Debra Stefano v. City of Long Beach , 621 F. App'x 404 ( 2015 )


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  •                                                                             FILED
    NOT FOR PUBLICATION                              OCT 23 2015
    MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS                        U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
    DEBRA STEFANO,                                   No. 13-56156
    Plaintiff - Appellant,            D.C. No. 2:10-cv-06202-DSF-JC
    v.
    MEMORANDUM*
    CITY OF LONG BEACH; et al.,
    Defendants - Appellees.
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Central District of California
    Dale S. Fischer, District Judge, Presiding
    Submitted October 14, 2015**
    Before:        SILVERMAN, BERZON, and WATFORD, Circuit Judges.
    Debra Stefano appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment in
    accordance with the terms of a settlement agreement in her 
    42 U.S.C. § 1983
    action. We have jurisdiction under 
    28 U.S.C. § 1291
    . We review for an abuse of
    discretion a decision to enforce a settlement agreement. Kirkland v. Legion Ins.
    *
    This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
    except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
    **
    The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
    without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
    Co., 
    343 F.3d 1135
    , 1140 (9th Cir. 2003). We affirm.
    The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Stefano’s motion to
    set aside the settlement agreement because Stefano failed to establish grounds for
    invalidating the agreement. See Ahern v. Cent. Pac. Freight Lines, 
    846 F.2d 47
    , 48
    (9th Cir. 1988) (district court’s finding that a party consented to a settlement and
    intended to be bound by it must be affirmed unless clearly erroneous); see also 
    Cal. Civ. Code § 1569
     (elements of duress).
    Denial of Stefano’s motion to disqualify her former counsel from continuing
    to represent the other plaintiffs was proper. See Cohn v. Rosenfeld, 
    733 F.2d 625
    ,
    631 (9th Cir. 1984) (this court “will not disturb a district court’s ruling on a motion
    to disqualify counsel if the record reveals any sound basis for the court’s action”
    (citation and internal quotation marks omitted)); Paul E. Iacano Structural Eng’r,
    Inc. v. Humphrey, 
    722 F.2d 435
    , 438 (9th Cir. 1983) (setting forth standard of
    review).
    We do not consider matters not specifically and distinctly raised and argued
    in the opening brief, or arguments and allegations raised for the first time on
    appeal. See Padgett v. Wright, 
    587 F.3d 983
    , 985 n.2 (9th Cir. 2009) (per curiam).
    AFFIRMED.
    2                                      13-56156