Harris v. Harris, No. 16-55083 (9th Cir. 2019)
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Plaintiff, a state prisoner, appealed the revocation of his in forma pauperis (IFP) status based on his three prior strikes under the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA). The Ninth Circuit reversed and held that plaintiff's prior cases were not dismissed on grounds enumerated under 28 U.S.C. 1915(g) and thus did not qualify as strikes.
Applying the D.C. Circuit's decision in Fourstar v. Garden City Grp., Inc., 875 F.3d 1147, 1152 (D.C. Cir. 2017), the panel held that a dismissal based on a district court's decision not to exercise supplemental jurisdiction is not an enumerated ground under section 1915(g). The panel also held that dismissal due to a failure to serve is plainly not a dismissal on the ground that the suit was frivolous, malicious, or failed to state a claim. In one of defendant's cases, the district court held that plaintiff failed to state a claim and declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state claims. Another case was dismissed because plaintiff failed to serve a defendant and others enjoyed quasi-judicial immunity.
Court Description: Prisoner Civil Rights. The panel reversed the district court’s revocation of a state prisoner’s in forma pauperis status on the ground that he had three prior strikes under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), and remanded. One of plaintiff’s prior cases was dismissed because, after concluding that he failed to state a federal claim, the district court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state claims. Another was dismissed because plaintiff failed to serve one defendant, and several other defendants enjoyed quasi-judicial immunity. The panel held that because the prior cases were not dismissed on grounds enumerated in § 1915(g), they did not qualify as strikes. Following the D.C. Circuit’s decision in Fourstar v. Garden City Grp., Inc., 875 F.3d 1147, 1152 (D.C. Cir. 2017), the panel first held that a dismissal based on a district court’s decision not to exercise supplemental jurisdiction is not an enumerated ground under § 1915(g). The panel further held that dismissal due to a failure to serve is plainly not a dismissal on the ground that the suit was frivolous, malicious, or failed to state a claim. It is therefore not a strike under § 1915(g). Finally, the panel held that the language and structure of the Prison Litigation Reform Act make clear that immunity-based dismissals generally do not fall within § 1915(g). HARRIS V. HARRIS 3
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