Case Name: Kirk R. ERICHSEN, an individual; et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. COUNTY OF ORANGE; et al., Defendants-Appellees
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2017-02-17
Citations: 677 F. App'x 379
Docket Number: No. 16-55763
Parties: Kirk R. ERICHSEN, an individual; et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. COUNTY OF ORANGE; et al., Defendants-Appellees.
Judges: Before: D.W. NELSON, TALLMAN, and N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 677
Pages: 379–381

Head Matter:
Kirk R. ERICHSEN, an individual; et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. COUNTY OF ORANGE; et al., Defendants-Appellees.
No. 16-55763
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
Submitted February 14, 2017 Pasadena, California
Filed February 17, 2017
Kirk R. Erichsen, Pro Se
Krystal Erichsen, Pro Se
Chandler Parker, Esquire, Attorney, Ivie McNeill <& Wyatt, Los Angeles, CA, for Plaintiffs-Appellants
Roberta A. Kraus, Daniel Kevin Sprad-lin, Esquire, Attorney, Jeanne L. Tollison, Woodruff, Spradlin & Smart, Costa Mesa, CA, for Defendants-Appellees County of Orange, Orange County Social Services Agency, Tustin Police Department, Michael Riley, Wallace Miller, Gary King, Scott Jordan
Daniel Kevin Spradlin, Esquire, Attorney, Jeanne L. Tollison, Woodruff, Sprad-lin & Smart, Costa Mesa, CA, for Defendants-Appellees Curtis Vaughn, Ryan Coe
Daniel Kevin Spradlin, Esquire, Attorney, Woodruff, Spradlin & Smart, Costa Mesa, CA, for Defendant-Appellee Orangewood Children’s Foundation
Cary K. Quan, Esquire, Attorney, Michael Declues, Esquire, Attorney, Declues, Burkett & Thompson, LLP, Huntington Beach, CA, Gregory Anthony Wille, De-clues & Burkett, LLP, Huntington Beach, CA, for Defendant-Appellee Tustin Unified School District
Tim J. Harris, Attorney, Charlston, Re-vich & Wollitz LLP, Los Angeles, CA, for Defendants-Appellees Law Offices of Harold Laflamme, Linda M. O’Neil
Wendy Shapero, Attorney, Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, Los Angeles, CA, for Defendant-Appellee Los Angeles Police Department
Jack C. Nick, Esquire, Prindle Amaro Goetz Hillyard Barnes & Reinholtz LLP, Long Beach, CA, for Defendant-Appellee Equity Residential
Roberta A. Kraus, Jeanne L. Tollison, Woodruff, Spradlin & Smart, Costa Mesa, CA, for Defendants-Appellees Jill Bright, Debbie Nita, Maureen Naganuma
Cary K. Quan, Esquire, Attorney, De-clues, Burkett & Thompson, LLP, Huntington Beach, CA, Gregory Anthony Wille, Declues & Burkett, LLP, Huntington Beach, CA, for Defendants-Appellees Tracey Vander Haden, Molly S. Murphy
Before: D.W. NELSON, TALLMAN, and N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judges.
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).

Opinion:
MEMORANDUM
Appellants challenge the district court's denial of their ex parte application for a temporary restraining order ("TRO") in which they sought to (1) enjoin state court child dependency proceedings and the enforcement of related protective custody and arrest warrants, and (2) stay all discovery in federal court. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1), and we AFFIRM.
First, we note that the district court properly determined Appellants failed to meet the threshold requirement for ex parte relief because they did not establish they were "without fault in creating the crisis that requires ex parte relief." Mission Power Eng'g Co. v. Cont'l Cas. Co., 883 F.Supp. 488, 492 (C.D. Cal. 1995). The district court also correctly concluded that Appellants' requested relief was procedurally improper because Appellants were essentially using their application for a TRO to challenge the magistrate judge's ruling that Kirk and Krystal Erichsen (the "Eri-chsens") were required to appear for their depositions.
Second, the district court did not err in denying the application for a TRO on the basis of the Rooker-Feldman doctrine and Younger abstention. There is some question as to whether all of the state court proceedings had concluded when Appellants filed this action in federal court. To the extent that the state court proceedings were ongoing, the district court properly held that Younger abstention required denial of the TRO application. See San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce Political Action Comm. v. City of San Jose, 546 F.3d 1087, 1092 (9th Cir. 2008). However, to the extent that the state court proceedings had concluded, then the Rook-er-Feldman doctrine precluded district court review because Appellants were "state-court losers complaining of injuries caused by state-court judgments rendered before the [federal] district court proceedings commenced," and were "inviting district court review and rejection of those judgments." Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Saudi Basic Indus. Corp., 544 U.S. 280, 284, 125 S.Ct. 1517, 161 L.Ed.2d 454 (2005); see Lacy-Curry v. Alameda Cty. Soc. Servs. Agency, 262 Fed.Appx. 9, 10 (9th Cir. 2007).
Finally, we decline to exercise pendant jurisdiction over the separate question of whether the district court abused its discretion in ordering the Erichsens to appear in person for their depositions. The district court's denial of the TRO application is not inextricably intertwined with its order regarding the Erichsens' appearance at their depositions. Melendres v. Arpaio, 695 F.3d 990, 996 (9th Cir. 2012). Nor does the issue of whether the Erichsens were required to appear at their depositions "eall[ ]' into question the district court's authority to rule" on the Erichsens' application for a TRO. Id. at 996-97 (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).
AFFIRMED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.