(PS) Chamberlain v. Federal Election Commission

Filing 3

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney on 08/29/2024 GRANTING 2 Motion to Proceed IFP. Amended Complaint or Notice of Voluntary Dismissal due within 30 days of this Order. (Lopez, K)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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WILLIAM CHAMBERLAIN,

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Plaintiff,

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No. 2:24-cv-00966-DAD-CKD (PS)

v.

ORDER

FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION,

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Defendant.

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Plaintiff William Chamberlain, who is proceeding without counsel in this action, seeks

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leave to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”). 1 See 28 U.S.C. § 1915 (authorizing the

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commencement of an action “without prepayment of fees or security” by a person who is unable

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to pay such fees). Plaintiff’s affidavit makes the required financial showing. Plaintiff’s motion to

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proceed IFP (ECF No. 2) will therefore be granted.

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However, the determination that a plaintiff may proceed without payment of fees does not

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complete the inquiry. Under the IFP statute, federal courts must screen IFP complaints and

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dismiss any case that is “frivolous or malicious,” “fails to state a claim on which relief may be

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granted,” or seeks monetary relief against an immune defendant. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B);

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Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1126-27 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc) (“[S]ection 1915(e) not only

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Because Plaintiff is self-represented, all pretrial proceedings are referred to the undersigned
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1) and Local Rule 302(c)(21).
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permits but requires a district court to dismiss an [IFP] complaint that fails to state a claim.”).

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Further, federal courts have an independent duty to ensure that federal subject matter jurisdiction

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exists. See United Investors Life Ins. Co. v. Waddell & Reed Inc., 360 F.3d 960, 967 (9th Cir.

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2004).

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I.

SCREENING

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A.

Legal Standard

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A complaint fails to state a claim if it either lacks a cognizable legal theory or sufficient facts

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to allege a cognizable legal theory. Mollett v. Netflix, Inc., 795 F.3d 1062, 1065 (9th Cir. 2015). To

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avoid dismissal for failure to state a claim, a complaint must contain more than “naked assertions,”

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“labels and conclusions,” or “a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action.” Bell

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Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-57 (2007). In other words, “[t]hreadbare recitals of

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the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements do not suffice.”

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Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). Furthermore, relief cannot be granted for a claim that

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lacks facial plausibility. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570. “A claim has facial plausibility when the

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plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the

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defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678.

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When considering whether a complaint states a claim upon which relief can be granted,

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the court must accept the well-pled factual allegations as true, Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94

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(2007), and construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, see Papasan v.

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Allain, 478 U.S. 265, 283 (1986). The court is not, however, required to accept as true

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“conclusory [factual] allegations that are contradicted by documents referred to in the complaint,”

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or “legal conclusions merely because they are cast in the form of factual allegations.” Paulsen v.

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CNF Inc., 559 F.3d 1061, 1071 (9th Cir. 2009).

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In addition, the court must dismiss a case if, at any time, it determines that it lacks subject

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matter jurisdiction. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3). A federal district court generally has jurisdiction

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over a civil action when (1) a federal question is presented in an action “arising under the

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Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States” or (2) there is complete diversity of

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citizenship between the parties and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. See 28 U.S.C. §§
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1331, 1332(a).
Pleadings by self-represented litigants are liberally construed. See Haines v. Kerner, 404

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U.S. 519, 520-21 (1972); Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep’t, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1988).

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Unless it is clear that no amendment can cure the defects of a complaint, a self-represented

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plaintiff proceeding IFP is ordinarily entitled to notice and an opportunity to amend before

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dismissal. See Noll v. Carlson, 809 F.2d 1446, 1448 (9th Cir. 1987), superseded on other grounds

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by statute as stated in Lopez, 203 F.3d 1122; Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1230 (9th Cir.

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1984). Nevertheless, leave to amend need not be granted when further amendment would be

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futile. See Cahill v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 80 F.3d 336, 339 (9th Cir. 1996).

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B.

The Complaint

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Plaintiff brings this action against the Federal Election Commission. ECF No. 1. Plaintiff

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seeks an “Order of Sanctions against Federal Election Community pursuant to this Court’s

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inherent power and 28 U.S.C. § 1927.” Id. at 1. Plaintiff alleges he filed a “Bipartisan Campaign

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Reform act violation claim” with Defendant’s general counsel but that Defendant “failed to make

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this claim public on its official public website, a violation of the rules of the FEC.” Id. Plaintiff

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also appears to allege that after creating a “’Generic’ political party” and a GoFundMe account

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“to solve the wildfire issue,” “Chase Manhattan Bank illegally closed our bank account.” Id. at 2.

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Plaintiff appears to allege a single cause of action against Defendant pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §

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1927. Id. at 2-3. As relief, Plaintiff requests “this Judge enter an Order of sanctions against the

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F.E.C. and award to Plaintiff the reasonable attorneys’ fees (1+8hr day= $8000.00), plus the

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Federal Presidential campaign Election Fund.” Id. 3.

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C.

Analysis

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Plaintiff’s complaint currently fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

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Plaintiff’s single cause of action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1927 is not a cognizable cause of action.

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28 U.S.C. § 1927 states, “Any attorney or other person admitted to conduct cases in any court of

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the United States or any Territory thereof who so multiplies the proceedings in any case

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unreasonably and vexatiously may be required by the court to satisfy personally the excess costs,

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expenses, and attorneys’ fees reasonably incurred because of such conduct.” However, “courts
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have found that sanctions under 28 U.S.C. § 1927 [is not a] separate cause[] of action.” Avocent

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Huntsville, LLC v. ZPE Sys., Inc., No. 3:17-CV-04319-WHO, 2018 WL 4859527, at *11 (N.D.

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Cal. July 23, 2018) (quoting InteraXon Inc. v. NeuroTek, LLC, No. 15-CV-05290-KAW, 2017

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WL 24721, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 3, 2017).) In InteraXon Inc., the court did not permit plaintiffs to

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file a first amended complaint, to add, in part, a cause of action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1927

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because it did not provide for an independent cause of action. InteraXon, Inc., 2017 WL 2471, at

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2 (citing a collection of cases). As such, the complaint does not contain a “short and plain”

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statement setting forth the basis for federal jurisdiction, Plaintiff’s entitlement to relief, or the

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relief that is sought, even though those things are required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(1)-(3). The

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exact nature of what happened to Plaintiff is unclear from the complaint, which contains

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apparently disconnected events and circumstances that seem somewhat unrelated to the only

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defendant in this case. The court cannot tell from examining the complaint what legal wrong was

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done to Plaintiff, by whom and when, or how any alleged harm is connected to the relief Plaintiff

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seeks.

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Accordingly, the complaint does not establish this court’s jurisdiction. Rather than

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recommending dismissal of the action, the undersigned will provide plaintiffs an opportunity to

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amend their complaint to allege a proper basis for jurisdiction and facts supporting a cognizable

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cause of action.

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II. AMENDING THE COMPLAINT
In light of Plaintiff’s pro se status, the court grants Plaintiff an opportunity to amend the

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complaint. See Lopez, 203 F.3d at 1130 (“leave to amend should be granted if it appears at all

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possible that the plaintiff can correct the defect”) (cleaned up).

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If Plaintiff elects to file an amended complaint, this new pleading shall be captioned as the

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“First Amended Complaint” and must set forth each of Plaintiff’s legal causes of action in

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separate sections clearly identifying which defendant(s) are allegedly at fault for each claim, and

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clearly identifying what legal cause of action is being asserted. Under each section, Plaintiff must

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then list the specific factual allegations supporting that particular claim. (For brevity, Plaintiff

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may refer to specific prior paragraphs.) For each claim, Plaintiff must allege what specific
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conduct defendant engaged in, when the conduct occurred, and how the conduct harmed him.

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However, the statement of the claim should be kept relatively “short.” Plaintiff is informed that

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the court cannot refer to a prior complaint or other filing in order to make the first amended

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complaint complete. Local Rule 220 requires that an amended complaint be complete in itself

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without reference to any prior pleading. As a general rule, an amended complaint supersedes the

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original complaint, and once the first amended complaint is filed, the original complaint no longer

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serves any function in the case.

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Finally, nothing in this order requires Plaintiff to file a first amended complaint. If
Plaintiff determines that he is unable to amend the complaint in compliance with the court’s

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order, he may alternatively file a notice of voluntary dismissal of his claims without prejudice

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pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(i).

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III. CONCLUSION
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Plaintiff’s request to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 2) is GRANTED;

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2. Within 30 days of this order, plaintiff shall file either (a) a first amended complaint in

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accordance with this order, or (b) a notice of voluntary dismissal of the action; and

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3. Failure to timely comply with this order will result in a recommendation that the action be
dismissed with prejudice pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b).
Dated: August 29, 2024
_____________________________________
CAROLYN K. DELANEY
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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4, cham0966.24

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