Barragan v. Bd. of Governors of the Fed. Reserve Sys.

Decision Date30 April 2012
Docket NumberCase No. CV 11-696 CAS (JCx)
CourtU.S. District Court — Central District of California
PartiesMARIA SMITH BARRAGAN v. BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM, ET AL.

MARIA SMITH BARRAGAN
v.
BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM, ET AL.

Case No. CV 11-696 CAS (JCx)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

Date April 30, 2012


CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL

Present: The Honorable CHRISTINA A. SNYDER

CATHERINE JEANG
Deputy Clerk

LAURA ELIAS
Court Reporter / Recorder

N/A
Tape No.

Attorneys Present for Plaintiff:
Julio Ramos

Attorneys Present for Defendant:
Yvonne Mizusawa

Proceedings: DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS FOR LACK OF SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION (filed 4/3/2012)

I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

On April 20, 2009, plaintiff Maria Smith Barragan filed a putative class action in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging that East West Bank and its officers aided and abetted a Ponzi scheme. Compl. ¶ 11. On September 26, 2010, plaintiffs' counsel submitted a Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A) ("FOIA"), request with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the "Fed"). Id. ¶ 14. The request sought all "Suspicious Activity Reports filed by East West Bank related to [the Ponzi scheme perpetrators]." Id. ¶ 14. On September 30, 2010, the Fed denied the request. Id.. ¶ 15. A subsequent appeal and request for discretionary release were also denied. Id. ¶¶ 17-19.

On May 5, 2011, plaintiff filed the instant action seeking an order requiring that the Fed turn over the requested records. Id. ¶ 37. Plaintiff's complaint seeks (1) a declaratory judgment pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2201 and (2) the production of records improperly withheld.

On March 7, 2012, defendant filed the instant motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction on the ground that plaintiff lacks standing because she did not personally file the FOIA request at issue.1 On April 6, 2012, plaintiff filed her

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II. LEGAL STANDARD

A motion to dismiss an action pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) raises the question of the federal court's subject matter jurisdiction over the action. The objection presented by this motion is that the court has no authority to hear and decide the case. This defect may exist despite the formal sufficiency of the allegations in the complaint. See T.B. Harms Co. v. Eliscu, 226 F. Supp. 337, 338 (S.D. N.Y. 1964), aff'd 339 F.2d 823 (2d Cir. 1964) (the formal allegations must yield to the substance of the claim when a motion is filed to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction). When considering a Rule 12(b)(1) motion challenging the substance of jurisdictional allegations, the Court is not restricted to the face of the pleadings, but may review any evidence, such as declarations and testimony, to resolve any factual disputes concerning the existence of jurisdiction. See McCarthy v. United States, 850 F.2d 558, 560 (9th Cir. 1988).

The burden of proof in a Rule 12(b)(1) motion is on the party asserting jurisdiction. See Sopcak v. N. Mountain Helicopter Serv., 52 F.3d 817, 818 (9th Cir. 1995); Ass'n of Am. Med. Coll. v. United States, 217 F.3d 770, 778-79 (9th Cir. 2000). If jurisdiction is based on a federal question, the pleader must show that he has alleged a claim under federal law and that the claim is not frivolous. See 5B Charles A. Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, § 1350, pp. 211, 231 (3d ed. 2004).

III. DISCUSSION

Defendant argues that plaintiff lacks standing to bring the present FOIA action because she never filed a FOIA request. Mot. at 6. Instead, defendant argues that plaintiff's counsel, Julio Ramos ("Ramos"), filed the request, and did not mention plaintiff's name or state that he was acting on plaintiff's behalf. Id. (citing McDonnell v.

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United States, 4 F.3d 1227, 1237 (3d...

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