Community National v. Kelleher

Case Date: 03/16/1994
Court: United States Court of Appeals
Docket No: 93-2181



March 16, 1994 [NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
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No. 93-2181


COMMUNITY NATIONAL BANK, ET AL.,
Plaintiff, Appellees,

v.

CENTERPOINT BANK, ET AL.,
Defendants, Appellees,
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REGINA M. KELLEHER,
Intervenor Plaintiff-Appellant.
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APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
[Hon. Paul J. Barbadoro, U.S. District Judge]
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Before
Breyer, Chief Judge,
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Torruella and Boudin, Circuit Judges.
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Regina M. Kelleher on brief pro se.
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Martha V. Gordon, Nelson, Kinder, Mosseau & Gordon on brief
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for appellee.

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Per Curiam. Plaintiff/appellant Regina M.
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Kelleher, appeals, pro se, the dismissal of her second

amended civil complaint by the district court. The complaint

alleges a violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt

Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. 1961-1968, and a

pendent state law claim for tortious interference with

business relations. The district court dismissed the

complaint on the grounds that plaintiff lacks standing to

assert a RICO claim.

We have reviewed the parties' briefs and the record

below and affirm for essentially the reasons stated in the

district court's order. We add that although the district

court did not specifically address the pendent state claim in

its order, the court's blanket dismissal seemingly

encompasses all claims in the second amended complaint. The

district court appropriately dismissed the pendent claim

without reaching the merits. As the Supreme Court has held,

"when the federal-law claims have dropped out of the lawsuit

in its early stages, and only state-law claims remain, the

federal court should decline the exercise of jurisdiction by

dismissing the case without prejudice." Carnegie-Mellon
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Univ. v. Cohill, 484 U.S. 343, 350 (1988); see also United
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Mine Workers v. Gibbs, 383 U.S. 715, 726 (1966).
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Affirmed.
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