Fareed Sepehry-Fard v. Aurora Bank Fsb;

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
FAREED SEPEHRY-FARD,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
AURORA BANK FSB; et al.,
Defendants - Appellees.
No. 13-15307
D.C. No. 5:12-cv-00871-EJD
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of California
Edward J. Davila, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted December 9, 2014**
Before: WALLACE, LEAVY, and BYBEE, Circuit Judges.
Fareed Sepehry-Fard appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment
dismissing his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging constitutional violations arising
out of his mortgage loans. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We
review de novo the district court’s dismissal under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) for
FILED
DEC 18 2014
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
* 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).

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failure to state a claim. Cervantes v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 656 F.3d
1034, 1040 (9th Cir. 2011). We affirm.
The district court properly dismissed Sepehry-Fard’s §§ 1983 and 1985
claims because Sepehry-Fard failed to allege facts sufficient to show that
defendants acted under color of state law. See Anderson v. Warner, 451 F.3d 1063,
1067 (9th Cir. 2006) (to state a claim under § 1983, a plaintiff must allege that a
person “acting under color of state law” committed the conduct at issue); Caldeira
v. County of Kauai, 866 F.2d 1175, 1182 (9th Cir. 1989) (absence of § 1983
deprivation precludes a § 1985 conspiracy claim predicated on same allegations);
see also Apao v. Bank of N.Y., 324 F.3d 1091, 1094-95 (9th Cir. 2003) (nonjudicial
foreclosure was not state action and therefore did not implicate due process).
The court did not abuse its discretion by denying leave to amend because
amendment would have been futile. See Hartmann v. Cal. Dep’t of Corr. &
Rehab., 707 F.3d 1114, 1130 (9th Cir. 2013) (setting forth standard of review and
explaining that “[a] district court may deny leave to amend when amendment
would be futile”).
The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Sepehry-Fard’s
motion to alter or amend judgment because Sepehry-Fard failed to establish any
basis for relief. Sch. Dist. No. 1J, Multnomah Cnty., Or. v. ACandS, Inc., 5 F.3d
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1255, 1262-63 (9th Cir. 1993) (setting forth standard of review and grounds for
relief under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59).
We reject as without merit Sepehry-Fard’s contentions concerning alleged
judicial bias and lack of jurisdiction.
We do not consider matters not specifically and distinctly raised and argued
in the opening brief. See Padgett v. Wright, 587 F.3d 983, 985 n.2 (9th Cir. 2009)
(per curiam).
Sepehry-Fard’s motion to strike the answering brief and for sanctions, filed
November 5, 2014, is denied.
AFFIRMED.
13-15307 3

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