Dhillon v. Edwards ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 RANDEEP SINGH DHILLON, et al., No. 1:23-cv-00416-ADA-CDB 12 Plaintiffs, 13 v. ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE 14 WILLIAM EDWARDS, et al., (ECF No. 1) 15 Defendants. 16 17 On March 21, 2023, Plaintiffs filed a complaint in the Eastern District of California 18 alleging subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1346(b)(1). (ECF No. 1 at 5.) 19 The Court has a sua sponte duty to confirm that it has subject matter jurisdiction over the cases on 20 its docket. See Allen v. Santa Clara Cnty. Corr. Peace Officers Ass’n, 400 F. Supp. 3d 998, 1001 21 (E.D. Cal. 2019) (citing Ruhrgas AG v. Marathon Oil Co., 526 U.S. 574, 583 (1999)). 22 It appears that Plaintiffs assert federal question jurisdiction by alleging violations of the 23 Fourteenth Amendment. (See ECF No. 1 at 16–17, 20–21.) The Fourteenth Amendment, 24 however, does not itself provide for a private right of action; Plaintiffs must point to an 25 appropriate statute that does. See Azul-Pacifico, Inc. v. City of Los Angeles, 973 F.2d 704, 705 26 (9th Cir. 1992); MetroPCS Inc. v. City and Cnty. of S.F., No. C02-3442 PJH, 2005 WL 1692631, 27 at *2 (N.D. Cal. Jul. 15, 2005). If Plaintiffs intend to invoke 42 U.S.C. § 1983, they must allege 28 state action, something that is not apparent on the face of the complaint as filed. See West v. 1 | Atkins, 487 U.S. 42, 48 (1988); Garnier v. O’Connor-Ratcliff, 41 F.4th 1158, 1169 (9th Cir. 2 | 2022). If Plaintiffs intend to invoke a different statute, they must identify it as this responsibility 3 | is not one that the Court will assume. 4 Accordingly, if Plaintiffs fail to file an amended complaint asserting the basis for subject 5 | matter jurisdiction in federal court no later than fourteen (14) days from the date of signature on 6 | this order, the Court will dismiss this action for lack of jurisdiction without further notice. 7 8 g | SO ORDERED. 10 Dated: _ April 4, 2023 UNITED fTATES DISTRICT JUDGE 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28