Mendocino Railway v. Jack Ainsworth

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

MENDOCINO RAILWAY, a No. 23-15857 California corporation, D.C. No. 4:22-cv- Plaintiff-Appellant, 04597-JST v.

JACK AINSWORTH, in his official OPINION capacity as Executive Director of the California Coastal Commission; CITY OF FORT BRAGG, a California municipal corporation,

Defendants-Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California Jon S. Tigar, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted May 15, 2024 San Francisco, California

Filed August 29, 2024

Before: Sidney R. Thomas, Consuelo M. Callahan, and Gabriel P. Sanchez, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Callahan SUMMARY *

Colorado River Doctrine

The panel affirmed the district court’s judgment dismissing Mendocino Railway’s federal lawsuit against the City of Fort Bragg and the California Coastal Commission under the Colorado River doctrine, which authorizes federal courts to refrain from exercising jurisdiction where there are parallel state court proceedings. The Railway has resisted the City’s and Commission’s efforts to regulate…