Wilson v. Mount Diablo Unified School District/Special Education Local Plan Area

Matter Before the Court

The Ninth Circuit referred the case to the district court for the limited purpose of deciding whether Michael Geary Wilson’s status allowing him to appeal without paying the required fees should continue. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3), an appeal may not proceed under that status if the trial court certifies in writing that it was not taken in good faith. The court applied the objective standard that an appeal is taken in good faith when it seeks review of an issue that is not frivolous—that is, an issue with at least an arguable legal or factual basis.

Reasons for the Certification

Wilson appealed what he described as “all proceedings and filed orders.” The district court understood that appeal to challenge orders that were adverse to him, including:

- orders dismissing his initial and amended complaints; - orders denying his motions to disqualify Judge Chesney; and - the order denying his second request to extend the deadline for filing an amended complaint.

The court relied on its earlier orders concerning those matters. It said Wilson’s initial complaint contained 198 pages of text, 27 claims for relief, and 122 defendants. The complaint was needlessly long, used verbose and confusing allegations, and did not sufficiently identify the acts or omissions supporting each defendant’s alleged liability. The court found that the amended complaint—609 pages, 47 claims for relief, and 222 defendants—worsened those defects and failed to comply with Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

The court also said Wilson’s challenge to local rules and judicial rulings did not present a legally recognized basis for disqualifying the judge. Finally, it found that Wilson lacked good cause for a second extension because he based the request on work in other cases. The court had previously granted one extension on that basis but had warned that Wilson would need to meet the court’s deadlines if he wanted to continue in this case.

Ruling

Judge Maxine M. Chesney concluded that an appeal of the referenced orders would lack an arguable basis in law or fact and would not seek review of a nonfrivolous issue. The court therefore certified that the appeal was not taken in good faith and revoked Wilson’s status to proceed without paying fees. It directed the clerk to serve the order on the Ninth Circuit.