Firsov v. Frontier Airlines, Inc
- Susan Van Keulen
- 5:25-cv-02898
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 3
In Firsov v. Frontier Airlines, Judge Van Keulen denied Firsov’s motion to disqualify her after the court vacated a case-management conference.
Sergey Firsov, Judge Susan Van Keulen, and Frontier Airlines, Inc.; the disqualification motion was denied, and the court indicated that it would schedule a new case-management conference after proof of service was filed.
What happened
In Firsov v. Frontier Airlines, Sergey Firsov asked the court to disqualify the magistrate judge handling his case. He argued that the judge had acted improperly and showed bias against him.
Firsov’s motion focused on a case-management conference that he said he was prevented from attending. The court explained that it had canceled the conference before it was scheduled to occur. Firsov had also previously challenged having to pay the filing fee and sought assignment to another judge.
Judge Susan Van Keulen denied the motion. She ruled that the canceled conference and the court’s other unfavorable rulings did not provide a reasonable basis to question her impartiality. The court said it would schedule a new conference after Firsov filed proof that Frontier Airlines had been served.
The detailed version
- Firsov v. Frontier Airlines, Inc · No. 5:25-cv-02898
- Susan Van Keulen
- July 28, 2025
Background
Sergey Firsov filed a civil case against Frontier Airlines, Inc. He asked to proceed without paying the filing fee in advance, but the court denied that request. After several filings concerning the fee and the assignment of the case, Firsov paid the filing fee on July 8, 2025. The court then terminated an order that had directed reassignment of the case and recommended dismissal.
The court had scheduled an initial case-management conference for July 8, 2025, but vacated it on June 30 because Firsov had not paid the filing fee. The court stated that it would reset the conference if necessary. After paying the fee, Firsov moved to disqualify the magistrate judge under 28 U.S.C. § 455. He argued that the judge had violated court rules, judicial-ethics rules, and the requirement of impartiality by allegedly ignoring his request to participate in the conference.
Legal standard
Under 28 U.S.C. § 455, a federal judge must disqualify herself when her impartiality might reasonably be questioned, including when she has personal bias or prejudice concerning a party. The court applied the standard of whether a reasonable person who knew all the facts would question the judge’s impartiality. The court also explained that unfavorable rulings generally do not establish disqualifying bias unless they are wrongful, inappropriate, undeserved, or based on information the judge should not have possessed.
Court’s analysis and ruling
The court rejected Firsov’s factual premise that he had been prevented from participating in the July 8 conference because the court had already vacated that conference on June 30. It also stated that an initial case-management conference may be changed at any time for any reason under Civil Local Rule 16-8(b). The court further found that its unfavorable orders were not undeserved and were not based on improper knowledge.
Judge Susan Van Keulen therefore denied Firsov’s motion to disqualify the magistrate judge. The court stated that, after a proof of service on Frontier Airlines was filed, it would set an initial case-management conference.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.