Finnegan v. The City of Atlanta Municipal Court

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 SEAN MATTHEW FINNEGAN Case No.: 21cv813-LAB (NLS)

12 Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING MOTION TO 13 v. PROCEED IN FORMA PAUPERIS AND DENYING 14 CITY OF ATLANTA MUNICIPAL MOTION FOR TEMPORARY COURT 15 RESTRAINING ORDER; AND Defendant. 16 ORDER OF DISMISSAL 17 18 19 Plaintiff Sean Matthew Finnegan, proceeding pro se, filed a complaint asking 20 this Court to restrain and expunge an ongoing criminal case in the City of Atlanta 21 Municipal Court and to award him damages. He attaches documents showing that 22 he was arrested for entering a public transit station without paying. He believes the 23 judges assigned to his case are acting improperly by continuing to adjudicate the 24 case in spite of his claimed innocence, by requiring him to appear in court for his 25 hearing, and by threatening to issue an arrest warrant should he fail to appear. An 26 attachment shows that he asked the municipal court in late March for a 27 continuance for “Medical and other reasons not listed here.” 28 / / / 1 Besides his complaint, Finnegan also filed a motion for leave to proceed in 2 forma pauperis (“IFP”) and a motion identified as a motion for a protective order. 3 The Court liberally construes the latter as a motion for a temporary restraining 4 order. 5 Finnegan, who provides an address in Beverly Hills, California, filed ten other 6 cases in this Court in April. His IFP motions are inconsistent, some saying he is 7 unemployed and has no assets, and others saying he is currently employed and 8 has an income. The address he provides misleadingly suggests that he lives in 9 “Unit 961” at a residence in Beverly Hills. In fact, the address he provided is the 10 Beverly Hills post office. The “unit” number is likely a post office box, and it is 11 uncertain whether he lives in California or somewhere else. A brief review of this 12 and other cases shows he has represented to the Court that he maintains offices 13 in Atlanta and Washington, D.C. and travels extensively for business. Finnegan’s 14 IFP motion in this case is incomplete, and is DENIED. 15 The complaint is also fraught with problems that cannot be corrected by 16 amendment. A review of the docket of the Central District of California shows that 17 Finnegan, a resident of that District, brought this same claim there. See Finnegan 18 v. City of Atlanta Municipal Court, Case 21cv3085-MCS-AS (filed April 5, 2021). 19 That court dismissed his claims on April 15 on the basis of improper venue and 20 Eleventh Amendment immunity. Instead of appealing, he filed this duplicative 21 action, in an evident attempt at judge- and forum-shopping. 22 With exceptions not applicable here, the Court lacks authority to restrain 23 ongoing criminal prosecution in a state court. See Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37, 24 45–46 (1971); Beltran v. California, 871 F.2d 777, 782 (9th Cir. 1988) (holding that 25 Younger requires dismissal of the federal action). Even if venue were proper, the 26 Court could not entertain his request for equitable relief. 27 The Central District’s judgment estops Finnegan from bringing damages 28 claims against the municipal court itself. He also cannot amend to bring those 1 ||claims against the judges or court officers whom he blames for violating his rights 2 ||and harassing him, because they are entitled to absolute immunity. See Stump v. 3 || Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349 (1978) (judicial immunity); Curry v. Castillo, 297 F.3d 940, 4 ||952 (9" Cir. 2002) (quasi-judicial immunity). 5 The motion for a temporary restraining order (Docket no. 2) is DENIED. This 6 ||action is DISMISSED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND. See Younger, 401 U.S. at 7 ||45-46; Stump, 435 U.S. 349; Curry, 297 F.3d at 952. See also Hernandez v. City 8 ||of El Monte, 138 F.3d 393, 398 (9 Cir. 1998) (holding that district court may 9 ||dismiss a case sua sponte for judge-shopping). 10 11 IT IS SO ORDERED. 12 ||Dated: May 5, 2021 13 / mit 4. ‘A, Wy 14 Honorable Larry Alan Burns 45 United States District Judge 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28