United States v. Walter James Kubon
- Phyllis Hamilton
- 4:18-cv-04788
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In United States v. Kubon, Judge Hamilton granted the United States’ motion to strike defendants’ petition challenging a judgment.
The United States and the defendants, including Walter James Kubon; the defendants’ petition was struck.
What happened
In United States v. Walter James Kubon, the United States asked the court to strike the defendants’ petition seeking to set aside a judgment they called void. The defendants did not oppose the motion by the court’s deadline.
The court explained that it may remove from a pleading defenses or material that is insufficient, unrelated, or improper. It concluded that the defendants’ petition was without merit and had no bearing on the lawsuit.
Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton granted the United States’ motion and struck the defendants’ petition.
The detailed version
- United States v. Walter James Kubon · No. 4:18-cv-04788
- Phyllis Hamilton
- Apr. 25, 2022
Background
The United States moved under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f) to strike the defendants’ petition to vacate a judgment that the petition described as void. The defendants did not file an opposition by the court’s deadline. The opinion also states that the defendants had previously challenged and appealed the court’s May 2, 2019 ruling, but the provided text is incomplete at that point.
Legal standard
Rule 12(f) permits a court to strike an insufficient defense or material that is redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous. The court explained that striking material can prevent the parties from spending time and money litigating issues that have no possible bearing on the case.
Ruling
The court found that the defendants’ petition to vacate the judgment was without merit and had no bearing on the subject matter of the litigation. Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton therefore granted the United States’ motion to strike and struck the petition.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.