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WO 

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 

Richard Rynn, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

Gregory A. McKay, et al., 

Defendants. 

No. CV-18-00414-PHX-JJT

ORDER 

 At issue are three Motions to Dismiss (Docs. 61, 62, 64) filed by the remaining 

Defendants in this matter, as well as a Motion for Summary Adjudication (Doc. 70). The 

Court resolves the Motions without oral argument. See LRCiv 7.2(f). 

 The Court previously entered an Order (Doc. 59) dismissing all of the claims in 

Plaintiff’s Complaint but granting Plaintiff leave to amend certain claims. Plaintiff then 

filed a First Amended Complaint (Doc. 60, FAC), which all remaining Defendants now 

seek to dismiss (Docs. 61, 62, 64). 

 Plaintiff requested an extension of time (Doc. 67) to respond to the Motion to 

Dismiss filed by EMPACT Suicide Prevention Center (Doc. 61), which the Court granted 

(Doc. 68), and Plaintiff then filed a Response (Doc. 69) to EMPACT’s Motion to 

Dismiss. Because the Court will grant EMPACT’s Motion, it did not await a Reply. 

 Plaintiff did not timely file a Response to the Motions to Dismiss filed by the State 

Defendants (Doc. 62) or the Quail Run Defendants (Doc. 64), and the Court will 

therefore grant those Motions both under LRCiv 7.2(i) and because Plaintiff failed to cure 
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the defects identified in the Court’s prior Order. The Court will therefore dismiss the 

claims against the State Defendants and the Quail Run Defendants with prejudice and 

grant the Quail Run Defendants’ Motion for Summary Adjudication (Doc. 70). 

 With regard to Plaintiff’s remaining claims against EMPACT, the Court found in 

its prior Order (Doc. 59) that Plaintiff’s claims in the Complaint failed because, among 

other reasons, (1) Plaintiff did not make any allegation as to an action taken by EMPACT 

that would give rise to a claim, plainly failing to meet the pleading requirements of 

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8; and (2) Plaintiff did not allege any facts to show that 

EMPACT is a state actor, as required to sustain a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against it. 

 In the FAC, Plaintiff has done nothing to cure these defects. As in the original 

Complaint, the sole allegation even implicating EMPACT is that one of its employees 

“asked to keep M.R. for three more days.” (FAC ¶ 16.) As the Court stated in its prior 

Order, this is wholly insufficient to support Plaintiff’s claims, and, considering Plaintiff 

did not even begin to cure the defects in his claims when given the opportunity, the Court 

will now dismiss those claims with prejudice. 

The Court also notes that Plaintiff did not state a federal claim in the Complaint 

and again failed to state a § 1983 claim against EMPACT in the FAC, and the Court finds 

that Plaintiff cannot plausibly cure the defect in his § 1983 claim by amendment. Without 

that federal question claim and considering that diversity jurisdiction is clearly lacking, 

the Court also lacks subject matter jurisdiction over Plaintiff’s state law claims. See 28 

U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1332. The United States Supreme Court has stated that a federal court 

must not disregard or evade the limits on its subject matter jurisdiction. Owen Equip. & 

Erections Co. v. Kroger, 437 U.S. 365, 374 (1978). Thus, a federal court is obligated to 

inquire into its subject matter jurisdiction in each case and to dismiss a case when subject 

matter jurisdiction is lacking. See Valdez v. Allstate Ins. Co., 372 F.3d 1115, 1116 (9th 

Cir. 2004); Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3). To proceed in federal court, a plaintiff must allege 

enough in the complaint for the court to conclude it has subject matter jurisdiction. See 

Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a); Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, 5 Fed. Practice & 
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Procedure § 1206 (3d ed. 2014). In the FAC, Plaintiff has failed to show that the Court 

has subject matter jurisdiction over his claims, and the Court must dismiss Plaintiff’s 

claims for this additional reason. 

 IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED granting Defendant EMPACT-Suicide 

Prevention Center, an Arizona Nonprofit Corporation’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 61). 

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED granting the State Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss 

(Doc. 62). 

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED granting Defendants Quail Run Behavioral Health 

and Candy Zammit, et ux.’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 64). 

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED granting Defendants Quail Run Behavioral Health 

and Candy Zammit, et ux.’s Motion for Adjudication of their Motion to Dismiss 

(Doc.70). 

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that all of Plaintiff’s claims in the First Amended 

Complaint (Doc. 60) are dismissed with prejudice. 

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED directing the Clerk of Court to enter judgment 

accordingly and close this case.

 Dated this 6th day of November, 2018. 

Honorable John J. Tuchi

United States District Judge