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Garcia v. Spokane Cnty.

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
Apr 15, 2014
569 F. App'x 529 (9th Cir. 2014)

Opinion

No. 12-36074 D.C. No. 2:10-cv-00349-TOR

04-15-2014

NICHOLAS GARCIA, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. SPOKANE COUNTY; et al., Defendants - Appellees.


NOT FOR PUBLICATION


MEMORANDUM

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.


Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Eastern District of Washington

Thomas O. Rice, District Judge, Presiding


Submitted April 7, 2014

The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
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Before: TASHIMA, GRABER, and IKUTA, Circuit Judges.

Nicholas Garcia appeals pro se from the district court's judgment dismissing his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging constitutional violations during his detention at Spokane County Jail. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review for an abuse of discretion a dismissal for failure to comply with court orders, Pagtalunan v. Galaza, 291 F.3d 639, 640 (9th Cir. 2002), and we reverse and remand.

The district court dismissed this action, in part, because Garcia failed to provide witness and exhibit lists and because Garcia failed to appear at the pre-trial conference. However, as to the first reason, Garcia did provide lists of his proposed witnesses and exhibits in his pre-trial report, albeit not at the time and in the format requested by the district court. As to the second, Garcia provided an excuse as to why he was not at the pre-trial conference. Under these circumstances, we conclude that dismissal was an abuse of discretion. See id. at 642-43 (listing factors to consider before dismissing for failure to comply with a court order); Oliva v. Sullivan, 958 F.2d 272, 273 (9th Cir. 1992) ("Because dismissal is a harsh penalty, it should be imposed as a sanction only in extreme circumstances."). Accordingly, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.

Garcia's motion to add district court documents to the appellate record, filed on September 5, 2013, is granted.

REVERSED and REMANDED.


Summaries of

Garcia v. Spokane Cnty.

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
Apr 15, 2014
569 F. App'x 529 (9th Cir. 2014)
Case details for

Garcia v. Spokane Cnty.

Case Details

Full title:NICHOLAS GARCIA, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. SPOKANE COUNTY; et al.…

Court:UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

Date published: Apr 15, 2014

Citations

569 F. App'x 529 (9th Cir. 2014)