Kline v. Hall , 135 F. App'x 144 ( 2005 )

F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
May 31, 2005
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
KAREN MARIE KLINE,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v. No. 04-2182
(D.C. No. CIV-04-309 ACT/DJS)
JAMES HALL, Judge; ART (D. N.M.)
ENCINIAS, former judge; FIRST
JUDICIAL; FIRST JUDICIAL
DISTRICT COURT CLERK; NEW
MEXICO COURT OF APPEALS,
Defendants-Appellees.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before HENRY , BRISCOE , and MURPHY , Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of
this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is
therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. The court
generally disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order
and judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
Plaintiff Karen Marie Kline, proceeding pro se , appeals the district court’s
order dismissing her action alleging that defendants, who are individuals and
entities connected with the New Mexico judicial system, made it difficult for her
to litigate her pro se state civil actions. Ms. Kline argues that the district court
erred by (1) wrongly determining that she failed to state a claim under Title II of
the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12131-34; and (2)
unfairly denying leave to amend so that she could clarify her ADA claim. 1
We review the district court’s order of dismissal de novo , taking all facts
alleged in the complaint as true and indulging all reasonable inferences in favor
of plaintiff. Curley v. Perry , 246 F.3d 1278, 1281 (10th Cir. 2001) “We further
construe a pro se complaint liberally.” Id. The law to be applied to Ms. Kline’s
appeal is set out in Tennessee v. Lane , 124 S. Ct. 1978, 1994 (2004), in which the
Supreme Court held that Title II of the ADA, as it “applies to the class of cases
implicating the fundamental right of access to the courts, constitutes a valid
exercise of Congress’ power to enforce the guarantees of the Fourteenth
Amendment.”
This court has examined the briefs, the record, and the applicable law. We
acknowledge Ms. Kline’s contention that she has a memory deficit and an
1
On appeal, plaintiff does not contest the district court’s dismissal of her
civil-rights claims against Judge Encinias and Judge Hall, based on the doctrine
of judicial immunity.
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information-processing disorder which hamper her pursuit of pro se litigation.
Like the district court, however, we conclude that her allegations do not “suggest
that [defendants] have denied her access to the judicial system because of her
disability.” R., doc. 21 at 8 (citing Tennessee v. Lane , 124 S. Ct. at 1980-83,
1992-93).
As for the denial of leave to amend the complaint, we review the district
court’s order for an abuse of discretion. Wessel v. City of Albuquerque , 299 F.3d
1186, 1196-97 (10th Cir. 2002). Ms. Kline notes that Tennessee v. Lane was
announced after defendants’ dismissal motion was at issue and states that, in light
of this timing, she should have been permitted to elaborate upon her claims and
discuss the effect of that decision. The district court’s order of dismissal,
however, carefully analyzed plaintiff’s claims under the principles enunciated in
Tennessee v. Lane. Under the circumstances, the district court did not abuse its
discretion in denying the motion to amend. See Curley, 246 F.3d at 1281-82(holding dismissal of pro se complaint proper where it is obvious plaintiff cannot
prevail on the facts alleged and it would be futile to provide an opportunity to
amend).
We therefore AFFIRM the judgment of the district court for substantially
the same reasons stated by the district court in its orders filed May 19, 2004 and
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June 3, 2004. Ms. Kline’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal is
GRANTED.
Entered for the Court
Michael R. Murphy
Circuit Judge
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