1 WO KM 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 8 9 Joseph E. Jarvis and Huiqin Du, No. CV-25-08077-PCT-MTL (ESW) 10 Plaintiffs, 11 v. ORDER 12 Mohave County, et al., 13 Defendants.
15 I. Background 16 Self-represented Plaintiffs Joseph E. Jarvis and Huiqin Du filed a civil rights 17 Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a “Motion to Correct Procedural 18 Misclassification,” and a “Motion to Correct Improper Related Case Designations and 19 Request for Reclassification and Removal from Screening.” On April 16, 2025, this case 20 was reassigned to the undersigned, by random draw, for the purpose of correcting an 21 administrative error. In an April 28, 2025 Order, the Court dismissed the Complaint for 22 failure to comply with Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, gave Plaintiffs 30 23 days to file an amended complaint, and denied the Motions. 24 Plaintiffs subsequently filed a Motion to Remove Erroneous Screening Designation, 25 a Motion for Disclosure of Internal Policy or Procedural Directive Supporting Screening 26 Designation and Clerical Reassignment, and a Motion to Disqualify Judge. The Court 27 denied the Motions in a May 1, 2025 Order. On May 27, 2025, Plaintiffs filed a Petition 28 1 for Writ of Mandamus with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which the Ninth Circuit 2 denied on June 17, 2025. 3 Plaintiffs have not filed an amended complaint in compliance with the Court’s April 4 28, 2025 Order. Instead, Plaintiffs filed the following Motions and documents: 5 (1) Motion to Vacate All Orders (Doc. 19); 6 (2) “Cause for Removal and Vacatur of All Rulings” (Doc. 21); 7 (3) “Ex Parte Motion to Declare Violation of Article III, Section 1, and to 8 Demand Intervention by the Chief Judge Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 9 § 137(a)” (Doc. 24); 10 (4) “Application for Entry of Default Judgment Against Defendant Judge 11 Michael T. Liburdi” (Doc. 30); 12 (5) “Request for Ruling on the Unopposed Pending Motions to Vacate 13 and Disqualify Judge Liburdi” (Doc. 31); and 14 (6) two Supplements to the Complaint (Docs. 16 and 22)1 and various 15 Notices. 16 The Court will deny the pending Motions and dismiss this case for failure to comply 17 with a Court order. 18 II. Disqualification and Recusal 19 In their April 30, 2025 and May 2, 2025 Supplements, Plaintiffs named the 20 undersigned as a Defendant in this action and seek his disqualification from this case. In 21 their pending Motions, Plaintiffs have also repeatedly requested the undersigned’s recusal 22 or disqualification. 23
24 1 Although the April 28, 2025 Order instructed Plaintiffs that an amended complaint may not incorporate by reference the original Complaint, Plaintiffs’ April 30 Supplement 25 states that the “Supplemental Complaint . . . serves to supplement additional claims and causes of action, and to update the Claims for Relief section of the original Complaint to 26 reflect events that occurred both before but mostly after April 14, 2025.” (Doc. 16 at 1). The May 2, 2025 Supplement states “This is not an amended complaint, but a supplement 27 intended to unify the record and clarify the scope of the conspiracy alleged.” (Doc. 22 at 1). Because the original Complaint has been dismissed, Plaintiffs Supplements are not 28 properly before the Court. Moreover, Plaintiffs have clearly indicated neither of these documents should be construed as an amended complaint. 1 Ordinarily, when a judge assigned to the case is named as a party, the judge would 2 recuse himself sua sponte pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 455, which requires a judge to recuse 3 himself “in any proceeding in which his impartiality might be reasonably questioned” or 4 when he is “a party to the proceeding.” 28 U.S.C. § 455(a) and (b)(5)(i). However, this 5 case is not ordinary. 6 When a litigant becomes unhappy with a judge’s rulings in a case, a litigant might 7 seek to force the judge to recuse himself by filing a lawsuit against the judge. But a “‘judge 8 is not disqualified merely because a litigant sues or threatens to sue him.’ Such an easy 9 method for obtaining disqualification should not be encouraged or allowed.” Ronwin v. 10 State Bar of Arizona, 686 F.2d 692, 701 (9th Cir. 1981) (citation omitted), rev’d on other 11 grounds sub nom. Hoover v. Ronwin, 466 U.S. 558 (1984). 12 “‘[A] judge is not disqualified by a litigant’s suit or threatened suit against him, or 13 by a litigant’s intemperate and scurrilous attacks.’” United States v. Sutcliffe, 505 F.3d 14 944, 958 (9th Cir. 2007) (quoting United States v. Studley, 783 F.2d 934, 940 (9th Cir. 15 1986)). Similarly, “[w]here a claim against the undersigned judge is so wholly frivolous 16 that there is no jurisdiction, the assigned judge should be able to decline to recuse and 17 proceed with dismissing the case.” Snegirev v. Sedwick, 407 F. Supp. 2d 1093, 1095 18 (D. Alaska 2006). See also Reddy v. O’Connor, 520 F. Supp. 2d 124, 131 (D.D.C. 2007) 19 (“recusal is not required where the claim asserted is ‘wholly frivolous’ or a litigant has 20 named a judicial officer as a defendant to force him out of the case and hence obtain 21 assignment of a judge the litigant considers more desirable.” (quoting Snegirev, 407 F. 22 Supp. 2d at 1095)). 23 The Court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction over a claim that is “wholly insubstantial 24 and frivolous.” Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment, 523 U.S. 83, 89 (1998). An 25 action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 may be dismissed as frivolous “where the defense is 26 complete and obvious from the face of the pleadings.” Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 27 1228 (9th Cir. 1984). Such claims include those in which “it is clear that the defendants 28 are immune from suit.” Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 327 (1989). See also Snegirev, 1 407 F. Supp. 2d at 1097 (claim precluded by judicial immunity was frivolous). Such is the 2 case here. 3 Plaintiffs argue the undersigned was wrongfully assigned to this case and the 4 undersigned’s previous work as general counsel and advisor to former Arizona Governor 5 Doug Ducey precludes him from presiding over this case because Plaintiffs believe the 6 undersigned “oversaw many of the named Defendants, including the Mohave County 7 Sheriff’s Office, Arizona Attorney General’s Office, and multiple state and county 8 agencies directly implicated in the civil rights violations alleged herein.” 9 As has been explained to Plaintiffs in previous orders, the undersigned was assigned 10 to this case by random draw, pursuant to Local Rule of Civil Procedure 3.7.
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1 WO KM 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 8 9 Joseph E. Jarvis and Huiqin Du, No. CV-25-08077-PCT-MTL (ESW) 10 Plaintiffs, 11 v. ORDER 12 Mohave County, et al., 13 Defendants.
15 I. Background 16 Self-represented Plaintiffs Joseph E. Jarvis and Huiqin Du filed a civil rights 17 Complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a “Motion to Correct Procedural 18 Misclassification,” and a “Motion to Correct Improper Related Case Designations and 19 Request for Reclassification and Removal from Screening.” On April 16, 2025, this case 20 was reassigned to the undersigned, by random draw, for the purpose of correcting an 21 administrative error. In an April 28, 2025 Order, the Court dismissed the Complaint for 22 failure to comply with Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, gave Plaintiffs 30 23 days to file an amended complaint, and denied the Motions. 24 Plaintiffs subsequently filed a Motion to Remove Erroneous Screening Designation, 25 a Motion for Disclosure of Internal Policy or Procedural Directive Supporting Screening 26 Designation and Clerical Reassignment, and a Motion to Disqualify Judge. The Court 27 denied the Motions in a May 1, 2025 Order. On May 27, 2025, Plaintiffs filed a Petition 28 1 for Writ of Mandamus with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which the Ninth Circuit 2 denied on June 17, 2025. 3 Plaintiffs have not filed an amended complaint in compliance with the Court’s April 4 28, 2025 Order. Instead, Plaintiffs filed the following Motions and documents: 5 (1) Motion to Vacate All Orders (Doc. 19); 6 (2) “Cause for Removal and Vacatur of All Rulings” (Doc. 21); 7 (3) “Ex Parte Motion to Declare Violation of Article III, Section 1, and to 8 Demand Intervention by the Chief Judge Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 9 § 137(a)” (Doc. 24); 10 (4) “Application for Entry of Default Judgment Against Defendant Judge 11 Michael T. Liburdi” (Doc. 30); 12 (5) “Request for Ruling on the Unopposed Pending Motions to Vacate 13 and Disqualify Judge Liburdi” (Doc. 31); and 14 (6) two Supplements to the Complaint (Docs. 16 and 22)1 and various 15 Notices. 16 The Court will deny the pending Motions and dismiss this case for failure to comply 17 with a Court order. 18 II. Disqualification and Recusal 19 In their April 30, 2025 and May 2, 2025 Supplements, Plaintiffs named the 20 undersigned as a Defendant in this action and seek his disqualification from this case. In 21 their pending Motions, Plaintiffs have also repeatedly requested the undersigned’s recusal 22 or disqualification. 23
24 1 Although the April 28, 2025 Order instructed Plaintiffs that an amended complaint may not incorporate by reference the original Complaint, Plaintiffs’ April 30 Supplement 25 states that the “Supplemental Complaint . . . serves to supplement additional claims and causes of action, and to update the Claims for Relief section of the original Complaint to 26 reflect events that occurred both before but mostly after April 14, 2025.” (Doc. 16 at 1). The May 2, 2025 Supplement states “This is not an amended complaint, but a supplement 27 intended to unify the record and clarify the scope of the conspiracy alleged.” (Doc. 22 at 1). Because the original Complaint has been dismissed, Plaintiffs Supplements are not 28 properly before the Court. Moreover, Plaintiffs have clearly indicated neither of these documents should be construed as an amended complaint. 1 Ordinarily, when a judge assigned to the case is named as a party, the judge would 2 recuse himself sua sponte pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 455, which requires a judge to recuse 3 himself “in any proceeding in which his impartiality might be reasonably questioned” or 4 when he is “a party to the proceeding.” 28 U.S.C. § 455(a) and (b)(5)(i). However, this 5 case is not ordinary. 6 When a litigant becomes unhappy with a judge’s rulings in a case, a litigant might 7 seek to force the judge to recuse himself by filing a lawsuit against the judge. But a “‘judge 8 is not disqualified merely because a litigant sues or threatens to sue him.’ Such an easy 9 method for obtaining disqualification should not be encouraged or allowed.” Ronwin v. 10 State Bar of Arizona, 686 F.2d 692, 701 (9th Cir. 1981) (citation omitted), rev’d on other 11 grounds sub nom. Hoover v. Ronwin, 466 U.S. 558 (1984). 12 “‘[A] judge is not disqualified by a litigant’s suit or threatened suit against him, or 13 by a litigant’s intemperate and scurrilous attacks.’” United States v. Sutcliffe, 505 F.3d 14 944, 958 (9th Cir. 2007) (quoting United States v. Studley, 783 F.2d 934, 940 (9th Cir. 15 1986)). Similarly, “[w]here a claim against the undersigned judge is so wholly frivolous 16 that there is no jurisdiction, the assigned judge should be able to decline to recuse and 17 proceed with dismissing the case.” Snegirev v. Sedwick, 407 F. Supp. 2d 1093, 1095 18 (D. Alaska 2006). See also Reddy v. O’Connor, 520 F. Supp. 2d 124, 131 (D.D.C. 2007) 19 (“recusal is not required where the claim asserted is ‘wholly frivolous’ or a litigant has 20 named a judicial officer as a defendant to force him out of the case and hence obtain 21 assignment of a judge the litigant considers more desirable.” (quoting Snegirev, 407 F. 22 Supp. 2d at 1095)). 23 The Court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction over a claim that is “wholly insubstantial 24 and frivolous.” Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment, 523 U.S. 83, 89 (1998). An 25 action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 may be dismissed as frivolous “where the defense is 26 complete and obvious from the face of the pleadings.” Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 27 1228 (9th Cir. 1984). Such claims include those in which “it is clear that the defendants 28 are immune from suit.” Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 327 (1989). See also Snegirev, 1 407 F. Supp. 2d at 1097 (claim precluded by judicial immunity was frivolous). Such is the 2 case here. 3 Plaintiffs argue the undersigned was wrongfully assigned to this case and the 4 undersigned’s previous work as general counsel and advisor to former Arizona Governor 5 Doug Ducey precludes him from presiding over this case because Plaintiffs believe the 6 undersigned “oversaw many of the named Defendants, including the Mohave County 7 Sheriff’s Office, Arizona Attorney General’s Office, and multiple state and county 8 agencies directly implicated in the civil rights violations alleged herein.” 9 As has been explained to Plaintiffs in previous orders, the undersigned was assigned 10 to this case by random draw, pursuant to Local Rule of Civil Procedure 3.7. The previous 11 assignment to Judge Bolton was an administrative error that has no bearing on the 12 adjudication of this case. Accordingly, the undersigned was not improperly assigned to 13 this case. 14 Further, the undersigned did not supervise or oversee the Mohave County Sheriff, 15 who is an elected official; the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office; or the Arizona Attorney 16 General’s Office. Nor was he a director or administrator of any of the state or county 17 agencies named in Plaintiffs’ lawsuit. Moveover, as the Court explained in its May 1, 2025 18 Order, Plaintiffs have failed to provide any evidence in support of their allegations that the 19 undersigned has a personal bias or prejudice concerning Plaintiffs or personal knowledge 20 of disputed evidentiary facts concerning these proceedings. See General Aviation, Inc. v. 21 Cessna Aircraft Co., 915 F.2d 1038, 1043 (6th Cir. 1990) (“[C]onclusions, rumors, beliefs, 22 and opinions are not sufficient to form a basis for disqualification.” (quoting Hinman v. 23 Rogers, 831 F.2d 937, 939 (10th Cir. 1987))); TV Comm’ns Network, Inc. v. ESPN, Inc., 24 767 F. Supp. 1077, 1080 (D. Colo. 1991) (“Conclusory allegations do not mandate recusal 25 under § 455. A judge need not recuse on unsupported, irrational, or highly tenuous 26 speculations and should ignore rumors, innuendos, and erroneous information.”). And, as 27 also explained in the previous Order, disagreement with a judge’s previous rulings is not a 28 basis for recusal. 1 Finally, judges are absolutely immune from § 1983 suits for damages for their 2 judicial acts except when they are taken “in the ‘clear absence of all jurisdiction.’” Stump 3 v. Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349, 356-57 (1978) (quoting Bradley v. Fisher, 80 U.S. 335, 351 4 (1871)); Ashelman v. Pope, 793 F.2d 1072, 1075 (9th Cir. 1986). An act is “judicial” when 5 it is a function normally performed by a judge and the parties dealt with the judge in his or 6 her judicial capacity. Stump, 435 U.S. at 362; Crooks v. Maynard, 913 F.2d 699, 700 (9th 7 Cir. 1990). This immunity attaches even if the judge is accused of acting maliciously and 8 corruptly, Pierson v. Ray, 386 U.S. 547, 554 (1967), or of making grave errors of law or 9 procedure. See Schucker v. Rockwood, 846 F.2d 1202, 1204 (9th Cir. 1988). 10 The Court finds Plaintiffs’ claims against the undersigned precluded by judicial 11 immunity and frivolous. Thus, the Court declines to recuse itself. 12 III. Motion to Vacate all Orders (Doc. 19) and “Cause for Removal and Vacatur of All Rulings” (Doc. 21) 13 14 In their Motion to Vacate All Orders and “Cause for Removal and Vacatur of All 15 Rulings,” Plaintiffs seek to have the Court’s previous orders vacated because, they argue, 16 the undersigned’s assignment to this case “was made without a judicial order and therefore 17 is legally ineffective.” For the reasons discussed above, the Court will deny the Motion. 18 IV. “Ex Parte Motion to Declare Violation of Article III, Section 1 and Demand 19 Intervention, Disqualification, and referral by the Chief Judge Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 137(a)” (Doc. 24) 20 21 In their Ex Parte Motion, Plaintiffs again argue this case was improperly assigned 22 and contest the Rule 8 dismissal of their initial Complaint. Plaintiffs request the United 23 States District Court Chief Judge reassign this case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 137(a) and 24 vacate all previous orders. 25 Section 137(a), 28 U.S.C., provides: 26 The business of a court having more than one judge shall be divided among the judges as provided by the rules and orders 27 of the court. The chief judge of the district court shall be 28 responsible for the observance of such rules and orders, and shall divide the business and assign the cases so far as such 1 rules and orders do not otherwise prescribe. 2 3 This statute does not provide for a direct motion to the chief judge for reassignment 4 of a case. Motions to disqualify or recuse a federal judge fall under two statutory 5 provisions, 28 U.S.C. §§ 144 and 455. The Court has discussed the applicability of § 455 6 above and in its May 1, 2025 Order. 7 Section 144 provides for recusal where a party files a “timely and sufficient affidavit 8 that the judge before whom the matter is pending has a personal bias or prejudice either 9 against him or in favor of any adverse party.” The affidavit must state the facts and reasons 10 for the belief that the bias or prejudice exists. 28 U.S.C. § 144. If the judge finds the 11 affidavit timely and legally sufficient, the judge must proceed no further and another judge 12 must be assigned to hear the motion. Id.; United States v. Sibla, 624 F.2d 864, 867 (9th 13 Cir. 1980). 14 The undersigned must initially determine whether Plaintiffs have filed an affidavit 15 that is legally sufficient. See United States v. Azhocar, 581 F.2d 735, 738 (9th Cir. 1978) 16 (“the judge against whom an affidavit of bias is filed may pass on its legal sufficiency”) 17 (citing Berger v. United States, 255 U.S. 22 (1921)). They have not. “An affidavit filed 18 pursuant to [28 U.S.C. § 144] is not legally sufficient unless it specifically alleges facts that 19 fairly support the contention that the judge exhibits bias or prejudice directed toward a 20 party that stems from an extrajudicial source.” Sibla, 624 F.2d at 868 (emphasis added). 21 Plaintiffs have not filed an affidavit and their Motion does not contain any facts to support 22 the conclusion that the undersigned has exhibited bias or prejudice stemming from an 23 extrajudicial source.2 Thus, the undersigned is not required to assign the recusal request to 24 another judge. See Azhocar, 581 F.2d at 738 (“Only after the legal sufficiency of the 25
26 2 Plaintiffs’ basis for recusal stems entirely from their disagreement with the Nature of Suit code assigned to their case and their belief that their Complaint was wrongfully 27 subjected to screening under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. Plaintiffs’ Complaint was not screened under § 1915A. Plaintiffs’ 531-page Complaint was dismissed for failure to comply with 28 Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. As the Court has previously explained, all parties before the Court are required to comply with Rule 8. 1 affidavit is determined does it become the duty of the judge to ‘proceed no further’ in the 2 case.”). The Court will deny the Ex Parte Motion. 3 V. Application for Entry of Default Judgment (Doc. 30) 4 Plaintiffs seek entry of default judgment against the undersigned. Because the Court 5 finds no basis for recusal or disqualification of the undersigned and because Plaintiffs’ 6 claims against the undersigned are precluded by judicial immunity and are frivolous, the 7 Court will deny the Motion. 8 VI. Motion for Ruling (Doc. 31) 9 Plaintiffs seek rulings on their pending Motions. Because this Order addresses the 10 pending Motions, the Court will deny as moot the Motion for Ruling. 11 VII. Supplemental Complaints (Docs. 16 and 22) and Dismissal 12 Plaintiffs have made no attempt to comply with the Court’s April 28, 2025 Order, 13 which dismissed the original Complaint for failure to comply with Rule 8 of the Federal 14 Rules of Civil Procedure and gave Plaintiffs 30 days to file an amended complaint of no 15 more than 50 pages in length. Plaintiffs instead filed a 56-page Supplement and a 663-page 16 Supplement. 17 Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b), “a district court may dismiss an 18 action for failure to comply with any order of the court.” Ferdik v. Bonzelet, 963 U.S. 19 1258, 1260 (9th Cir. 1992); Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b). In determining whether to dismiss a case 20 for failure to comply with a court order, the Court “must weigh five factors including: 21 (1) the public’s interest in expeditious resolution of litigation; (2) the court’s need to 22 manage its docket; (3) the risk of prejudice to the defendants; (4) the public policy favoring 23 disposition of cases on their merits; and (5) the availability of less drastic alternatives.” 24 Ferdik, 963 F.2d at 1261. 25 The first two factors weigh in favor of dismissal of this action. Plaintiffs’ refusal to 26 file an amended complaint in compliance with the April 28 Order impedes both the public’s 27 interest in expeditious resolution of litigation and the Court’s need to manage its docket. 28 Plaintiffs’ inability to succinctly present their claims in a 50-page document potentially 1 prejudices Defendants’ ability to effectively respond to Plaintiffs’ claims for relief. The 2 fourth factor weighs against dismissal. 3 As a less drastic alternative to dismissal, the Court has considered granting Plaintiffs 4 an additional 30 days in which to file an amended complaint that complies with the April 5 28 Order. However, Plaintiffs have filed nearly a dozen new pleadings since the April 28 6 Order, none of which have requested additional time to file an amended complaint or have 7 in any way indicated Plaintiffs intend to comply with the Court’s Order. To the contrary, 8 Plaintiffs have offered an additional 719 pages of supplements to the original Complaint, 9 for a total of 1,250 pages of pleading documents. Because it is clear Plaintiffs have no 10 intention of complying with the Court’s April 28, 2025 Order, the Court will dismiss this 11 action under Rule 41(b). 12 IT IS ORDERED: 13 (1) Plaintiffs’ Motion to Vacate All Orders (Doc. 19) is denied. 14 (2) Plaintiffs’ “Cause for Removal and Vacatur of All Rulings” (Doc. 21) is 15 denied. 16 (3) Plaintiffs’ “Ex Parte Motion to Declare Violation of Article III, Section 1, and 17 to Demand Intervention by the Chief Judge Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 137(a)” (Doc. 24) is 18 denied. 19 (4) Plaintiffs’ “Application for Entry of Default Judgment Against Defendant 20 Judge Michael T. Liburdi” (Doc. 30) is denied. 21 (5) Plaintiffs’ “Request for Ruling on the Unopposed Pending Motions to Vacate 22 and Disqualify Judge Liburdi” (Doc. 31) is denied as moot. 23 . . . . 24 . . . . 25 . . . . 26 . . . . 27 . . . . 28 . . . . 1 (6) | Pursuant to Federal Rule of Procedure 41(b), this case is dismissed for failure 2| to comply with a Court order. The Clerk of Court must close this case and enter judgment 3 accordingly. 4 Dated this 24th day of June, 2025. 5 Wichacl T. hurdle Michael T, Liburdi 8 United States District Judge 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28