Watkins v. Los Angeles County

Appellate Case: 21-8063 Document: 010110654595 Date Filed: 03/09/2022 Page: 1
FILED
United States Court of Appeals
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT March 9, 2022
_________________________________
Christopher M. Wolpert
Clerk of Court
MARYANN WATKINS, trustee of
Madeleine Watkins and Marc Watkins
Irrevocable Living Trust,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v. No. 21-8063
(D.C. No. 0:20-CV-00246-SWS)
LOS ANGELES COUNTY (D. Wyo.)
CALIFORNIA; KATHRYN BARGER,
individually and in her official capacity as
Los Angeles County Fifth District
Supervisor; RODRIGO CASTRO-SILVA,
individually and in his official capacity as
Los Angeles County California Counsel;
MARY C WICKHAM, individually and in
her official capacity as Los Angeles
County California Counsel; NICK
DUVALLY, individually and in his official
capacity as Los Angeles California County
Fire; JIM BAILEY, individually and in his
official capacity as Los Angeles County
California Senior Engineer Fire; ROSA
LINDA CRUZ, individually and in her
official capacity as Los Angeles California
Counsel,
Defendants - Appellees.
_________________________________
ORDER AND JUDGMENT*
*
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist in 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 This order and judgment is not binding
precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral
Appellate Case: 21-8063 Document: 010110654595 Date Filed: 03/09/2022 Page: 2
_________________________________
Before BACHARACH, BRISCOE, and ROSSMAN, Circuit Judges.
_________________________________
Plaintiff Maryann Watkins, as trustee on behalf of the Madeleine Watkins and
Marc Watkins Irrevocable Living Trust (“the Trust”), sued Los Angeles County and
several Los Angeles officials (collectively, “Los Angeles”) for alleged civil rights
violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. She filed the lawsuit in the District of Wyoming,
but the district court determined there was no factual or legal basis for venue in
Wyoming. The district court declined to exercise its discretion to transfer the action
to another venue under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), and dismissed the case without
prejudice. Ms. Watkins has appealed. Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.
§ 1291, we affirm.
I. Background
The Trust owns property in Los Angeles County, California. Ms. Watkins
alleged that Los Angeles violated the Trust’s civil rights when it denied the necessary
permits for a manufactured home to be placed on the property. She filed the lawsuit
in Wyoming federal district court because, she says, the Trust was created under
Wyoming law. Ms. Watkins sued in her capacity as a trustee of the Trust, but she is
not an attorney.
estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with
Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.
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After the defendants filed answers, the district court issued an order dismissing
Ms. Watkins’s claims without prejudice. The district court held as a matter of law
that the lawsuit was brought in an improper venue under 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b). The
district court declined to exercise its discretion to transfer the action under 28 U.S.C.
§ 1406(a) because: (1) as a non-attorney, Ms. Watkins is not authorized to represent
the Trust and therefore transferring the case would not serve the interests of justice;
and (2) there appeared to be no statute of limitations that would prevent refiling the
case in the proper venue.1 Ms. Watkins filed a motion for reconsideration, which the
district court denied. This appeal followed.
II. Analysis
Ms. Watkins argues on appeal that the district court erred in declining to
transfer this case to the Central District of California. Section 1406(a) directs that
the district court “shall dismiss” a case filed in an inappropriate venue unless it finds
the interests of justice would be served by a transfer. Where, as here, the district
court finds a transfer would not serve the interests of justice, we review its
conclusion for an abuse of discretion. See Ballesteros v. Ashcroft, 452 F.3d 1153,
1160 (10th Cir. 2006) (“In civil cases, the question of whether . . . to dismiss or
transfer an action filed in an improper venue is within the district court’s sound
discretion and reviewed for abuse of discretion only.” (internal quotation marks
omitted)).
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Ms. Watkins has not challenged this second aspect of the district court’s
decision.
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We find no abuse of discretion in this case. The Supreme Court has held that
artificial entities may be represented in court only through licensed counsel. See
Rowland v. Cal. Men’s Colony, Unit II Men’s Advisory Council, 506 U.S. 194, 201-
02 (1993). The district court therefore correctly noted that Ms. Watkins, who is not
an attorney, cannot represent the Trust. Accordingly, the district court was well
within its discretion to hold it was not in the interests of justice to transfer the case to
California because a transfer would allow Ms. Watkins to persist in her efforts to
represent the Trust.
Ms. Watkins argues the district court nonetheless should have transferred the
case. First, she claims she submitted to the district court a proposed amended
complaint asserting claims personal to her rather than on behalf of the Trust.
However, we find no indication in the record that Ms. Watkins ever submitted any
such amended complaint to the district court. Although Ms. Watkins has attached a
proposed amended complaint to her Opening Brief, we decline to consider it because
“the only proper function of a court of appeals is to review the decision below on the
basis of the record that was made before the district court.” Allen v. Minnstar, Inc., 8
F.3d 1470, 1474 (10th Cir. 1993) (internal quotation marks omitted).
Second, Ms. Watkins argues the district court should have exercised its
discretion to transfer the case because of the costs involved in filing a new lawsuit in
the Central District of California, including filing fees and the expense of serving
summons. Time and expense are appropriate considerations in assessing whether the
interests of justice would be served by a transfer under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a). See
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generally 14D Charles Alan Wright et al., Federal Practice & Procedure § 3827 n.35
(2013). We note, however, that the cost of filing a new civil matter in the Central
District of California is $350, while the filing fee for an appeal in this circuit is
$505.2 And Defendants note that Ms. Watkins has never contacted Defendants’
counsel to discuss service of summons. In any event, cost considerations in the
present circumstances do not outweigh the fact that transferring the case would have
perpetuated Ms. Watkins’s unauthorized practice of law.
III. Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the district court’s order dismissing the
action without prejudice and declining to transfer this case to the Central District of
California.
Entered for the Court
Veronica S. Rossman
Circuit Judge
2
Compare https://www.cacd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/forms/G-072/G-
72.pdf with https://www.ca10.uscourts.gov/reference/filing-fees.
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