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Williams v. Securitas Security Services USA, Inc.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Williams v. Securitas Security Services USA, Inc., 584 F. App'x 891 (9th Cir. 2014)
O'Scannlain, Rakoff, Rawlinson

Williams v. Securitas Security Services USA, Inc.

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Appellant Michael Williams (Williams) sought relief pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b)(1) from the district court’s dismissal of his complaint for failure to file an opposition to Appellees’ motion to dismiss. Williams contends that the district court abused its discretion in denying his Rule 60(b) motion because he demonstrated excusable neglect in failing to file an opposition to the motion to dismiss.

The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Williams’ Rule 60(b) motion because Williams failed to demonstrate the requisite excusable neglect. See Pincay v. Andrews, 389 F.3d 853, 858 (9th Cir. 2004) (en banc) (holding that “[w]e must ... affirm unless we are left with the definite and firm conviction that the lower court committed a clear error of judgment in the conclusion it reached after weighing the relevant [excusable neglect] factors”) (citation omitted). The record supports the district court’s finding that Williams failed to offer any evidence of excusable neglect on behalf of his counsel of record at the time the motion to dismiss was filed. See Engleson v. Burlington N. R.R. Co., 972 F.2d 1038, 1043 (9th Cir. 1992) (articulating that “[t]o qualify for equitable relief under Rule 60(b)(1), the movant must demonstrate ... excusable neglect”) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted) (emphasis added). 1

AFFIRMED.

**

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.

1

. Williams also challenges the merits of the district court’s dismissal of his complaint. However, our review is limited to the district court’s denial of Williams’ Rule 60(b) motion. See Briones v. Riviera Hotel & Casino, 116 F.3d 379, 380 (9th Cir. 1997) (“An appeal from a denial of a Rule 60(b) motion brings up only the denial of the motion for review, not the merits of the underlying judgment.”) (citation omitted).

Reference

Full Case Name
Michael WILLIAMS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SECURITAS SECURITY SERVICES USA, INC.; Pinkerton Government Services, Inc., AKA PGS, Inc.; Paragon Systems, Inc., AKA Parasys, Inc.; United States of America, Erroneously Sued as Joaquin Egan, Defendants-Appellees
Cited By
1 case
Status
Unpublished
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