-cv-00490
StatusUnknown

This text of Dowling v. National Credit Union Administration (Dowling v. National Credit Union Administration) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dowling v. National Credit Union Administration, (D. Ariz. 2024).

Opinion

1 WO 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

9 Angela Dawn Dowling, No. CV-24-00490-TUC-CKJ

10 Plaintiff, ORDER

11 v.

12 National Credit Union Administration, et al.,

13 Defendants.

14 In July and August, Plaintiff filed 12 cases. Four were filed in Phoenix. Several of 15 the cases (CV 24-387 TUC CKJ; CV 24-388 TUC CKJ; CV 24-389 TUC CKJ; CV 24-390 16 TUC CKJ; CV 24-391 TUC CKJ) were assigned to this Court.1 The Court transferred five 17 of the cases for lack of venue to other federal district courts in New Jersey, California, and 18 Texas. The case assigned to the Honorable Raner C. Collins, CV 24-373 TUC RCC, was 19 screened pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1) and dismissed with leave to amend because 20 Plaintiff failed to state a claim. After Plaintiff failed to file an amended complaint, Judge 21 Collins dismissed it with prejudice on September 19, 2024. 22 In September, Plaintiff filed five more cases: CV 24-453 TUC CKJ; CV 24-461 23 TUC CKJ; CV 24-462 TUC CKJ; CV 24-480 TUC CKJ, and CV 24-483 TUC CKJ). In 24 October, so far, Plaintiff has filed five more cases: CV 24-487 TUC CKJ; CV 24-488 TUC 25 CKJ; CV 24-489 TUC CKJ; CV 24-490 TUC CKJ, and CV 24-493 TUC CKJ. On 26 September 27, 2024, the Court screened CV 24-453 TUC CKJ and, also, transferred it to 27 1 Three were assigned to other Tucson courts: CV 24-374 TUC RCC; CV 24-373 TUC 28 MSA, and CV 24-375 RM. CV 24-374 TUC RCC was dismissed and is addressed above. The others remain pending. 1 another federal district court for lack of venue. The remaining nine cases filed by Plaintiff 2 are assigned to this Court and are disposed of in this Order, with separate orders issued to 3 close each case. 4 Plaintiff has requested leave to proceed in forma pauperis in all 22 cases. She was 5 granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis in CV 24-374 TUC RCC. In the cases 6 transferred to other courts in other venues, those applications for in forma pauperis status 7 remain pending.2 Proceeding in forma pauperis under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), waives the 8 $405 filing fee for a case and subjects a complaint to screening. 9 In short, so far, six cases have been transferred to other venues in the interest of 10 justice because Plaintiff alleged claims that must have occurred outside of Arizona. One, 11 CV 24-374 TUC RCC, was screened and dismissed by Judge Collins for failure to state a 12 claim but it too was subject to being transferred to Texas because its allegations were 13 against “One Lady Dallas Officer, The People, United State Attorneys Office & State 14 Attorneys Office Texas.” (Complaint, CV 24-374 TUC RCC (Doc. 1)). 15 For screening purposes, the Court applies the same standard that is applied to a Fed. 16 R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. Watison v. Carter, 668 F/3d 1108, 1112 (9th Cir. 17 2012). Under Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a complaint must include a 18 “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” As 19 noted by Judge Collins: “‘This pleading standard does not demand ‘detailed factual 20 allegations, but it demands more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me 21 accusation.’ Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 6778 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. 22 Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)).” (Order (CV 24-374 TUC RCC (Doc. 5) at 2.) “A 23 district court must screen and dismiss a complaint, or any portion of a complaint, filed in 24 forma pauperis that ‘is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief may 25 be granted; or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief.’” 26 (Order, CV 24-374 TUC RCC (Doc. 5) at 1 (quoting 28 U.S.C. 1915A(b)(1)-(2)), see also, 27 2 A spot check of the applications to proceed in forma pauperis appear to include the name 28 of her minor son. This Court will direct the Clerk of the Court to seal the application in this case. 1 (Order, CV 24-453 TUC CKJ (Doc. 2) (explaining complaint subject to dismissal for 2 failing to state a claim under Rule 8). This was the standard applied when the complaint in 3 24-374 TUC RCC was screened and dismissed with leave to amend, then closed with 4 prejudice when Plaintiff failed to file an amended complaint. 5 As this Court has noted in all the orders transferring Plaintiff’s complaints for lack 6 of venue, such transfers are discretionary. “When venue is improperly laid in the wrong 7 district, the Court must “dismiss, or if it be in the interest of justice, transfer such case to 8 any district or division in which it could have been brought.” 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). Whether 9 to dismiss or transfer the case is within the Court’s discretion. Cook v. Fox, 537 F.2d 370, 10 371 (9th Cir. 1976) (per curiam).” It is not an abuse of discretion under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a) 11 to dismiss an action rather than transfer it. Id. Section 1406(a) requires the district court to 12 consider whether transfer is in the “interest of justice” before it dismisses a case. This is 13 what the Court did in CV 24-453 TUC CKJ, when it transferred the case to New Jersey 14 even though the Complaint failed to state a claim under Rule 8 because it did not allege 15 “even one fact.” This Court concluded, similar to Judge Collins, that because Plaintiff was 16 proceeding pro se, she should be afforded an opportunity to amend her Complaint to state 17 a claim. “An in forma pauperis, pro se litigant should [] be given an opportunity to amend 18 the complaint to overcome a deficiency unless it is clear that no amendment can cure the 19 defect.” (Order, CV 24-453 TUC CKJ (Doc. 5) at 3 (relying on Potter, 433 F.2d at 1088; 20 Noll v. Carlson, 809 F.2d 1446, 1448 (9th Cir. 1987), superseded by statute, Lopez v. Smith, 21 203 F.3d 1122, 1129-1131 (9th Cir. 2000)). This Court did not determine whether the 22 Complaint in CV 24-453 TUC CKJ might be cured by amendment, it simply left the door 23 open for this assessment to be made in New Jersey. 24 The Court turns to the nine cases assigned to it in September and October that 25 remain pending. The Court has reviewed all the complaints. As of the October 1, 2024, 26 filings, the Plaintiff’s contact information reflects addresses in Cypress, Texas (CV 24-490 27 TUC CKJ) and North Arlington, New Jersey (CV 24-493 TUC CKJ). The Court notes that 28 the Order issued and sent to the Texas address in October in CV 24-453 TUC CKJ was 1 returned as “not deliverable” but an Order sent in September to this same address in this 2 same case was not returned. Orders sent to the New Jersey address, CV 24-389 TUC CKJ 3 and CV 24-390 TUC CKJ, were not returned to the Court. Plaintiff is in violation of the 4 LRCiv. 83.3(d), which provides: “An attorney or unrepresented party must file a notice of 5 a name or address change . . .

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Dowling v. National Credit Union Administration, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dowling-v-national-credit-union-administration-azd-2024.