Koch v. Schriro

399 F.3d 1099, 2005 WL 475432

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Decided: March 2, 2005
• Docket: 03-16968, 03-17190
• Status: Published

Opinion

ORDER

In Koch v. Ryan, 335 F.3d 993 (9th Cir.2003), we dismissed the consolidated appeals of Koch v. Lewis, 216 F.Supp.2d 994 (D.Ariz.2001) and Koch v. Lewis, 2001 WL 1944737 (D.Ariz. Dec.17, 2001) because Koch’s release from prison rendered the consolidated appeals moot.

We remanded the matter to the district court pursuant to Dilley v. Gunn, 64 F.3d 1365, 1372-73 (9th Cir.1995) for “the district court to determine whether its rulings should be vacated.” The district court vacated the injunctive relief granted in its prior orders, but preserved the viability of its “prior legal conclusions” for future “persuasive force.”

In Dilley, we held that if the event that moots the case “occurred by happenstance, then automatic vacatur is appropriate under Munsingwear.” See Dilley, 64 F.3d at 1372. Because Koch’s parole “occurred by happenstance,” rather than through any conduct initiated by the parties in the context of the case, we VACATE the orders entered in Koch, 216 F.Supp.2d 994; Koch, 2001 WL 1944737; and Koch v. Lewis, 96 F.Supp.2d 949 (D.Ariz.2000) in their entirety.

This order does not affect any request for attorney’s fees.