FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION AUG 10 2011
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
STEVEN LEE SMITH, No. 10-55393
Plaintiff - Appellant, D.C. No. 3:09-cv-02254-LAB-
BLM
v.
CITY OF SAN DIEGO, a municipal MEMORANDUM *
corporation; et al.,
Defendants - Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of California
Larry A. Burns, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted August 2, 2011 **
Before: RYMER, IKUTA, and N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judges.
Steven Lee Smith appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment
dismissing his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging that city officials violated his First
Amendment right to petition the government by refusing to accept further in-
*
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).
person complaints concerning purported zoning and municipal code violations
after Smith had lodged numerous complaints on the same matter. We have
jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo a dismissal under Fed. R.
Civ. P. 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, Corrie v. Caterpillar, Inc.,
503 F.3d 974, 979 (9th Cir. 2007), and we affirm.
The district court properly dismissed Smith’s action because it is devoid of
merit given that Smith had sufficient opportunities to submit complaints to
defendants, and the action appears to be an attempt to obtain federal jurisdiction to
review prior state and local proceedings concerning Smith’s complaints. See Steel
Co. v. Citizens for a Better Env’t, 523 U.S. 83, 89 (1998) (a claim may be
dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction if it appears to be made for the
purpose of obtaining jurisdiction or is wholly devoid of merit); Jones v. N.C.
Prisoners’ Labor Union, Inc., 433 U.S. 119, 131 n.6 (1977) (the restriction of
some avenues for petitioning the government does not violate the First
Amendment).
Smith’s motion to expedite this appeal is denied as moot.
AFFIRMED.
2 10-55393