DONNA M. RYU, Magistrate Judge.
Plaintiff Nicole Wilson, proceeding pro se, brings suit to recover damages for various tortious, constitutional, and civil rights violations, as well as to seek review of a decision of the California Court of Appeal. Defendants City of Oakland ("Defendant City") and County of Alameda ("Defendant County") move pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and (6) to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. (See Def. City's Mot. Dismiss [Docket No. 16]; Def. Cnty.'s Mot. Dismiss [Docket No. 17].) Wilson properly served Defendant State of California, [Docket No. 10] but it has not made an appearance in this case and therefore must be treated as a party that has not consented to magistrate judge jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).
On June 15, 2006, an Oakland Police Department Task Force raided Plaintiff's home and arrested her for suspected involvement in the robberies of a store and of an elderly woman. (See Compl. 12, 56.)
On August 24, 2006, the Juvenile Division of the Alameda County Superior Court held an initial hearing and found Plaintiff's son to be a dependent and placed him with a foster family. In re W.W., No. A121180, 2009 WL 691882, at *1 (Cal. Ct. App. Mar. 17, 2009) ("In re W.W. I"). On February 7, 2008, the juvenile court found that Plaintiff had met her burden under the relevant statute and declined to terminate her parental rights. Id.; see also In re W.W., No. A125409, 2010 WL 1858238, at *6 (Cal. Ct. App. May 11, 2010) ("In re W.W. II"). The Court of Appeal affirmed that decision. In re W.W. I, 2009 WL 691882, at *8. On July 7, 2009, in a second case stemming from the June 2006 arrest, the juvenile court found that Plaintiff failed to show a beneficial parent-child relationship and ordered her parental rights terminated. In re W.W. II, 2010 WL 1858238, at *12. The California Court of Appeal affirmed, and the California Supreme Court denied review. See id.
On November 7, 2011, Plaintiff filed a complaint in this Court alleging numerous causes of action against Defendant City, Defendant County, the State of California, CPS,
Defendants City and County each move to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The court held a hearing on February 23, 2012.
A motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) challenges the jurisdiction of the Court over the subject matter of the complaint. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1). "It is elementary that the subject matter jurisdiction of the district court is not a waivable matter," Emrich v. Touche Ross & Co., 846 F.2d 1190, 1194 (9th Cir. 1988), and a federal court is "always `under an independent obligation to examine [its] own jurisdiction,'" Hernandez v. Campbell, 204 F.3d 861, 865 (9th Cir. 2000). A court will dismiss a party's claim for lack of subject matter jurisdiction "only when the claim is so insubstantial, implausible, foreclosed by prior decisions of th[e Supreme] Court, or otherwise completely devoid of merit as not to involve a federal controversy." Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env't, 523 U.S. 83, 89 (1998) (citation and quotation marks omitted); see Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1). When reviewing a 12(b)(1) motion, the court sculpts its approach according to whether the motion is "facial or factual." White v. Lee, 227 F.3d 1214, 1242 (9th Cir. 2000). Facial challenges, such as the ones at bar, assert that "the allegations contained in a complaint are insufficient on their face to invoke federal jurisdiction." Safe Air for Everyone v. Meyer, 373 F.3d 1035, 1039 (9th Cir. 2004).
A motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) tests the sufficiency of the claims alleged in the complaint. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). When reviewing a motion to dismiss for failing to state a claim, the court must "accept as true all of the factual allegations contained in the complaint," Erickson, 551 U.S. at 94, and may dismiss the case "only where there is no cognizable legal theory" or there is an absence of "sufficient factual matter to state a facially plausible claim to relief." Shroyer v. New Cingular Wireless Servs., Inc., 622 F.3d 1035, 1041 (9th Cir. 2010) (citing Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949 (2009)). A claim has facial plausibility when a plaintiff "pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. at 1949 (citation omitted). A complaint filed by a pro se litigant, "`however inartfully pleaded,' must be held to `less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers' and can only be dismissed for failure to state a claim if it appears `beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of [her] claim which would entitle [her] to relief.'" Estelle, 429 U.S. at 106 (quoting Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972)). If the allegations contained in a complaint, for example, show that a relevant statute of limitations bars relief, the complaint is subject to dismissal for failure to state a claim. Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. 199, 215 (2007).
Plaintiff seeks review of the decision of the California Court of Appeal, In re W.W. II, 2010 WL 1858238, affirming the juvenile court's termination of her parental rights. Under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, a federal court cannot exercise subject matter jurisdiction "over a proceeding in `which a party losing in state court' seeks `what in substance would be appellate review of the state judgment in a United States district court, based on the losing party's claim that the state judgment itself violates the loser's federal rights.'" Doe v. Mann, 415 F.3d 1038, 1041 (9th Cir. 2005) (citing Johnson v. De Grandy, 512 U.S. 997, 1005-06 (1994)). Plaintiff's present attempt to collaterally attack the decision of the California Court of Appeal falls squarely within the purview of the doctrine. The court therefore recommends that the District Court dismiss the claim for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
The running of the statute of limitations may properly be raised in a motion to dismiss where its expiration is apparent on the face of the complaint. Jablon v. Dean Witter & Co., 614 F.2d 677, 682 (9th Cir. 1980). Plaintiff's remaining claims are time barred, as the applicable statute of limitations has lapsed on each claim. In California, the statute of limitations for actions arising under § 1983 and the ADA is two years.
Each of Plaintiff's claims dates back to 2006, and she filed her complaint on November 7, 2011. Her claims therefore run afoul of their respective statutes of limitations.
At the hearing, the court asked Plaintiff whether she had brought the lawsuit to challenge anything other than the events surrounding her 2006 arrest and the termination of her parental rights over her son. Plaintiff clearly confirmed that her lawsuit did not challenge any other conduct or events. Although the ability to amend a complaint should be freely given, Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(a), particularly in cases involving pro se plaintiffs, Eldridge v. Block, 832 F.2d 1132, 1135-36 (9th Cir. 1987), any attempt to amend this complaint would be futile. See Carrico v. City & Cnty. of S.F., 656 F.3d 1002, 1008 (9th Cir. 2011) (citing Gordon v. City of Oakland, 627 F.3d 1092, 1094 (9th Cir. 2010)). The complaint cannot be amended in any manner to resurrect any of Plaintiff's claims regarding her 2006 arrest or the loss of her parental rights. For these reasons, the court recommends that Plaintiff's lawsuit be dismissed without leave to amend.
The court orders that the case be reassigned to a District Judge. For the reasons provided above, the court recommends granting Defendants' motions to dismiss and dismissing Plaintiff's complaint without leave to amend. Any party may file objections to this report and recommendation with the district judge within 14 days after being served with a copy. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1); Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(a); N.D. Civ. L.R. 72-2.
IT IS SO RECOMMENDED.