Short v. Immokalee Water & Sewer District et al

Filing 24

ORDER dismissing 1 Plaintiff's Complaint without prejudice to filing an Amended Complaint within 14 days of this Order; denying as moot 11 Defendant Immokalee Water & Sewer District's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint and Strike Plaintiff's Claims for Punitive Damages and Attorney's Fees; denying as moot 12 Defendant Fred N. Thomas, Jr.'s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint and Strike Plaintiff's Claims for Punitive Damages and Attorney& #039;s Fees; denying as moot 13 Defendant Eva Deyo's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint and Strike Plaintiff's Claims for Punitive Damages and Attorney's Fees; denying as moot 14 Defendant Board of Commissioners of Immokalee Water & Sewer District's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint and Strike Plaintiff's Claims for Punitive Damages and Attorney's Fees. See Order for details. Signed by Judge John E. Steele on 6/4/2015. (MAB)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
JOHN SHORT,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No: 2:15-cv-136-FtM-29DNF

IMMOKALEE
WATER
&
SEWER
DISTRICT,
as
a
govern
entity, EVA J. DEYO, in her
individual
capacity
as
executive
director
of
Immokalee
Water
&
Sewer
District, FRED N. THOMAS,
JR. , in his individual
capacity as board member of
Immokalee
water
&
sewer
district, and THE BOARD OF
COMMISSIONERS OF IMMOKALEE
WATER & SEWER DISTRICT,
Defendants.

ORDER
This matter comes before the Court on review of plaintiff’s
Complaint

(Doc.

#1)

filed

on

March

3,

2015.

The

Complaint

incorporates by reference all of the allegations from each Count
into each subsequent count.

(Doc. #1, ¶¶ 374, 381, 390, 398, 403,

414, 420, 426, 433.)
“The typical shotgun complaint contains several counts, each
one

incorporating

by

reference

the

allegations

of

its

predecessors, leading to a situation where most of the counts
(i.e., all but the first) contain irrelevant factual allegations

and legal conclusions.”

Strategic Income Fund, L.L.C. v. Spear,

Leeds & Kellogg Corp., 305 F.3d 1293, 1295 (11th Cir. 2002).

The

Eleventh Circuit has consistently frowned upon shotgun pleadings
such as the one presented herein, and shotgun pleadings “exact an
intolerable toll on the trial court’s docket.”
117 F.3d 1258, 1263 (11th Cir. 1997).

Cramer v. Florida,

See also Davis v. Coca-Cola

Bottling Co. Consol., 516 F.3d 955, 979 n.54 (11th Cir. 2008)
(collecting

cases).

Accordingly,

the

Eleventh

Circuit

has

established that when faced with a shotgun pleading, a district
court should require the parties to file an amended pleading rather
than allow such a case to proceed to trial.

Byrne v. Nezhat, 261

F.3d 1075, 1130 (11th Cir. 2001).
Accordingly, it is hereby
ORDERED:
1.

Plaintiff’s Complaint (Doc. #1) is dismissed without

prejudice to filing an Amended Complaint within FOURTEEN (14) DAYS
of this Order.
2.

Defendant Immokalee Water & Sewer District’s Motion to

Dismiss Plaintiff’s Complaint and Strike Plaintiff’s Claims for
Punitive Damages and Attorney’s Fees (Doc. #11) is DENIED as moot.
3.

Defendant

Fred

N.

Thomas,

Jr.’s

Motion

to

Dismiss

Plaintiff’s Complaint and Strike Plaintiff’s Claims for Punitive
Damages and Attorney’s Fees (Doc. #12) is DENIED as moot.

2

4.

Defendant

Eva

Deyo’s

Motion

to

Dismiss

Plaintiff’s

Complaint and Strike Plaintiff’s Claims for Punitive Damages and
Attorney’s Fees (Doc. #13) is DENIED as moot.
5.
Sewer

Defendant Board of Commissioners of Immokalee Water &

District’s

Motion

to

Dismiss

Plaintiff’s

Complaint

and

Strike Plaintiff’s Claims for Punitive Damages and Attorney’s Fees
(Doc. #14) is DENIED as moot.
DONE AND ORDERED at Fort Myers, Florida, this
June, 2015.

Copies:
Counsel of record

3

4th

day of