Duran
Duran v. Orange County
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
Fred Duran appeals pro se the district court’s dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction of his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.
The existence of subject matter jurisdiction is a question of law we review de novo. Ahmed v. Washington, 276 F.3d 464, 467 (9th Cir.2001) (citing Garvey v. Roberts, 203 F.3d 580, 587 (9th Cir.2000)). Because the claims Duran raised required the district court to review state court judgments, the district court correctly concluded that, under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, it lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the action. See Ahmed, 276 F.3d at 467 ; see *308 generally, Rooker v. Fidelity Trust Co., 263 U.S. 413 , 44 S.Ct. 149 , 68 L.Ed. 362 (1923); District of Columbia Court of Appeals v. Feldman, 460 U.S. 462 , 103 S.Ct. 1303 , 75 L.Ed.2d 206 (1983).
AFFIRMED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this circuit except as may be provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
Concurrence in Part
Boochever, J.
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
BOOCHEVER, Circuit Judge.
Duran complains of a forged document contained in the files of the Orange County Small Claims Court. He raises three causes of action. Duran’s second and third causes of action ask the district court to determine that the document in question is a forgery and order the County to remedy the situation. I agree with the majority that these claims were properly dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The district court found that the authenticity of the alleged forgery had already been litigated in the state courts. Duran offers no evidence, such as opinions or documents from the state courts, to suggest that the district court’s findings were incorrect. Accordingly, in order to provide the relief Duran requests in his second and third causes of action, the district court would have to review and overturn the state courts’ decisions regarding the authenticity of the document. The district court lacked jurisdiction to do this under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine.
On the other hand, I believe the district court had jurisdiction over Duran’s first cause of action, a due process claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 .…