DAMIA BJURLING v. ALEC JOHNSON, et al.
CASE NO. C25-5559JLR
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE
October 31, 2025
ORDER
I. INTRODUCTION
Bеfore the court are (1) Defendant Police Chief Shelby Parker‘s motion to dismiss (MTD (Dkt. # 31)) and Plaintiff Damia Bjurling‘s motions for (2) entry of default against Chief Parker and Defendant Calvin Earl Holder, III, (together, “Defendants“) (Def. Mot. (Dkt. # 34)); (3) joinder of new defendants (MFJ (Dkt. # 39)); (4) a protective order against Chief Parker, (MPO (Dkt. # 44)); and (5) leave to amend her second amended complaint and for sanctions against counsel for non-party Intercity Transit (MTA (Dkt. # 46).). Chief Parker opposes Ms. Bjurling‘s motion for entry of default (Def. Mot. Resp.
II. BACKGROUND
The court set forth much of the factual and procedural background of this matter in its August 8, 2025 order dismissing Ms. Bjurling‘s amended complaint (see, e.g., 8/8/25 Order (Dkt. # 14) at 2-4) and does not repeat that background here except as relevant. On August 10, 2025, Ms. Bjurling filed a second amended complaint against former Defendant Alec Johnson, Chief Parker, and Mr. Holder in which she alleged that Defendants’ joint actions violated her rights under the First, Eighth, Tenth, and Fourteenth Amendments under
On August 11, 2025, the court dismissed Ms. Bjurling‘s claims against Mr. Johnson and directed Ms. Bjurling to serve the filed version of the second amended complaint on Chief Parker and Mr. Holder. (8/11/25 Order (Dkt. # 19) at 3-5.) On August 15, 2025, Ms. Bjurling filed an affidavit stating that she had personally served Chief Parker “[v]ia Postal Service on Council [sic] Mix Sanders Thompson PLLC” on August 15, 2025. (Parker Service Aff. (Dkt. # 25) at 2.) On August 22, 2025, Ms. Bjurling filed an affidavit stating that she had personally served Mr. Holder by first-class mail to his residence on August 20, 2025. (Holder Service Aff. (Dkt. # 26) at 1, 4.)
On September 13, 2025, Ms. Bjurling filed a motion for default judgment, which the cоurt denied because default had not yet been entered against Defendants as required by
On October 9, 2025, Ms. Bjurling filed a motion for injunctive relief3 to prohibit “[Chief] Parker and her agents” from subjecting Ms. Bjurling to civil commitment and to direct the Thurston County Superior Court to comply with federal law. (MPO at 1, 3.) On October 20, 2025, Ms. Bjurling filed a motion to amend her complaint to add claims that “Intercity Transit‘s counsel acted in coordination with or on behalf of Chiеf Parker[]” to retaliate against her and to impose sanctions under
III. ANALYSIS
Below, the court reviews the parties’ motions and addresses each Defendant in turn. In doing so, the court is mindful that Ms. Bjurling is proceeding pro se and, therefore, the court is required to construe her pleadings liberally. See McGuckin v. Smith, 974 F.2d 1050, 1055 (9th Cir. 1992).
A. Chief Shelby Parker
The court first reviews Ms. Bjurling‘s motion for entry of default against Chief Paker and then considers Chief Parker‘s motion to dismiss this action with prejudice pursuant to
1. Ms. Bjurling‘s Motion for Entry of Default Against Chief Parker
An entry of default is appropriate “when a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or otherwise defend.”
Here, it is clear from the face of the service affidavit that Ms. Bjurling did not properly serve Chief Parker. First, Ms. Bjurling, who is a party to this action, signed the affidavit of service. (See Pаrker Service Aff.) Service was thus invalid on this basis alone. See
Second, even if a non-party had signed the affidavit of service, Ms. Bjurling‘s attempted service would still be improper because first class mail is not an authorized method of service. Because Chief Parker is an individual within a judicial district of the United States, she must be served in accordance with
2. Chief Parker‘s Motion to Dismiss
Chief Parker moves to dismiss this action for lack of personal jurisdiction under
To state a claim under
Having reviewed the allegations in the second amended complaint in the light most favorable to Ms. Bjurling, the court concludes that she fails to state a claim against Chief Parker. Ms. Bjurling asserts that she was injured as a result of violations of her constitutiоnal rights under the First, Eighth, Tenth, and Fourteenth Amendments; the separation of powers under Articles I and II; and her statutory rights under the ADA and the FHA. (SAC at 5, 8, 13.) Ms. Bjurling, however, alleges only that Chief Parker, “in a
B. Mr. Holder
The court first considers Ms. Bjurling‘s motion for entry of default against Mr. Holder and thеn reviews her claims against Mr. Holder pursuant to
1. Motion for Entry of Default Against Mr. Holder
The court denies Ms. Bjurling‘s motion for entry of default against Mr. Holder for the same reasons it denied her motion for entry of default against Chief Parker. First, Ms. Bjurling, who is a party to this action, signed the affidavit of service. (See Holder Service Aff.) Service was thus improper on this basis alone.
2. § 1915 Review of Federal Claims against Mr. Holder
Under
The court liberally construes Ms. Bjurling‘s second amended complaint to raise claims against Mr. Holder for violations of the ADA and the FHA in connection with her status as an “adult with autism.” (SAC at 7-8, 13.) Ms. Bjurling fails, however, to plausibly allege that Mr. Holder‘s conduct violated these statutes.
First, to state a claim for disability discrimination under Title II of the ADA,
Second, to state a claim for disability discrimination under Title III of the ADA,
Third, to state a claim for disability discrimination under the FHA, Ms. Bjurling must plausibly allege that: (1) that she is handicapped within the meaning of
Finally, to state a claim for discriminatory harassment under the FHA, Ms. Bjurling must plausibly allege that she was subjected to: (1) severe or pervasive harassment; (2) that was based on a protected characteristic; and (3) that Mr. Holder is responsible for the resulting hostile housing environment. Morris v. W. Hayden Ests. First Addition Homeowners Ass‘n, Inc., 104 F.4th 1128, 1147 (9th Cir. 2024);
Thus, the court dismisses Ms. Bjurling‘s remaining federal claims against Mr. Holder pursuant to
C. Leave to Amend
When granting a motion to dismiss, a district court is generally required to grant the plaintiff leave to amend, even if no request to amend the complaint was made, unless the complaint could not pоssibly be cured by the allegation of other facts. Cook, Perkiss & Liehe, Inc. v. N. California Collection Serv. Inc., 911 F.2d 242, 246-47 (9th Cir. 1990); see also Saul v. United States, 928 F.2d 829, 843 (9th Cir. 1991) (noting that courts in the Ninth Circuit liberally construe
Here, the court has provided Ms. Bjurling both ample guidance and multiple opportunities to amend her claims against Defendants. (See 7/7/25 Order at 4; see also 8/8/25 Order at 3-4.) Because Ms. Bjurling‘s second amended complaint still suffers from the same deficiencies the court identified in its prior orders, the court concludes that Ms. Bjurling could not possibly cure the defects in her complaint by the allegation of other facts and that further leave to amend would be futile. Therefore, the court declines
D. Supplemental Jurisdiction
Whеn a district court has original jurisdiction over a plaintiff‘s federal claims, it also has supplemental jurisdiction to decide related state law claims. See Pell v. Nunez, 99 F.4th 1128, 1135 (9th Cir. 2024) (citing
The court declines to exercise jurisdiction over Ms. Bjurling‘s state-law claims against Defendants. Ms. Bjurling brings a state-law claim against Chief Parker for violation of
E. Joinder of New Defendants
Although
Here, Ms. Bjurling attempts to raise for the first time in her motion for joinder claims against Olympic Health & Recovery Services, Lucy Stern, South Sound Behavioral Hospital, and Providence Health & Services arising out of her past civil commitments. (MFJ at 2 (asserting that these claims arise out of a five-year history of civil commitments).) These new claims, however, do not arise out of the same transaction or occurrence as her claims against Chief Parker and Mr. Holder, nor do they have questions of fact or law in common with those claims. See
F. Injunctive Relief
“A plaintiff seeking a preliminary injunction must show that: (1) she is likely to succeed on the merits, (2) she is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, (3) the balance of equities tips in her favor, and (4) an injunction is in the public interest.” Farris v. Seabrook, 677 F.3d 858, 864 (9th Cir. 2012) (citing Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 20 (2008)). The standard applicable to a motion for a Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO“) is “substantially identical” to the preliminary injunction standard. See Stuhlbarg Int‘l Sales Co. v. John D. Brush & Co., 240 F.3d 832, 839 n.7 (9th Cir. 2001). A TRO is an “extraordinary remedy that may only
Ms. Bjurling‘s petition for a TRO necessarily fails because she has not established that she is likely to succeed on the merits, that she is likely to suffer irreparable harm absent preliminary relief, that the balance of equitiеs weigh in her favor, or that an injunction is in the public interest. To the contrary, none of her federal claims against any Defendants survive this order. Consequently, the court denies Ms. Burling‘s motion for a protective order against Chief Parker.
G. 28 U.S.C. § 1927 Sanctions
A federal district court may impose
The court declines to impose sanctions on counsel for Intercity Transit. Intercity Transit is not a party to this matter (see generally Dkt.), and Ms. Bjurling has not established that its counsel “unreasonably and vexatiously multipl[ied] proceedings in coordination with [Chief Parker].” (MTA at 1.) She also has not shown that counsel acted in bad faith. Barnd, 664 F.2d at 1343. Thus, the court denies her motion for
IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, the court DENIES Ms. Bjurling‘s motion for entry of default (Dkt. # 34); motion for joinder of new defendants (Dkt. # 39); request for injunctive relief (Dkt. # 44); and motion to amend the second amended complaint and impose sanctions against counsel for Intercity Transit (Dkt. # 46); and GRANTS Chief Parker‘s motion to dismiss (Dkt. # 31). The court DISMISSES Ms. Bjurling‘s claims against Chief Parker and Mr. Johnson with prejudice. The court further DECLINES to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the Ms. Bjurling‘s state law claims against Defendants and DISMISSES those claims without prejudice to Ms. Bjurling refiling those claims in state court.
Dated this 31st day of October, 2025.
JAMES L. ROBART
United States District Judge
