Garrison v. Biden ( 2023 )

1 2 3 4 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 STEVE GARRISON, Case No. 23-cv-01623-JSC 8 Plaintiff, ORDER STRIKING COMPLAINT IN 9 v. PART AND GRANTING MOTION FOR VOLUNTARY DISMISSAL 10 JOE BIDEN, et al., Re: Dkt. No. 8 Defendants. 11 12 Plaintiff Steve Garrison (“Plaintiff”), a California prisoner proceeding without an attorney, 13 filed this civil rights action against President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the “NFL 14 Commission,” and the “NBA Commission.” (ECF No. 1) Plaintiff is granted leave to proceed in 15 forma pauperis in a separate order. 16 Plaintiff adds a number current and former professional athletes, musicians, and actors to 17 the Complaint as additional Plaintiffs. (ECF No. 1.) They have not signed the Complaint, 18 however, as required by Rule 11(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, nor have they 19 otherwise appeared or indicated that they wish to be part of this case. Furthermore, Plaintiff is not 20 an attorney and as such he may not represent these other plaintiffs, nor may he be a class 21 representative in a class action. See Russell v. United States, 308 F.2d 78, 79 (9th Cir. 1962) (“a 22 litigant appearing in propria persona [i.e. without an attorney] has no authority to represent anyone 23 other than himself”); Oxendine v. Williams, 509 F.2d 1405, 1407 (4th Cir. 1975) (prisoner 24 plaintiffs without an attorney are not adequate class representatives able to fairly represent and 25 adequately protect the interests of a class). Accordingly, the Complaint is STRICKEN to the 26 extent it lists Plaintiffs who have not signed it, i.e. all Plaintiffs other than Steven Garrison. See 27 Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(a) (a court must strike any unsigned pleading). ] the absolute right to dismiss his or her action by filing a notice of dismissal “at any time before 2 || service by the adverse party of an answer or of a motion for summary judgment.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 3 41(a)(1)(). Said dismissal may be with or without prejudice, but unless plaintiffs notice of 4 || dismissal states otherwise, it is deemed to be “without prejudice.” See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a)(1). A 5 || plaintiffs “absolute right” to dismiss his action voluntarily before the defendants serve an answer 6 || ora motion for summary judgment leaves no role for the court to play. See American Soccer Co. 7 || v. Score First Enters., 187 F.3d 1108, 1110 (9th Cir. 1999). A district court may not vacate a 8 || voluntary dismissal under Rule 41(a)(1)(1) and reach the merits of the case. See id. at 1112. 9 || Defendants have not been served, and therefore Plaintiff has the absolute right to voluntarily 10 || dismiss this case. 11 Plaintiff states he wants attorney’s fees at the rate or 20 cents per hour or 40 million 12 || dollars. (ECF No. 8.) Plaintiff is not entitled to attorney’s fees because he is not a “prevailing” E 13 || party. See 28 U.S.C. § 1988 (attorney’s fees are only available to “prevailing party” in case under 14 || 28 U.S.C. § 1983); Sole v. Wyner, 551 U.S. 74, 82 (2007). 3 15 Under Rule 41(a)(1), the motion for voluntary dismissal is GRANTED, and the case is 16 || DISMISSED without prejudice. i 17 The Clerk shall enter judgment and close the file. This order disposes of docket number 8. 18 IT IS SO ORDERED. 19 || Dated: August 22, 2023 20 21 appetite Suto JAQQUELINE SCOTT CORL 22 United States District Judge 23 24 25 26 27 28