Roundtree v. Phoenix Suns LP et al

Filing 8

ORDER granting 2 Plaintiff's Application/Motion for Leave to Proceed In Forma Pauperis. Plaintiff's complaint (Doc. 1 ) is dismissed for failure to state a claim. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED denying 3 Plaintiff's Motion to allow electronic filing and denying 4 Plaintiff's Motion for service by the Marshal Service. The Clerk is directed to terminate this action. Signed by Judge David G Campbell on 5/15/14.(LSP)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

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Sean Alex Roundtree,
Plaintiff,

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ORDER

v.

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No. CV-14-00929-PHX-DGC

Phoenix Suns LP, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Pro se Plaintiff Sean Alex Roundtree has filed a complaint against more than 125

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defendants. Doc. 1. He has also filed a motion to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”)

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(Doc. 2), a motion to allow electronic filing (Doc. 3), and a motion for service by the

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U.S. Marshal Service (Doc. 4). The Court will grant his application for IFP status, screen

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his complaint, dismiss the complaint, and deny his other motions.

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I.

Motion for IFP Status.

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Plaintiff attaches an affidavit on a court-approved form which suggests that he

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receives a total monthly income of $1,380.90, that he has monthly expenses totaling

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$1,375.00, and that he is currently totally disabled. His motion for IFP status will be

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granted.

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II.

Legal Standard.

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In IFP proceedings, a district court “shall dismiss the case at any time if the court

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determines that . . . the action . . . fails to state a claim on which relief can be granted[.]”

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28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). Although much of § 1915 concerns prisoner litigation, § 1915(e)

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applies to all IFP proceedings. Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1126 n.7 (9th Cir. 2000)

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(en banc). “Section 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) . . . allows a district court to dismiss[] sua sponte

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. . . a complaint that fails to state a claim[.]” Id. at 1130. “It is also clear that section

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1915(e) not only permits but requires a district court to dismiss an in forma pauperis

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complaint that fails to state a claim.” Id. at 1127.

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Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that “[a] pleading that

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states a claim for relief must contain . . . a short and plain statement of the claim showing

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that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). This short and plain statement

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“need not contain detailed factual allegations; rather, it must plead ‘enough facts to state

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a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Clemens v. DaimlerChrysler Corp., 534

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F.3d 1017, 1022 (9th Cir.2008) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570

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(2007)); see also Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (“The plausibility

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standard . . . asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted

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unlawfully.”).

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presumption of truthfulness and “conclusory allegations of law and unwarranted

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inferences are not sufficient.” Pareto v. F.D.I.C., 139 F.3d 696, 699 (9th Cir.1998).

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III.

Legal conclusions couched as factual allegations are not given a

Plaintiff's Complaint.

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This is the fourth time Plaintiff has sought to pursue this case. Similar complaints

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have been filed before three other district judges in this Court. All have been dismissed.

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See Roundtree v. Phoenix Suns LP, et al., No. CV 14-438-PHX-NVW (D. Ariz.,

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March 11, 2014); Roundtree v. Colangelo, et al., No. CV 12-2044-PHX-JAT (D. Ariz.,

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Nov. 6, 2012); Roundtree v. Colangelo, et al., No. CV 12-1491-PHX-GMS (D. Ariz.,

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Aug. 6, 2012). Plaintiff’s 146-page complaint, consisting of 678 paragraphs, suffers from

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many of the defects identified by the other judges. It contains a narrative of events in

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Plaintiff’s life and troubles associated with a career-ending sports injury from 1993

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through the present day.

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racketeering of the more than 125 Defendants deprived him of a career in the NFL. He

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sues former sports teams, corporations, doctors, nurses, lawyers, and the Industrial

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Commission of Arizona, asserting some 22 claims.

Plaintiff alleges that the actions, civil conspiracies, and

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The complaint does not put Defendants on notice of the claims asserted against

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them or how their actions allegedly harmed Plaintiff. See, e.g., McHenry v. Renne, 84

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F.3d 1172, 1177 (9th Cir. 1996) (affirming dismissal where complaint “failed properly to

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notify the individual defendants of the legal claims they faced”). The 22 claims typically

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include a long list of Defendants and allege that their actions caused various harms and

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legal wrongs, without specifying the actions by each Defendant that led to the harms or

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legal wrongs. The rambling and lengthy factual allegations do not comply with Rule 8’s

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requirement of a short and plain statement of the claim. Id. (noting that “the complaint in

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the case at bar is argumentative, prolix, replete with redundancy, and largely irrelevant

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[and] consists largely of immaterial background information”). Nor has Plaintiff alleged

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facts showing more than “a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.”

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Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. Because the complaint fails to state a claim, the Court will

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dismiss it.

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IV.

Leave to Amend.

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“A pro se litigant must be given leave to amend his or her complaint unless it is

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absolutely clear that the deficiencies of the complaint could not be cured by amendment.”

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Karim-Panahi v. L.A. Police Dep’t, 839 F.2d 621, 623 (9th Cir. 1988). However, “[a]

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district court does not err in denying leave to amend where the amendment would be

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futile.” Gardner v. Martino, 563 F.3d 981, 990 (9th Cir. 2009) (citing Thinket Ink Info.

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Res., Inc. v. Sun Microsystems, Inc., 368 F.3d 1053, 1061 (9th Cir.2004)). “When a

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proposed amendment would be futile, there is no need to prolong the litigation by

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permitting further amendment.” Chaset v. Fleer/Skybox Int'l, LP, 300 F.3d 1083, 1088

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(9th Cir. 2002) (affirming trial court’s denial of leave to amend where plaintiffs could not

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cure a basic flaw).

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Plaintiff has filed four cases in federal court asserting claims based on the same

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wrongs and the same core of facts related to his career-ending injury. The Court does not

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doubt that Plaintiff feels strongly about these events, but he has repeatedly failed to state

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a claim. Previous judges have provided guidance for Plaintiff’s re-filing of his claim and

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have granted leave to amend. See CV 14-438-PHX-NVW Doc. 5; CV 12-2044-PHX-

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JAT Doc. 9. Each time, Plaintiff has not amended his complaint, but instead has revised

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the complaint and filed a new action. Through the four lawsuits commenced since 2012,

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Plaintiff clearly has received a fair opportunity to plead his case.

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unsuccessful filings make clear that any additional leave to amend would be futile. The

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Court cannot justify devoting further federal court resources to Plaintiff’s claims, and

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therefore will not grant leave to amend.

His recurring

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IT IS ORDERED:

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Plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma pauperis (Doc. 2) is granted.

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2.

Plaintiff’s complaint (Doc. 1) is dismissed for failure to state a claim.

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3.

Plaintiff’s motion to allow electronic filing (Doc. 3) is denied.

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4.

Plaintiff’s motion for service by the Marshal Service (Doc. 4) is denied.

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The Clerk is directed to terminate this action.

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Dated this 15th day of May, 2014.

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