Easterling v. U.S. Department of Commerce
Filing
25
OPINION AND ORDER granting 19 Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim and the Complaint is dismissed without prejudice to filing an amended complaint within 30 days of this Opinion and Order. Signed by Judge John E. Steele on 5/10/2018. (RKR)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
FORT MYERS DIVISION
RODERICK F. EASTERLING,
Plaintiff,
v.
Case No:
2:17-cv-441-FtM-29MRM
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE,
Defendant.
OPINION AND ORDER
This matter comes before the Court on review of defendant’s
Motion to Dismiss (Doc. #19) filed on March 12, 2018.
Plaintiff
filed a Response to the United States of America's Motion to
Dismiss (Doc. #24) on April 23, 2018.
For the reasons stated
below, the motion is granted, with leave to file an amended
complaint.
I.
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2), a Complaint
must contain a “short and plain statement of the claim showing
that the pleader is entitled to relief.”
Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2).
This obligation “requires more than labels and conclusions, and a
formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not
do.”
Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)
(citation omitted).
To survive dismissal, the factual allegations
must be “plausible” and “must be enough to raise a right to relief
above the speculative level.”
Id. at 555.
See also Edwards v.
Prime Inc., 602 F.3d 1276, 1291 (11th Cir. 2010).
“more
than
accusation.”
an
unadorned,
Ashcroft
v.
This requires
the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me
Iqbal,
556
U.S.
662,
678
(2009)
pro
se
(citations omitted).
II.
A
pleading
drafted
by
a
party
proceeding
or
unrepresented party is held to a less stringent standard than one
drafted by an attorney.
Jones v. Fla. Parole Comm’n, 787 F.3d
1105, 1107 (11th Cir. 2015).
Nevertheless, “a pro se pleading
must suggest (even if inartfully) that there is at least some
factual support for a claim; it is not enough just to invoke a
legal theory devoid of any factual basis.”
Id.
In other words,
pro se status will not salvage a complaint that is devoid of facts
supporting the plaintiff’s claims.
Plaintiff’s Complaint as currently pleaded is not sufficient,
and is unclear as to the causes of action he intends to assert.
It appears that plaintiff’s underlying claim is race and age
discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964 in connection with the failure of defendant to hire him
for the Census Bureau.
Plaintiff alleges that he is African-
American, and that he applied for positions with the Census Bureau,
but nothing further.
There are no facts articulated to support a
plausible claim of discrimination.
2
Plaintiff did allege facts in
his complaint to the agency, so while this claim will be dismissed
the Court will allow plaintiff the opportunity to amend.
Plaintiff also seems to complain about his treatment in a
class action case in New York which was settled.
If plaintiff
intends for these allegations to constitute a separate cause of
action, they fail to do so.
It is not clear how a Florida district
court would have authority to effectively serve as an appellate
court to review the decisions of the New York court, or how the
U.S. Department of Commerce would have any liability for what
plaintiff perceives to be a due process violation.
Nonetheless,
if plaintiff does intend to state such a claim, the Court will
allow him to do so in the amended complaint.
Pursuant
to
Federal
Rule
of
Civil
Procedure
10,
the
allegations should be set forth in separate numbered paragraphs,
“each
limited
circumstances”
as
far
as
practicable
Fed. R. Civ. P. 10(b).
to
a
single
set
of
Further, each claim
“founded on a separate transaction or occurrence” must be stated
in a separate “Count.”
Id.
If available, supporting documents
should be attached as exhibits to the amended complaint.
For
additional resources and assistance, plaintiff may wish to consult
the “Proceeding Without a Lawyer” resources on filing a pro se
complaint
that
are
provided
on
the
Court’s
http://www.flmd.uscourts.gov/pro_se/default.htm.
website,
at
The website has
tips, answers to frequently-asked questions, and sample forms.
3
There is also a link that, through a series of questions, may help
Plaintiff generate the amended complaint.
Accordingly, it is now
ORDERED:
1. Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. #19) is GRANTED and
the Complaint is dismissed without prejudice to filing an
Amended Complaint.
2. Plaintiff may file an amended complaint within THIRTY (30)
DAYS of this Opinion and Order.
The failure to file an
amended complaint will result in the closure of the case
without further notice.
DONE AND ORDERED at Fort Myers, Florida, this
May, 2018.
Copies:
Plaintiff
Counsel of record
4
10th
day of
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