Schoggen v. Hawaii Aviation Contract Services, Inc.

MEMORANDUM

Ira Dennis Hawver appeals the district court’s award of sanctions and its denial of his motion for reconsideration of that award. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

The district court did not abuse its discretion by awarding sanctions for filing a frivolous complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b). See Holgate v. Baldwin, 425 F.3d 671, 675-77 (9th Cir.2005). The district court dismissed the complaint with prejudice, concluding that res judicata bars all of the claims asserted in the Verified Complaint. The district court correctly found that the Verified Complaint was virtually identical to the complaint filed in December 2004, alleged the same claims arising from the same set of operative facts, which were ultimately resolved when the district court entered judgment confirming the arbitrator’s final award upon Bruce Schoggen’s motion in 2007.

In addition, Schoggen’s attorney, Mr. Hawver, failed to conduct a reasonable and competent investigation, which would have revealed that the claims had been previously and conclusively adjudicated. Not only does the Verified Complaint discuss the prior litigation between the…