Luttrell v. U.S.
| Decision Date | 04 December 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 78-2962,78-2962 |
| Parties | John LUTTRELL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America et al., Honorable Griffin Bell, Attorney General of the United States of America, Honorable Juanita Kreps, Secretary, Department of Commerce, Owen Siler, Admiral, Commandant, United States Coast Guard, Honorable Brock Adams, Secretary, Department of Transportation, West of England, London and Interstate Fire and Casualty Company as Correspondent and United States Representatives of West of England, and Freehill, Hogan and Mahar as Adjustors and Agents for Defendants West of England, and Erskine Wood, Jr., as Representative of the Defendant West of England, J. J. Tennant Company, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Adelbert G. Clostermann, Portland, Or., for plaintiff-appellant.
Jack G. Collins, Erskine B. Wood, Wood, Tatum, Mosser, Brooke & Holden, Portland, Or., for defendants-appellees.
Before SKOPIL and ALARCON, Circuit Judges, and REED, * District Judge.
The essential nature of this case is an independent action to set aside a previous judgment as void. The original judgment entered in 1968 resulted from an action filed by the appellant as a result of injuries sustained by him as a seaman aboard a merchant vessel belonging to the United States. As a result of that judgment there were two unsuccessful previous appeals to this court and two unsuccessful petitions for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court. In each instance, at every level of our judicial system, appellant's claims were found to be without merit. He now appeals the district court's dismissal of his most recent suit filed in 1978. The claim made here is that the dismissal was unwarranted since the original judgment of 1968 should be set aside due to newly discovered evidence and because the United States was improperly defended by Erskine Wood, its insurance company's counsel. Appellant's claim is without merit.
The district court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction under the statutes pleaded by appellant. Federal district courts are dependent for their subject-matter jurisdiction upon statutory authority granted by Congress. Palmore v. United States, 411 U.S. 389, 401, 93 S.Ct. 1670, 1678, 36 L.Ed.2d 342 (1973). In his complaint, appellant cites the following statutes as a basis for conferring subject-matter jurisdiction. None of them confers such jurisdiction:
(a) 50 U.S.C. App. § 1291 confers admiralty jurisdiction over injuries to seamen employed by the War Shipping Administration. The present action is an independent action to set aside a prior judgment and is not an action for relief on account of injuries suffered.
(b) 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202 create additional remedies in the form of declaratory judgment relief for federal litigants, but do not in and of themselves confer subject-matter jurisdiction on the courts. Wells v. United States, 280 F.2d 275 (9th Cir. 1960).
(c) 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985 when coupled with 28 U.S.C. § 1343, confer jurisdiction for actions claiming the deprivation of civil rights under the color of state law or by conspiracy. No such deprivation has been alleged.
In addition, the Court notes that appellant does not claim that the federal government has denied him his civil rights and thus no jurisdiction exists under the rationale adopted in Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotics Agents, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971).
(d) 18 U.S.C. §§ 201, 202, 205, 208, 1001 and 1008 define crimes under federal law and do not confer civil subject-matter jurisdiction.
Perhaps, under Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the district court might have obtained jurisdiction over appellant's claim for relief because of newly discovered evidence or the claim (if the complaint can be so read) that the prior judgment was obtained through extrinsic or intrinsic fraud. Such basis for jurisdiction was not pleaded by appellant and, in any event, is time barred by the statute of limitations contained in the rule. Under Rule 60(b) a court may, within one year of its judgment, reconsider a judgment in such circumstances. Appellant's claims are clearly made beyond the time frame contemplated by this rule.
In the alternative, it might be contended that appellant's action should be allowed under the statute of limitations "saving clause" at the end of Rule 60(b). That clause excepts, from the one-year limitation, an equitable action to set aside a judgment because of "fraud upon the court." However, the factual underpinnings of the complaint do not allege a "fraud upon the court" as this phrase has been interpreted. "Fraud upon the court" as a basis for equitable relief is construed narrowly in order to preserve the finality of judgments, an important legal and social interest. See, Valerio v. Boise Cascade Corp., 80 F.R.D. 626, 640-642 (N.D.Cal.1978); Toscano v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 441 F.2d 930, 934 (9th Cir. 1971). Fraud of this nature is the exception and confers equitable jurisdiction on a court:
Where the unsuccessful party has been prevented from exhibiting fully his case, by fraud or deception practiced on him by his opponent, as by keeping him away from court, a false promise of a compromise; or where the defendant never had knowledge of the suit, being kept in ignorance by the acts of the plaintiff; or where the attorney fraudulently or without authority assumes to represent a party and connives at his defeat; or where the attorney corruptly sells out his client's interest to the other side... United States v. Throckmorton, 98 U.S. 61, 65-66, 25 L.Ed. 93 (1878).
The concern of the court in Throckmorton and its progeny was that because of this type of fraud, the injured party is prevented from fairly presenting his claim or defenses or from introducing relevant or material evidence. Id, at 66; see also 7 Moore's Federal Practice, Second Edition, § 60.37 (1979).
The fraud alleged by appellant is not the type contemplated by the extraordinary remedy of an independent action to set aside a judgment. The record and the facts presented herein do not justify relief.
In this case, a claim for relief based upon "fraud upon the court" would have to be grounded in appellant's claim that the United States was not properly represented. Appellant admits that three attorneys of record for the Government in the original action (the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
CONSORTIUM OF COM. BASED ORGANIZATIONS v. Donovan
...it extend the jurisdiction of the district court over cases which would otherwise be beyond its jurisdiction. Luttrell v. United States, 644 F.2d 1274, 1275 (9th Cir. 1980); Ellis v. Cassidy, 625 F.2d 227, 229 (9th Cir. 1980); Fidelity and Casualty Co. v. Reserve Insurance Co., 596 F.2d 914......
-
Safeco Ins. Co. of Am. v. Nelson, Case No. 20-cv-00211-MMA (AHG)
...is otherwise established." Staacke v. U.S. Sec'y of Labor , 841 F.2d 278, 280 (9th Cir. 1988) (citing Luttrell v. United States , 644 F.2d 1274, 1275 (9th Cir. 1980) ). Additionally, Plaintiff alleges that section 702 of the APA establishes the United States' waiver of sovereign immunity. S......
-
Staacke v. U.S. Secretary of Labor
...(9th Cir.1979), but merely provides an additional remedy in cases where jurisdiction is otherwise established. Luttrell v. United States, 644 F.2d 1274, 1275 (9th Cir.1980); see also Skelly Oil Co. v. Phillips Petroleum Co., 339 U.S. 667, 672, 70 S.Ct. 876, 879, 94 L.Ed. 1194 (1950) ("the r......
-
Alton Box Bd. Co. v. Esprit De Corp.
...court. Skelly Oil Co. v. Phillips Petroleum Co., 339 U.S. 667, 671-72, 70 S.Ct. 876, 878, 94 L.Ed. 1194 (1950); Luttrell v. United States, 644 F.2d 1274, 1275 (9th Cir. 1980). In this case it is conceded that diversity of citizenship was absent. Therefore, the district court had jurisdictio......