Opinion ID: 781205
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Dismissal of Federal Claims

Text: 22 The debtors contend that the bankruptcy court shouldn't have dismissed their § 1983 claim, but never argue that the bases for the November 1996 dismissal under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6)—failure to state a claim and the running of the statute of limitations—were incorrect. Instead, they argue only that the bankruptcy court didn't adequately consider the facts in dismissing the federal claims for failure to prosecute under Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(b). 23 Application of California's one-year statute of limitations to the debtors' § 1983 claim was proper. See Wilson v. Garcia, 471 U.S. 261, 276-80, 105 S.Ct. 1938, 85 L.Ed.2d 254 (1985) (holding that state statutes of limitation apply to § 1983 claims); Alexopulos v. San Francisco Unified Sch. Dist., 817 F.2d 551, 554 (9th Cir.1987) (noting that § 1983 claims are governed by California's one-year statute of limitations); Cal.Code Civ. P. § 340(3) (2002). Furthermore, the debtors' § 1983 takings claim fails for the simple reason that they have no right to be compensated at all, let alone justly. 24 In 1996, the bankruptcy court allowed leave to amend the federal RICO claim. On appeal in 1997, the district court allowed the debtors twenty days to amend their complaint. In August 2000, the bankruptcy court dismissed any remaining federal claims for failure to prosecute, on the grounds that the debtors failed to comply with the district court's order. 25 In deciding whether to dismiss an action under Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(b), made applicable to this proceeding by Fed. R. Bankr.P. 7041, the court weighs five factors: (1) the public's interest in expeditious resolution of litigation; (2) the court's need to manage its docket; (3) the risk of prejudice to the defendants; (4) the public policy favoring disposition of cases on their merits; and (5) the availability of less drastic sanctions. Al-Torki v. Kaempen, 78 F.3d 1381, 1384(9th Cir.1996) (quoting Henderson v. Duncan, 779 F.2d 1421, 1423 (9th Cir.1986)). 26 The debtors argue that the district court, in setting forth a twenty-day period by which to amend the complaint, was simply stating a permissive rather than a mandatory time period. We disagree. Years passed, during which time the bankruptcy court asked incredulously whether debtors planned to amend their complaint and the debtors answered no. The bankruptcy court did not err in dismissing the federal claims for failure to prosecute. 27