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Stewart v. State of California Department of Education

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Jul 3, 2014
582 F. App'x 700 (9th Cir. 2014)

Opinion

Submitted June 25, 2014

The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).

NOT FOR PUBLICATION. (See Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure Rule 32.1)

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. D.C. No. 3:07-cv-00971-MMA-WVG. Michael M. Anello, District Judge, Presiding.

Lindsey E. Stewart, Plaintiff - Appellant, Pro se, Encinitas, CA.

Jason P. Stewart, Plaintiff - Appellant, Pro se, Encinitas, CA.

Caitlin N. Stewart, Plaintiff - Appellant, Pro se, Encinitas, CA.

For State of California Department of Education, Defendant - Appellee: Kate Starn Legrand, Deputy General Counsel, California Department of Education, Sacramento, CA; Michelle M. Mitchell, Esquire, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, AGCA-Office of the California Attorney General, Sacramento, CA.

For State Office of Administrative Hearings, Defendant - Appellee: Michelle M. Mitchell, Esquire, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, AGCA-Office of the California Attorney General, Sacramento, CA.

For San Diego County Board of Education, Poway Unified School District Governing Board, JO ANN MURPHY, PUSD Administrator, THERESA KURTZ, PUSD Administrator, EMILY SHIEH, PUSD Administrator, Kelli Marsaglia, Defendants - Appellees: Paul Vincent Carelli, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz, San Diego, CA; Jeffery A. Morris, Esquire, Stutz Artiano Shinoff and Holtz, Temecula, CA.

For San Diego County Board of Supervisors, Defendant - Appellee: David Gregory Axtmann, Senior Deputy County Counsel, Office of The County Counsel, San Diego, CA.

For Pusd Special Educqation Local Plan Area, Pusd Iep Teams, Defendants - Appellees: Paul Vincent Carelli, Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz, San Diego, CA.

For Rady's Children's Hospital, Defendant - Appellee: Rita R. Kanno, Attorney, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, San Diego, CA.

For Betsy A. Slavik, K.I.D.S. Therapy Associates, Inc., Defendants - Appellees: Brian Rawers, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, San Diego, CA.

For Akinson, Andelson, Loya, Raud & Romo, Defendant - Appellee: Marlon Craig Wadlington, Esquire, Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo, Cerritos, CA.

For Poway Unified School District, DONALD PHILLIPS, Superintendent of PUSD, sued in his individual capacity, Stutz, Artiano, Shinoff & Holtz, Defendant - Appellee: Jeffery A. Morris, Esquire, Stutz Artiano Shinoff and Holtz, Temecula, CA.


Before: HAWKINS, TALLMAN, and NGUYEN, Circuit Judges.

MEMORANDUM

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.

Lindsey E. Stewart, Jason P. Stewart, and Caitlin N. Stewart appeal pro se from the district court's order granting defendants' request to waive further proceedings in connection with their motion for a vexatious litigant determination, treating the motion as withdrawn, and closing the case. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review for an abuse of discretion. M.M. v. Lafayette Sch. Dist., 681 F.3d 1082, 1086 (9th Cir. 2012). We affirm.

The district court did not abuse its discretion because it reasonably treated defendants' request as a motion to withdraw, and its decision resulted in no harm or prejudice to Lindsey E. Stewart, given that the order declaring her a vexatious litigant had been vacated. See Latshaw v. Trainer Wortham & Co., Inc., 452 F.3d 1097, 1100 (9th Cir. 2006) (under the abuse of discretion standard, a district court can be reversed only if it does not apply the correct law, rests its decision on a clearly erroneous finding of material fact, or applies the correct legal standard in a manner that results in an abuse of discretion); see also Stewart v. Cal. Dep't of Educ., No. 10-55282, 493 Fed.Appx. 889 (9th Cir. Sep. 20, 2012).

To the extent that appellants challenge the rejection of their brief opposing defendant's request, the district court did not abuse its discretion because, as it explained, the case was closed, and the vexatious litigant order and injunction had been vacated. See id.

We reject appellants' contentions that the district court was required to conduct an evidentiary hearing, and that the district court judge was biased against them.

Defendants' request for judicial notice, filed on May 16, 2013, is granted. Appellants' request for judicial notice, filed on November 26, 2013, is denied.

AFFIRMED.


Summaries of

Stewart v. State of California Department of Education

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Jul 3, 2014
582 F. App'x 700 (9th Cir. 2014)
Case details for

Stewart v. State of California Department of Education

Case Details

Full title:LINDSEY E. STEWART; et al., Plaintiffs - Appellants, v. STATE OF…

Court:United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Date published: Jul 3, 2014

Citations

582 F. App'x 700 (9th Cir. 2014)