Crawford
Crawford v. Paul Revere Life Insurance
Opinion
Lead Opinion
*641 MEMORANDUM ***
Byron D. Crawford, M.D. appeals the district court’s Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal with prejudice of his complaint based on alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. § 1001 , et seq. (“ERISA”). Dismissal was based on the district court’s determination that Crawford’s ERISA lawsuit (“Crawford II”) was barred by the doctrine of res judicata. We review de novo both the district court’s application of res judicata and the district court’s dismissal for failure to state a claim. See Hiser v. Franklin, 94 F.3d 1287, 1290 (9th Cir.1996) (res judicata); Stone v. Travelers Corp., 58 F.3d 434, 436-37 (9th Cir.1995) (dismissal). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.
In a previous lawsuit (“Crawford I”) filed in the United States District Court for Central District of California, Crawford alleged state law causes of action against his insurer, Paul Revere. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Paul Revere based on its finding that Crawford’s state law claims were preempted by ERISA. The court also denied Crawford’s motion to amend his complaint to properly state his claims under ERISA and…