Brian Cortland v. Jeffrey Myers

MEMORANDUM

Brian Cortland appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment dismissing his action under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1988 and 1985(3) alleging that defendants failed to comply with Washington’s Public Records Act. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review de novo the district court’s dismissal for failure to state a claim. Knievel v. ESPN, 393 F.3d 1068, 1072 (9th Cir.2005). We affirm.

The district court properly dismissed Cortland’s claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 because Cortland failed to allege that defendants deprived him of a federal right. See Gibson v. United States, 781 F.2d 1334, 1338 (9th Cir.1986)(“To make out a cause of action under section 1983, plaintiffs must plead that (1) the defendants acting under color of state law (2) deprived plaintiffs of rights secured by the Constitution or federal statutes.”).

The district court properly dismissed Cortland’s claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1985 (3) because Cortland failed to allege that racial or other class-based discriminatory animus motivated the alleged conspiracy to deprive him of his rights. See Bray v. Alexandria Women’s Health Clinic, 506 U.S. 263, 267-68 , 113 S.Ct. 753 , 122 L.Ed.2d 34 (1993)(to state a…