Ramat v. Nielsen

317 F. Supp. 3d 1111
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. California
DecidedJuly 6, 2018
DocketCase No.: 3:17-cv-02474-BEN-JLB
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 317 F. Supp. 3d 1111 (Ramat v. Nielsen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ramat v. Nielsen, 317 F. Supp. 3d 1111 (S.D. Cal. 2018).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS FOR LACK OF SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION

Hon. Roger T. Benitez, United States District Judge *1113Pending before the Court are Defendants' motion to dismiss Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction,1 Plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction, Plaintiff's ex parte motion for a temporary restraining order, and Plaintiff's motion for leave to file a supplemental memorandum in support of his opposition to Defendant's motion to dismiss. (Docket Nos. 6, 8, 13, 15.) Because the Court finds it lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the action, Defendants' motion to dismiss is GRANTED , and Plaintiff's motions are DENIED as moot .

BACKGROUND & PROCEDURAL HISTORY2

Also on October 26, 2015, Plaintiff filed a Form I-485 application for adjustment of status with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service ("USCIS") under 8 U.S.C. § 1255(a). On September 19, 2016, Plaintiff appeared for an interview with USCIS where he testified about his entrance to the United States. Regarding the passport and visa he presented, Plaintiff testified that his family had told him they had been lost.

On May 9, 2017, the USCIS denied Plaintiff's application for adjustment of status on the grounds that Plaintiff lacked sufficient evidence to establish that he had been inspected and admitted into the United States. Plaintiff filed a motion to reconsider the denial of his application, which was denied on November 1, 2017. Subsequently, on December 8, 2017, Plaintiff filed his initial complaint seeking judicial *1114review of the USCIS's denial of his application for adjustment of status under the Administrative Procedures Act. (Docket No. 1.)

On February 12, 2018, Defendants moved to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction on the grounds that the USCIS has initiated removal proceedings against Plaintiff on February 8, 2018. (Docket No. 4.) In lieu of filing an opposition to Defendants' motion, Plaintiff exercised his right to amend his pleading and filed the operative FAC. (Docket No. 5.) Defendants responded by moving again to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction on the same grounds. (Docket No. 8.)

LEGAL STANDARD

"It is a fundamental principle that federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction." Stock W., Inc. v. Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation , 873 F.2d 1221, 1225 (9th Cir. 1989) (quoting Owen Equip. & Erection Co. v. Kroger, 437 U.S. 365, 374, 98 S.Ct. 2396, 57 L.Ed.2d 274 (1978) ). Under Rule 12(b)(1), a party can move a court to dismiss an action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Fed. R. Civ. Proc. 12(b)(1). In such a motion, the party asserting jurisdiction bears the burden to establish jurisdiction. See Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America, 511 U.S. 375, 114 S.Ct. 1673, 128 L.Ed.2d 391 (1994) ("It is to be presumed that a cause lies outside [federal court] jurisdiction ... and the burden of establishing the contrary rests upon the party asserting jurisdiction.") (internal citations omitted).

A Rule 12(b)(1) jurisdictional attack may be facial or factual. White v. Lee , 227 F.3d 1214, 1242 (9th Cir. 2000). A facial attack asserts that the allegations contained in a complaint are insufficient on their face to invoke federal jurisdiction. See Safe Air v. Meyer, 373 F.3d 1035, 1039 (9th Cir. 2004). A Rule 12(b)(1) motion will be granted if, on the face of the complaint, and when considered in its entirety, the complaint fails to allege facts sufficient to establish subject matter jurisdiction. Id.

In contrast, a factual attack is one that "relie[s] on extrinsic evidence and [does] not assert lack of subject matter jurisdiction solely on the basis of the pleadings." Id. (quoting Morrison v. Amway Corp. , 323 F.3d 920, 924 n.5 (11th Cir. 2003) ). "In resolving a factual attack on jurisdiction, the district court may review evidence beyond the complaint without converting the motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment." Id. (citing Savage v. Glendale Union High Sch., 343 F.3d 1036, 1039 n.2 (9th Cir. 2003) ). Additionally, the court need not assume the truth of the plaintiff's allegations, and "once the moving party has converted the motion to dismiss into a factual motion by presenting affidavits or other evidence properly brought before the court, the party opposing the motion must furnish affidavits or other evidence necessary to satisfy its burden of establishing subject matter jurisdiction." Id. (quoting Savage, 343 F.3d at 1039 n.2.).

DISCUSSION

Plaintiff's action seeks judicial review of the USCIS's denial of his application for adjustment of status under

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
317 F. Supp. 3d 1111, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ramat-v-nielsen-casd-2018.