SPENGLER v. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA et al

Filing 4

MEMORANDUM OPINION Signed by Judge Emmet G. Sullivan on 6/26/2020. (adh, )

FILED

Case 1:20-cv-01354-UNA Document 4 Filed 06/26/20 Page 1 of 2

6/26/2020

Clerk, U.S. District & Bankruptcy
Court for the District of Columbia

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
MICHAEL SPENGLER, JR.,
Plaintiff,

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA et al.,
Defendants.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

Civil Action No. 20-1354 (UNA)

MEMORANDUM OPINION
This matter, brought pro se by a prisoner in Los Angeles, California, is before the Court
on initial review of plaintiff’s complaint and motion to proceed in forma pauperis. For the
following reasons, the in forma pauperis motion will be granted and this case will be dismissed.
A district court must immediately dismiss a prisoner’s complaint upon determining that
it, among other enumerated grounds, fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. 28
U.S.C. § 1915A. Plaintiff has sued the Attorneys General of the United States and the District of
Columbia under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. §
1961 et seq., which applies to neither governmental defendant. See Klayman v. Obama, 125 F.
Supp. 3d 67, 79 (D.D.C. 2015) (“The United States has not waived sovereign immunity for
claims brought under the RICO Act”) (citing Norris v. Dep’t of Defense, No. 96-5326, 1997 WL
362495 (D.C. Cir. May 5, 1997) (per curiam) (other citations omitted))); Miller v. Marriott Int'l
LLC, 378 F. Supp. 3d 1, 7 (D.D.C. 2019), aff'd, No. 19-7053, 2019 WL 6492628 (D.C. Cir. Nov.
15, 2019) (“the District of Columbia [cannot] be held liable under the federal civil RICO
statute”) (citing BEG Investments, LLC v. Alberti, 85 F. Supp. 3d 13, 27 (D.D.C. 2015)).
1

Case 1:20-cv-01354-UNA Document 4 Filed 06/26/20 Page 2 of 2

Accordingly, this case will be dismissed with prejudice for failure to state a claim. A separate
order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.

DATE: June 26, 2020

SIGNED:
EMMET G. SULLIVAN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

2