Jennings v. Lee
Filing
4
ORDER to File an Amended Complaint re: 1 Title VII Complaint. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff cure the deficiencies designated abovewithin thirty (30) days from the date of this order. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that if Plaintiff fails to cure the designated deficiencies within thirty (30) days from the date of this Order the Complaint and the action will bedismissed without further notice, by Magistrate Judge Kristen L. Mix on 6/24/15. (morti, )
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Civil Action No. 15-cv-01263-KLM
JAMES E. JENNINGS,
Plaintiff,
v.
MICHELLE K. LEE, Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office,
Defendant.
_____________________________________________________________________
ORDER TO FILE AN AMENDED COMPLAINT
_____________________________________________________________________
ENTERED BY MAGISTRATE JUDGE KRISTEN L. MIX
This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff’s Title VII Complaint [#1]1 (the
“Complaint”). Plaintiff purports to bring a lawsuit pursuant to “Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-5.” Compl. [#1] at 2. However, the Complaint is vague and
confusing. As a result, the Court cannot decipher any factual basis in the Complaint for a
Title VII claim.
I. Legal Standard
“[A] complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a
claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009)
(citing Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). The complaint must
provide fair notice to the defendant sued of what the claims are and the grounds supporting
1
“[#1]” is an example of the convention I use to identify the docket number assigned to a
specific paper by the Court’s case management and electronic case filing system (CM/ECF). I use
this convention throughout this Order.
1
such claims, Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, and allow the Court to conclude that the
allegations, if proven, show that the plaintiff is entitled to relief. Monument Builders of
Greater Kansas City, Inc. v. Am. Cemetery Ass’n of Kansas, 1480 (10th Cir. 1989). The
factual allegations in the complaint “must be enough to raise a right to relief above the
speculative level.” Christy Sports, LLC v. Deer Valley Resort Co., 555 F.3d 1188, 1191
(10th Cir. 2009). A complaint that does not meet these requirements may be subject to
dismissal pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12.
In addition, Fed. R. Civ . P. 8(a) provides that a complaint “must contain (1) a short
and plain statement of the grounds for the court’s jurisdiction . . . ; (2) a short and plain
statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief; and (3) a demand for
the relief sought . . . .” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8. A complaint that does not comply with this may
also be subject to dismissal.
The Court must construe the Complaint liberally because Plaintiff is not represented
by an attorney. See Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520-21 (1972); Hall v. Bellmon, 935
F.2d 1106, 1110 (10th Cir. 1991). However, the Court should not act as a pro se litigant’s
advocate. See Hall, 935 F.2d at 1110.
II. Discussion
The Tenth Circuit encourages district courts to “helpfully advise a pro se litigant that,
to state a claim in federal court, a complaint must explain what each defendant did to him
or her, when the defendant did it, how the defendant’s action harmed him or her, and, what
specific legal right the plaintiff believes the defendant violated.” Nasious v. Two Unknown
B.I.C.E. Agents, 492 F.3d 1158, 1163 (10th Cir. 2007); see also Lazarov v. Kimmel, No.10cv-01238-CMA, 2010 WL 2301749 (D. Colo. June 8, 2010). Plaintiff’s Complaint fails to
2
clearly articulate the specific allegations as to Defendant and the corresponding basic
details, such as the date of any specific actions by Defendant. For example, while Plaintiff
brings his claim pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et
seq., he fails to allege that he was employed by Defendant or provide the date when his
employment was terminated. Plaintiff also fails to provide information regarding whether
he is a member of a protected class or if he engaged in opposition to an unlawful
employment practice. See. e.g., 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000(e)-2(a)(1) (discrimination), 2000(e)3(a) (retaliation). In fact, the only factual allegation made by Plaintiff that relates specifically
to him is the following: “The examiners were informed my inventions were being
manufactured, yet demonstrated an indifference to release dates [sic] 11/28/14. Filed non
black and white photos 12/03/2014, 04/13/15.” Compl. [#1] at 5. In short, the Complaint
fails to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules of Practice
of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado-Civil.
III. Conclusion
In order to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of this matter, as
dictated by Rule 1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court finds it necessary to
sua sponte strike the Complaint due to its failures as set forth above. The Court grants
Plaintiff leave to file an Amended Complaint that complies with this Order, the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure, and the Local Rules of Practice of the United States District Court
for the District of Colorado-Civil. Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff cure the deficiencies designated above
within thirty (30) days from the date of this order.
3
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that if Plaintiff fails to cure the designated deficiencies
within thirty (30) days from the date of this Order the Complaint and the action will be
dismissed without further notice.
Dated: June 24, 2015
4
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?