David H. Matthews v. Joseph Giovanoni

51 F.3d 281 NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. David H. MATTHEWS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Joseph GIOVANONI, Defendant-Appellee. No. 94-15960. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Submitted March 21, 1995. * Decided April 4, 1995. Before: SNEED, POOLE, and BRUNETTI, Circuit Judges. 1 MEMORANDUM ** 2 David H. Matthews appeals pro se the district court's dismissal with prejudice of his 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 action as frivolous under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1915 (d). The district court found that Matthews's action was barred by the applicable statute of limitations. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291 , and we review for abuse of discretion, see Denton v. Hernandez, 112 S.Ct. 1728, 1734 (1992). We affirm. 3 A district court is authorized to dismiss sua sponte an in forma pauperis complaint before service of process if the court is satisfied that the action is frivolous. Id. at 1733 . A complaint is frivolous if "it lacks an arguable basis either in…