Opinion
No. C07-0083RSL.
November 2, 2007
ORDER DISMISSING CASE AS MOOT
This matter comes before the Court on "Defendants' Response to Court's Request for Particularized Information" (Dkt. #17). On September 18, 2007, the Court deferred plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment and denied defendants' motion to dismiss. See Dkt. #16. As part of this order, the Court requested that defendants "provide the Court with particularized information that explains the over two-and-a-half year delay as to plaintiff Sun's name check." Id. at 9. In response, defendants request that the Court dismiss this action as moot because "[o]n October 18, 2007, USCIS fully and favorably adjudicated both Plaintiff Sun's and Plaintiff Zhao's adjustment of status applications." See Dkt. #17 at 2, Ex. A (I-797 Notices of Action).
Mootness is a defect in subject matter jurisdiction because federal courts are empowered only to hear cases and controversies. See U.S. Const. Art. III, § 2; DeFunis v. Odegaard, 416 U.S. 312, 316 (1974); Iron Arrow Honor Society v. Heckler, 464 U.S. 67, 70 (1983). "A case becomes moot whenever it loses its character as a present, live controversy of the kind that must exist if we are to avoid advisory opinions on abstract propositions of law." Cantrell v. City of Long Beach, 241 F.3d 674, 678 (9th Cir. 2001) (internal quotations and citation omitted). An action is moot, and therefore no case or controversy is present, if after initiation of the action the aggrieved party receives the relief sought in the complaint. See DeFunis, 416 at 317.
Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(h)(3), "Whenever it appears by suggestion of the parties or otherwise that the court lacks jurisdiction of the subject matter, the court shall dismiss the action." Here, the notices of action from USCIS show that plaintiffs have been granted the relief requested in their complaint. See Dkt. #1 (Complaint). Accordingly, the issues presented to this Court are no longer "live" and the Court DISMISSES plaintiffs' complaint as MOOT. See Murphy v. Hunt, 455 U.S. 478, 481 (1982) ("In general a case becomes moot when the issues presented are no longer `live' or the parties lack a legal cognizable interest in the outcome.") (internal quotation omitted).