Jimenez v. Structured Asset Mortgage Investment II Inc.

Background

Anthony Lolin Jimenez, Sr. filed the action without a lawyer. The court dismissed his complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i). Jimenez previously moved for reconsideration, but the court denied that motion. He also appealed the dismissal; the appeal was dismissed because he did not pay the filing fee or request permission to proceed without paying it.

Nearly three years after the 2017 dismissal, Jimenez filed a motion under Rule 60(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure seeking to set aside the judgment. He argued that a “security interest” had been created in connection with his criminal case. The opinion states that Jimenez had been convicted after a jury trial in Colorado of second-degree murder and related offenses and sentenced to 54 years of imprisonment.

Court’s reasoning

Rule 60(b) permits relief from an order or judgment for specified reasons, including mistake, newly discovered evidence, fraud or misconduct, a void judgment, satisfaction or reversal of the judgment, and other circumstances justifying relief. Rule 60(c)(1) requires a motion to be filed within a reasonable time, and imposes a one-year limit for motions based on the first three grounds.

The court held that Jimenez’s motion was untimely because he filed it nearly three years after the order he challenged. The court further stated that, even if it considered the merits, Jimenez had not shown facts supporting any of the first five Rule 60(b) grounds. It also found that he had not alleged extraordinary circumstances required for relief under Rule 60(b)(6), the provision covering other reasons that might justify relief.

Disposition

The court denied Jimenez’s motion for reconsideration. It directed the Clerk of Court to mail him a copy of the order and record service on the docket. The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying the filing fee.