Joel David Joseph v. American General Life Insurance Company

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
JOEL DAVID JOSEPH,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
AMERICAN GENERAL LIFE
INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendant-Appellee.
No. 20-56213
D.C. No. 3:20-cv-00831-GPC-DEB
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of California
Gonzalo P. Curiel, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted August 17, 2021**
Before: SILVERMAN, CHRISTEN, and LEE, Circuit Judges.
Joel David Joseph appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment
dismissing his diversity action stemming from his father’s life insurance policy.
We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo. Cervantes v.
* 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). Joseph’s requests for oral
argument, set forth in the opening and reply briefs, are denied.
FILED
AUG 25 2021
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

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2 20-56213
Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 656 F.3d 1034, 1040 (9th Cir. 2011) (dismissal
under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)); Mpoyo v. Litton Electro-Optical
Sys., 430 F.3d 985, 987 (9th Cir. 2005) (dismissal on the basis of res judicata). We
affirm.
The district court properly dismissed Joseph’s action because Joseph’s
claims were raised, or could have been raised, in Joseph’s prior federal action
between the parties that resulted in a final judgment on the merits. See id. at 987-
88 (setting forth elements of res judicata, and explaining this court’s transaction
test used to determine whether two suits share a common nucleus of operative
fact).
AFFIRMED.

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