Erika Jacobs v. Twin Cities Development Association, Inc. and Katy A. Reichert

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of Nebraska denied Erika Jacobs’s motion to recuse the judge and her motion for reconsideration of the court’s prior judgment remanding her state-court case. The court held that disagreement with an unfavorable ruling did not establish judicial bias and that Jacobs could not remove her own state-court action to federal court. The court denied as moot her motion for review and duplicate motion for reconsideration.

Holdings

1. The motion to recuse was properly denied because it was not a qualifying affidavit and the plaintiff's allegations, based solely on the court's unfavorable prior ruling, did not demonstrate personal bias or prejudice arising from an extrajudicial source.
2. The plaintiff was not entitled to alter, amend, or obtain relief from the prior judgment because she did not show a manifest error of law or fact, newly discovered evidence, any applicable Rule 60(b) ground, or extraordinary circumstances.
3. The motion requesting review and the duplicate motion for reconsideration were denied as moot because the court had already considered and denied the recusal and reconsideration motions.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the plaintiff's motion established a legally sufficient basis for judicial recusal under 28 U.S.C. § 144.
2. Whether the plaintiff was entitled to relief from the prior judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e) or 60(b).
3. Whether the plaintiff's additional motion requesting review and duplicate motion for reconsideration remained justiciable after the court denied the recusal and reconsideration motions.

Disposition

other