Pacalo v. United States of America

Filing 8

ORDER: The Complaint 1 is dismissed without prejudice. Plaintiff has thirty (30) days from the date of this Order to file an amended complaint. Failure to do so will result in this case being closed. All pending motions are denied without prejudice as moot. Signed by Judge James S. Moody, Jr. on 8/17/2017. (LN)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
OCALA DIVISION
PATRICK JOHN PACALO,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No: 5:17-cv-376-Oc-30PRL

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Defendant.

ORDER OF DISMISSAL
THIS CAUSE comes before the Court sua sponte. Plaintiff filed a Complaint (Doc.
1) against the United States. In it, Plaintiff lists the following as the “causes of action”:
Abuse and Torture by the U.S. department of veterans affairs, US
Army, and Army National Guard: refusal to pay retirement benefits and VA
benefits, blocking education, refusal to conduct veterans re-employment,
refusal to pay voc rehab benefits, using Alcoholics Anonymous to spy on me,
violation of basic human and Constitutional rights, unlawful imprisonment,
malpractice, privacy act violations, destruction of my life since 1984..[sic]
Despite this laundry lists of causes of action, Plaintiff makes no allegations. Plaintiff then
separately files what appear to be letters of reference and certificates, as well as other
miscellaneous documents.
The Court concludes the Complaint should be dismissed without prejudice because
it does not comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and because it fails to state
any cause of action. The Court directs Plaintiff to the following rules:
Rule 8. General Rules of Pleading
(a)
Claim for Relief. A pleading that states a claim for relief must
contain:

(1)

(2)
(3)

a short and plain statement of the grounds for the court's
jurisdiction, unless the court already has jurisdiction and the
claim needs no new jurisdictional support;
a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the
pleader is entitled to relief; and
a demand for the relief sought, which may include relief in the
alternative or different types of relief.

…
Rule 10. Form of Pleadings
…
(b)
Paragraphs; Separate Statements. A party must state its claims or
defenses in numbered paragraphs, each limited as far as practicable to
a single set of circumstances. A later pleading may refer by number
to a paragraph in an earlier pleading. If doing so would promote
clarity, each claim founded on a separate transaction or occurrence-and each defense other than a denial--must be stated in a separate
count or defense.
Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a) and 10(b). 1 Plaintiff’s Complaint contains no allegations supporting
any of his claims, no numbered paragraphs, and no demand for relief for his claims (other
than a reference to $1,000,000 that is not tied to any specific cause of action). Absent
factual allegations, the Complaint cannot state any cause of action.
While the Complaint is being dismissed, the Court concludes Plaintiff should be
given an opportunity to file an amended complaint. But the Court warns Plaintiff that
failure to abide by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure a second time could result in the
case being dismissed with prejudice. Kennedy v. Bell S. Telecommunications, Inc. (AT&T),
546 F. App'x 817, 820 (11th Cir. 2013).

1

Plaintiff can download all of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure online at
http://www.uscourts.gov/rules-policies/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civilprocedure.

2

Accordingly, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED as follows:
1.

The Complaint (Doc. 1) is dismissed without prejudice.

2.

Plaintiff has thirty (30) days from the date of this Order to file an amended

complaint. Failure to do so will result in this case being closed.
3.

All pending motions are denied without prejudice as moot. 2

DONE and ORDERED in Tampa, Florida, this 17th day of August, 2017.

Copies furnished to:
Counsel/Parties of Record

2

Like the Complaint, it is insufficient for Plaintiff to file a motion that does not include legal
argument and the requested relief. In other words, a title and signature is not a valid motion.

3