USCA1 Opinion

October 5, 1994
[NOT FOR PUBLICATION]
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
____________________
No. 94-1632
LAWRENCE CURTIN,
Plaintiff, Appellant,
v.
JUDGE VINCENT F. LEAHY,
Defendant, Appellee.
____________________
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
[Hon. Richard G. Stearns, U.S. District Judge]
____________________
Before
Cyr, Boudin and Stahl,
Circuit Judges.
______________
____________________
Lawrence Curtin on brief pro se.
_______________
Scott Harshbarger, Attorney General,

and

Rebecca

P. McInty

__________________
__________________
Assistant Attorney General, on Motion for Summary Affirmance.
____________________
____________________

Per Curiam.
__________
process

in

state

entered against
Appellant

court proceeding

him without

was denied due

because

service ever having

judgment
been made.

claims he did not learn of the judgment until long

after the time

judge

Appellant contends he

to appeal

had expired, and

subsequently refused

reopen the case.

during

Apparently believing

was available within the

the state

court

telephone inquiry
no avenue of

to

relief

state court system, appellant filed

the present civil rights action against the state court judge
and
state

asked

the federal

court

judgment.

appellant's action.

court to
The

enjoin enforcement
district

court

of the

dismissed

We
failed

to

cognizable

affirm

the

dismissal

state a

claim

under

1983.

for

because

deprivation of

Appellant

constitutionality or sufficiency of
for

service

or

setting

appellant

aside

due

has not

has

process

attacked the

Massachusetts procedures
judgments.

Rather,

his

complaint is that these procedures were, or will be, misused.

Massachusetts,

however, affords

errors of the sort

judgment,
such a

720

motion denied.

entered

process.

See
___

with process

improperly,

P. 60(b), and

Massachusetts

F.2d 1020, 1021 (9th

never served

relief from

an appeal, were

therefore provides its

McCulloch v. County of Washoe,

______________________________

Cir. 1983) (even

if plaintiff was

and state court

default judgment

state procedure

for

affords adequate due process; consequently,

to state a claim for relief under
Affirmed.
________

for correcting

alleged through a motion for

Mass. R. Dom. Rel.

litigants due

a procedure

1983).

vacating judgment
plaintiff failed

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