De Jesus Plaud et al v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.

Filing 5

ORDER -- Plaintiff's Complaint (Doc. 1) is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. On or before Monday, September 12, 2016, Plaintiff may file an amended complaint. Signed by Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. on 8/29/2016. (VMF)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
ORLANDO DIVISION
JOSHUA L. DE JESUS PLAUD;
SAMANTHA BROWN; AMEERA
ALNABOUT; and PATRICK FORD,
Plaintiffs,
v.

Case No. 6:16-cv-1459-Orl-37DAB

CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL, INC.,
Defendant.
ORDER
This cause is before the Court on its own motion. On August 15, 2016, Plaintiffs
filed the instant action alleging that Defendant violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.
(Doc. 1.) Upon review of the Complaint, the Court finds that it is due to be dismissed as
an impermissible shotgun pleading.
A shotgun complaint “is [one] containing multiple counts where each count adopts
the allegations of all preceding counts, causing each successive count to carry all that
came before and the last count to be a combination of the entire complaint.” Weiland v.
Palm Beach Cty. Sheriff’s Office, 792 F.3d 1313, 1321 (11th Cir. 2015). Such pleadings
impose on the Court the onerous task of sifting out irrelevancies to determine which facts
are relevant to which causes of action. See id. at 1323. Described as “altogether
unacceptable,” by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, when a shotgun
pleading is filed in this Court, repleader is required. Cramer v. Florida, 117 F.3d 1258,
1263 (11th Cir. 1997); see also Paylor v. Hartford Fire Ins. Co., 748 F.3d 1117, 1125–28
(11th Cir. 2014). If the Court does not require repleader, then “all is lost.” Johnson Enters.

of Jacksonville, Inc. v. FPL Grp., Inc., 162 F.3d 1290, 1333 (11th Cir. 1998).
As Count II of the Complaint incorporates each of the preceding allegations (see
Doc. 1, ¶ 18), the Complaint constitutes an impermissible shotgun pleading and must be
dismissed. If Plaintiff chooses to replead, the amended complaint must clearly delineate
which factual allegations are relevant to each claim.
Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED AND ADJUDGED:
1.

Plaintiff’s Complaint (Doc. 1) is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.

2.

On or before Monday, September 12, 2016, Plaintiff may file an amended
complaint consistent with the directives of this Order. Failure to file may
result in this action being closed without further notice.

DONE AND ORDERED in Chambers in Orlando, Florida, on August 29, 2016.

Copies:
Counsel of Record

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