Vincent Reynoso v. City of Los Angeles

MEMORANDUM

Appellant Vincent C. Reynoso, a security officer with the Los Angeles’ Depart ment of Water and Power, appeals the district court’s dismissal of his § 1983 claims. Reynoso alleges that Defendants the City of Los Angeles and his immediate supervisor Gonzelo Cureton violated his First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association. We affirm the district court.

We find we have jurisdiction over this appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . Appellant filed an earlier appeal of the district court’s dismissal of his claims against the City of Los Angeles, which we dismissed for failure to prosecute. Ordinarily, such a dismissal constitutes an adjudication of the merits. See Owens v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., 244 F.3d 708, 714 (9th Cir.2001). Here, however, we lacked jurisdiction over the initial appeal because, at the time the appeal was filed, the district court had not issued a final decision as to Defendant Cureton and thus there was no final decision as to all claims and all parties. See Patchick v. Kensington Publ’g Corp., 743 F.2d 675, 677 (9th Cir.1984).

Appellant did not oppose the district court’s dismissal of his claims against Defendant Cureton, and on…