Jones v. Jinparn

Background

Al D. Jones and John W. Jones, proceeding without lawyers, sued several individuals and entities, including Adam Jinparn, a San Pablo police officer. They alleged that the defendants mishandled the remains of their deceased brother, Harleem Sweets. After the case was moved from state court to federal court, Jinparn filed a motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), which asks the court to dismiss a complaint for failing to state a legally sufficient claim.

On December 19, 2019, the court granted Jinparn’s earlier dismissal motion and dismissed several causes of action, allowing the plaintiffs to amend. The plaintiffs then filed a First Amended Complaint. Jinparn moved to dismiss that amended complaint, but the plaintiffs did not file a timely opposition. The court gave them additional time and warned that failing to respond could result in dismissal of the action against Jinparn. They still did not respond by the extended deadline.

Al Jones’s request

Al Jones later requested more time and filed an opposition, explaining that he had not received Jinparn’s motion or the court’s response order until February 14, 2020. He also filed a change-of-address notice. The court found that the request did not comply with the applicable local rules and that Jones had not promptly filed and served a change-of-address notice. The court therefore concluded that the delayed receipt of the papers was attributable to his own neglect.

Even so, the court accepted Jones’s statement that he did not receive the moving papers until February 14. Because he promptly filed an opposition, and because it was only six days late under the extended deadline, the court granted his request to file it late.

John Jones and the order

The requests were signed only by Al Jones. The court stated that although Al Jones may represent himself, he could not represent John Jones. It therefore held that the requests sought relief only for Al Jones. The court also declined to give John Jones additional time because he had not requested that relief, while noting that he could file a notice if he wished to join Al Jones’s opposition.

The court ordered that Al Jones’s motion for leave to file a late opposition was GRANTED, and that the opposition at Docket 58 was deemed filed. Jinparn was given until February 26, 2020, to file a reply. The court stated that it would resolve the motion to dismiss without oral argument and terminated Dockets 56 and 58. The order did not decide whether the amended complaint should be dismissed. Senior United States District Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong signed the order.