Kenneth Sachs v. James Wees ( 2023 )


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  •                             NOT FOR PUBLICATION                           FILED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS                         AUG 21 2023
    MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
    U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
    KENNETH SACHS,                                   No. 22-16220
    Plaintiff-Appellant,             D.C. No. 2:22-cv-00655-SMB
    v.
    MEMORANDUM*
    JAMES F. WEES,
    Defendant-Appellee.
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the District of Arizona
    Susan M. Brnovich, District Judge, Presiding
    Submitted August 15, 2023**
    Before:      TASHIMA, S.R. THOMAS, and FORREST, Circuit Judges.
    Kenneth Sachs appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment dismissing
    his action alleging federal and state law claims arising out of state child custody
    proceedings. We have jurisdiction under 
    28 U.S.C. § 1291
    . We review de novo a
    district court’s dismissal under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12 on the basis of claim preclusion.
    *
    This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
    except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
    **
    The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
    without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
    Stewart v. U.S. Bancorp, 
    297 F.3d 953
    , 956 (9th Cir. 2002). We affirm.
    The district court properly dismissed Sachs’s action as barred by the doctrine
    of claim preclusion because Sachs raised identical claims in his prior state court
    action, which involved the same parties and resulted in a final judgment on the
    merits. See Noel v. Hall, 
    341 F.3d 1148
    , 1166 (9th Cir. 2003) (federal court must
    follow state’s preclusion rules to determine effect of a state court judgment);
    Peterson v. Newton, 
    307 P.3d 1020
    , 1022 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2013) (setting forth
    elements of claim preclusion under Arizona law); see also Migra v. Warren City
    Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ., 
    465 U.S. 75
    , 81-84 (1984) (preclusive effect applies to
    state court judgments on § 1983 claims).
    The district court did not abuse its discretion by denying leave to amend
    because amendment would have been futile. See Cervantes v. Countrywide Home
    Loans, Inc., 
    656 F.3d 1034
    , 1041 (9th Cir. 2011) (setting forth standard of review
    and explaining that leave to amend may be denied when amendment would be
    futile).
    We do not consider arguments and allegations raised for the first time on
    appeal. See Padgett v. Wright, 
    587 F.3d 983
    , 985 n.2 (9th Cir. 2009).
    AFFIRMED.
    2                                      22-16220