NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS JAN 30 2017
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
LAMONT JOHNSON, No. 12-17393
Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 2:10-cv-02839-GEB-
CKD
v.
WACHOVIA BANK, N.A.; et al., MEMORANDUM*
Defendants-Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of California
Garland E. Burrell, Jr., District Judge, Presiding
Submitted January 18, 2017**
Before: TROTT, TASHIMA, and CALLAHAN, Circuit Judges.
Lamont Johnson appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment dismissing
his action alleging federal and state law claims related to the foreclosure of his
properties. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review for an abuse
of discretion a denial of a motion for leave to file an amended complaint. See
*
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).
Cervantes v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 656 F.3d 1034, 1041 (9th Cir. 2011).
We affirm.
The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Johnson’s motion
for leave to file a second amended complaint because the proposed amendments
would have been futile. See Gardner v. Martino, 563 F.3d 981, 990, 992 (9th Cir.
2009) (no abuse of discretion in denying leave to amend where the proposed
amendment would be futile).
We do not consider matters not specifically and distinctly raised and argued
in the opening brief, or arguments raised for the first time on appeal. See Padgett
v. Wright, 587 F.3d 983, 985 n.2 (9th Cir. 2009); see also Greenwood v. FAA, 28
F.3d 971, 977 (9th Cir. 1994) (“We will not manufacture arguments for an
appellant, and a bare assertion does not preserve a claim . . . .”).
We reject as without merit Johnson’s contentions that the district court
demonstrated bias and failed to afford him sufficient time to submit a proposed
second amended complaint.
Johnson’s request for judicial notice, filed on April 2, 2013, is denied.
AFFIRMED.
2 12-17393