Patty Lovaas v. United States Forest Service

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
** The Honorable Barry Ted Moskowitz, United States District Judge for the
Southern District of California, sitting by designation.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
PATTY LOVAAS,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v.
UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE,
Defendant - Appellee.
No. 08-35987
D.C. No. 2:07-cv-00071-RKS
MEMORANDUM *
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Montana
Keith Strong, Magistrate Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted November 2, 2009
Portland, Oregon
Before: FISHER and PAEZ, Circuit Judges, and MOSKOWITZ, District Judge.**
Lovaas appeals from the district court’s order dismissing her amended
complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. We have jurisdiction under
28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review the order de novo, see Nuclear Info. & Res. Service
FILED
NOV 16 2009
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

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v. United States Dept. of Transp., 457 F.3d 956, 958 (9th Cir. 2006), and we
affirm.
The district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear Lovaas’ abuse of
process claim because she did not allege the misuse of legal process, which
requires the involvement of a court. See Hughes v. Lynch, 164 P.3d 913, 919
(Mont. 2008); see also Prosser and Keeton on the Law of Torts § 121, at 898 (5th
ed. 1984) (“[I]t is clear that the judicial process must in some manner be
involved.”); Restatement (Second) of Torts § 682.
Lovaas abandoned her other claims at oral argument.
AFFIRMED.

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