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BARROGA v. BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION OF CALIFORNIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM (2021)

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.2021-02-23No. No. 19-17418

Summary

Holding. The district court's judgment was affirmed, upholding both the dismissal on claim preclusion grounds and the vexatious litigant designation with pre-filing review requirements.

Lucio Barroga appealed a federal district court dismissal of his lawsuit seeking relief related to California Public Employees' Retirement System pension benefits. The court found that Barroga's federal claims were barred by claim preclusion because he had already raised the same legal issue in a prior administrative proceeding or state court case that resulted in a final judgment on the merits. Under California law, prior administrative decisions have the same binding effect as state court judgments when the administrative process had sufficient judicial characteristics.

The district court also properly designated Barroga as a vexatious litigant and imposed a pre-filing review order requiring court approval before he could file future lawsuits. Barroga's various arguments contesting the judgment's validity and the district court's conduct were rejected as lacking merit, as was his motion for judgment on the pleadings.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Application of claim preclusion doctrine to bar duplicate federal pension benefits claims
  • Binding effect of prior administrative proceedings under California law in federal court
  • Standards for designating a litigant as vexatious and imposing pre-filing review orders

Procedural posture

Barroga appealed pro se from a district court judgment dismissing his federal action for pension benefits and designating him a vexatious litigant.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Lucio A. Barroga appeals pro se from the district courts judgment dismissing his action alleging federal claims related to pension benefits from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo a dismissal on the basis of claim preclusion. Stewart v. U.S. Bancorp, 297 F.3d 953, 956 (9th Cir. 2002). We affirm.

The district court properly dismissed Barrogas action on the basis of claim preclusion because the action involved the same primary right raised in a prior administrative proceeding or state court case that resulted in a final judgment on the merits. See San Diego Police Officers’ Assn v. San Diego City Emps.’ Ret. Sys., 568 F.3d 725, 734 (9th Cir. 2009) (federal court must follow states preclusion rules to determine effect of a state court judgment; discussing elements of claim preclusion under California law); see also White v. City of Pasadena, 671 F.3d 918, 927 (9th Cir. 2012) (under California law, a prior administrative decision is “binding in later civil actions to the same extent as a state court decision if the administrative proceeding possessed the requisite judicial character” (citation and internal quotation marks omitted)).

The district court did not abuse its discretion by declaring Barroga a vexatious litigant and entering a pre-filing review order against him because all of the requirements for entering a pre-filing review order were met. See Ringgold-Lockhart v. County of Los Angeles, 761 F.3d 1057, 1062 (9th Cir. 2014) (setting forth standard of review and requirements for pre-filing review orders).

We reject as without merit Barrogas contentions that the judgment is void, the district court obstructed justice or otherwise acted improperly, and defendants request for extension of time to respond to the complaint was untimely.

Barrogas motion for judgment on the pleadings is denied.

AFFIRMED.