FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION MAR 21 2011
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
SOMKHIT NASEE; WISIT KAMPILO; No. 10-35161
BUNSRI NAMETHA,
D.C. No. 2:06-cv-03048-RHW
Plaintiffs - Appellees,
v. MEMORANDUM *
GLOBAL HORIZONS MANPOWER,
INC.; PLATTE RIVER INSURANCE
COMPANY; ACCREDITED SURETY
AND CASUALTY COMPANY, INC.;
VALLEY FRUIT ORCHARDS, LLC;
GREEN ACRE FARMS, INC.,
Defendants,
and
MORDECHAI ORIAN,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Washington
Robert H. Whaley, Senior District Judge, Presiding
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
Submitted March 9, 2011 **
Seattle, Washington
Before: McKEOWN, FISHER, and GOULD, Circuit Judges.
Defendant-Appellant Mordechai Orian appeals the district court’s denial of
his motion for attorney fees. We affirm.
Though the district court unquestionably possessed the power to award
Orian fees, Chambers v. NASCO, Inc., 501 U.S. 32, 43 (1991), Orian has not
shown that a fee award was required by any federal statute or precedent. The
court’s decision not to award fees was not an abuse of discretion. Similarly, the
district court did not abuse its discretion by exercising its inherent power to deny
Orian’s motion for fees brought pursuant to Washington Revised Code
§ 19.30.170(1). See Chambers, 501 U.S. at 55 (holding that a district court’s power
to fashion a sanction under inherent powers trumps state policy to the contrary);
Willy v. Coastal Corp., 503 U.S. 131, 139 (1992) (holding that a district court’s
power to sanction survives lack of subject-matter jurisdiction).
AFFIRMED.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
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