Brittany v. Archuleta Family Reunion

Filing 4

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Gregory G. Hollows on 8/15/2016 DENYING 2 Plaintiff's request to proceed in forma pauperis, without prejudice to its renewal with all entries on the application form completed; if plaintiff files a proper IFP application, she must also file an amended complaint; plaintiff must file her completed IFP application and amended complaint within 30 days of the date of this order. (Reader, L)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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MICHALLA ALFARO BRITTANY,

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Plaintiff,

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No. 2:16-cv-01468 TLN GGH (PS)

v.

ORDER

ARCHULETA FAMILY REUNION,

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Defendant.

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Plaintiff is proceeding in this action in pro se. This matter was accordingly referred to the

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undersigned by Eastern District of California Local Rule (“Local Rule”) 302(c)(21). Plaintiff has

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requested leave to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915. ECF No. 2. The

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request will be denied because (1) the affidavit fails to provide the required information, and (2)

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the complaint, in its current form, is frivolous.
DEFICIENCY IN THE IFP APPLICATION

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Plaintiff’s Application indicates that she has received money from rent payments, interest

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or dividends, pensions, annuities or life insurance payments, disability or workers compensation

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payments, and gifts or inheritances, ECF 2 at 1, but does not set for the amounts. In addition, she

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answer “Yes” to the question whether she owns any real estate, stocks, bonds, securities, other

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financial instruments, automobiles or any other thing of value, but neither described the property

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nor stated its value. ECF 2 at 2. Without the requested income information, the court cannot

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determine if plaintiff meets the requirements for filing IFP.1

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SCREENING

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Where “plaintiff’s claim appears to be frivolous on the face of the complaint,” the district

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court may “deny[] plaintiff leave to file in forma pauperis.” O’Loughlin v. Doe, 920 F.2d 614,

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617 (9th Cir. 1990). Plaintiffs must assist the court in making this determination by drafting their

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complaint so that it complies with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“Fed. R. Civ. P.”). The

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Federal Rules of Civil Procedure are available online at www.uscourts.gov/rules-

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policies/currentrules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure.

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Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“Fed.R.Civ.P.”), the complaint must contain

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(1) a “short and plain statement” of the basis for federal jurisdiction (that is, the reason the case is

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filed in this court, rather than in a state court), (2) a short and plain statement showing that

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plaintiff is entitled to relief (that is, who harmed the plaintiff, and in what way), and (3) a demand

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for the relief sought. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). Plaintiff’s claims must be set forth simply, concisely

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and directly. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(d)(1). Forms are available to help pro se plaintiffs organize their

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complaint in the proper way. They are available at the Clerk’s Office, 501 I Street, 4th Floor

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(Rm. 4-200), Sacramento, CA 95814, or online at www.uscourts.gov/forms/pro-se-forms.

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A claim is legally frivolous when it lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact.

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Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989). In reviewing a complaint under this standard, the

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court will (1) accept as true all of the factual allegations contained in the complaint, unless they

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are clearly baseless or fanciful, (2) construe those allegations in the light most favorable to the

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plaintiff, and (3) resolve all doubts in the plaintiff’s favor. See Neitzke, supra, 490 U.S. at 327;

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Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007); Von Saher v. Norton Simon Museum of Art at

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Pasadena, 592 F.3d 954, 960 (9th Cir. 2010); Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 340 (9th Cir. 2010).

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However, the court need not accept as true, legal conclusions cast in the form of factual

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The court notes that plaintiff has been notified of the same deficiency in an earlier filed
Application. See Michalla Alfaro Brittany v. Wells Fargo Bank NA, 2:16-cv-1351 TLN CKD PS
at ECF No. 4 (Order).
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allegations, or allegations that contradict matters properly subject to judicial notice. See Western

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Mining Council v. Watt, 643 F.2d 618, 624 (9th Cir. 1981); Sprewell v. Golden State Warriors,

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266 F.3d 979, 988 (9th Cir.), as amended, 275 F.3d 1187 (2001).

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Pro se pleadings are held to a less stringent standard than those drafted by lawyers.

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Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972). Pro se complaints are construed liberally and may

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only be dismissed if it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support

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of her claim which would entitle her to relief. A pro se litigant is entitled to notice of the

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deficiencies in the complaint and an opportunity to amend, unless the complaint’s deficiencies

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could not be cured by amendment. See Noll v. Carson, 808 F.2d 1446, 1448 (9th Cir. 1987).

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A.

The Complaint
The complaint alleges that someone other than the defendant is using her personal car club

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identification and she doesn’t want anyone to use her name or her car club identification.

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Without any information about how the named defendant has any relation to the apparent injury

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plaintiff claims she has not stated a claim against it. Further, these two cryptic allegations do not

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state any basis for the plaintiff to bring this matter to a federal court of limited jurisdiction. In

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order to proceed in this court the plaintiff must explicitly state the basis for jurisdiction. See 28

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U.S.C. § 1330. Plaintiff did not do so and what is before the court at this point demonstrates that

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she is unlikely to be able to do so if given leave to amend the Complaint.

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In sum, the Complaint does not contain a short and plain statement of plaintiff’s “claims,”

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or any “claim” at all, that show she is entitled to relief. Although the Federal Rules of Civil

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Procedure adopt a flexible pleading policy, a complaint must give the defendant fair notice of the

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plaintiffs’ claims and must allege facts that state the elements of each claim plainly and

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succinctly. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2); Jones v. Community Redev. Agency, 733 F.2d 646, 649 (9th

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Cir. 1984). “A pleading that offers ‘labels and conclusions’ or ‘a formulaic recitation of the

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elements of cause of action will not do.’ Nor does a complaint suffice if it tenders ‘naked

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assertions’ devoid of ‘further factual enhancements.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S.662, 678 (2009)

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(quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 557 (2007)). Nonetheless, although

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based on the present allegations, the undersigned does not believe plaintiff will ever state a valid

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claim, in an abundance of caution, the court will permit the plaintiff to amend her complaint.

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AMENDING THE COMPLAINT

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Since plaintiff is being given the opportunity to amend her complaint the court will

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provide guidance for that amendment.
An amended complaint must contain a short and plain statement of the basis for federal

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jurisdiction. If plaintiffs claim “diversity” jurisdiction based upon their Oregon citizenship, they

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must allege their Oregon address, or if none, they must allege their basis for asserting Oregon

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citizenship. The state citizenship of the defendant(s) must be alleged. If plaintiff claims “federal

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question” jurisdiction, she must allege what federal constitutional provisions or federal statutes

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she bases her claims upon.

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An amended complaint must contain a short and plain statement of plaintiffs’ claims. The

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allegations of the complaint must be set forth in sequentially numbered paragraphs, with each

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paragraph number being one greater than the one before, each paragraph having its own number,

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and no paragraph number being repeated anywhere in the complaint. Each paragraph should be

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limited “to a single set of circumstances” where possible. Fed. R. Civ. P. 10(b). Forms are

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available to help plaintiffs organize their complaint in the proper way. They are available at the

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Clerk’s Office, 501 I Street, 4th Floor (Rm. 4-200), Sacramento, CA 95814, or online at

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www.uscourts.gov/forms/pro-se-forms.

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Plaintiff must avoid excessive repetition of the same allegations. Plaintiff must avoid

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narrative and storytelling. That is, the complaint should not include every detail of what

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happened, nor recount the details of conversations (unless necessary to establish the claim), nor

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give a running account of plaintiffs’ hopes and thoughts. Rather, the amended complaint should

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contain only those facts needed to show how the defendant legally wronged the plaintiff.

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The amended complaint must not force the court and the defendants to guess at what is

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being alleged against whom. See McHenry v. Renne, 84 F.3d 1172, 1177 (9th Cir. 1996)

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(affirming dismissal of a complaint where the district court was “literally guessing as to what

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facts support the legal claims being asserted against certain defendants”). The amended
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complaint must not require the court to spend its time “preparing the ‘short and plain statement’

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which Rule 8 obligated plaintiffs to submit.” Id. at 1180. The amended complaint must not

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require the court and defendants to prepare lengthy outlines “to determine who is being sued for

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what.” Id. at 1179.

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CONCLUSION

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For the reasons explained above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that

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1.

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Plaintiff’s request to proceed in forma pauperis, ECF No. 2, is DENIED without

prejudice to its renewal with all entries on the application form completed.

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2.

If plaintiff files a proper IFP application, she must also file an amended complaint.

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3.

Plaintiff must file her complete IFP application and amended complaint within 30

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days of the date of this Order. Failure to file the complete IFP application will result in a

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recommendation that this action be dismissed. If plaintiff does file an amended complaint she

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must do her best to follow the guidance provided in this Order. If no amended complaint is filed,

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the undersigned will recommend that the action be dismissed.

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Dated: August 15, 2016
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/s/ Gregory G. Hollows
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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