Arias et al v. Electrical Millsgut Enterprise LLC et al

Filing 8

ORDERED: The Complaint #1 is DISMISSED without prejudice as a shotgun pleading. Plaintiffs are granted leave to file an Amended Complaint within FOURTEEN (14) DAYS from the date of this order, which must correct the deficiency discussed herein. Failure to file an Amended Complaint within the time provided will result in the dismissal of this action, without prejudice, without further notice. Signed by Senior Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell on 5/9/2024. (MMS)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION
JESUS ARIAS, JOSE JOHANNY
VELAZCO, JHONNY ANTONIO
RANGEL CONTRERAS,
ALDEMARO ALFONSO GUEVARA
SANCHEZ, ARMANDO ANDRES
FUNG FERRER, ENRIQUE LUIS
BUSTILLOS RONDON and
ALBERTO JAVIER AGUILAR,
Plaintiffs,
v.

Case No: 8:24-cv-1073-CEH-AEP

ELECTRICAL MILLSGUT
ENTERPRISE LLC and SERGIO
MILLAN,
Defendants.
ORDER
This cause comes before the Court sua sponte. In this action, Plaintiffs allege
violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act by their former employer. For the reasons
articulated below, the Complaint constitutes a shotgun pleading. Therefore, the Court
will dismiss the Complaint and grant Plaintiffs leave to file an Amended Complaint
that complies with the pleading rules.
DISCUSSION
Complaints that violate either Rule 8(a)(2) or Rule 10(b) of the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure are often referred to as “shotgun pleadings.” Weiland v. Palm Beach
Cnty. Sheriff’s Office, 792 F.3d 1313, 1320 (11th Cir. 2015). The Eleventh Circuit has

identified four general types of shotgun pleadings. Weiland, 792 F.3d at 1321. The first
and most common type is “a complaint 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.”
Id. Ultimately, “[t]he unifying characteristic of all types of shotgun pleadings is that
they fail to one degree or another, and in one way or another, to give the defendants
adequate notice of the claims against them and the grounds upon which each claim
rests.” Id. at 1323; see Lampkin-Asam v. Volusia Cnty. Sch. Bd., 261 F. App’x 274, 277
(11th Cir. 2008) (“A complaint that fails to articulate claims with sufficient clarity to
allow the defendant to frame a responsive pleading constitutes a ‘shotgun pleading.’”).
The Eleventh Circuit repeatedly condemns the use of shotgun pleadings for
“imped[ing] the administration of the district courts’ civil dockets.” PVC Windoors, Inc.
v. Babbitbay Beach Constr., N.V., 598 F.3d 802, 806 n.4 (11th Cir. 2010). Shotgun
pleadings require the district court to sift through allegations in an attempt to separate
the meritorious claims from the unmeritorious, resulting in a “massive waste of
judicial and private resources.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). Thus, the
Eleventh Circuit has established that a shotgun pleading is an unacceptable form of
pleading. When faced with a shotgun pleading, a court should strike the complaint
and instruct the plaintiff to file a more definite statement. See Davis v. Coca-Cola Bottling
Co. Consol., 516 F.3d 955, 984 (11th Cir. 2008) (collecting cases), abrogated on other
grounds by Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009).

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Here, the Complaint is the first type of shotgun pleading. Each Plaintiff’s FLSA
count incorporates the allegations of all preceding paragraphs, including those
concerning the other Plaintiffs. Doc. 1 ¶¶ 27, 44, 61, 78, 95, 112. The Court will
therefore dismiss the Complaint and grant Plaintiffs leave to file an Amended
Complaint which conforms to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local
Rules of the Middle District of Florida. In filing an Amended Complaint, Plaintiffs
must avoid shotgun pleading pitfalls and comply with applicable pleading
requirements.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED:
1. The Complaint (Doc. 1) is DISMISSED without prejudice as a shotgun
pleading.
2. Plaintiffs are granted leave to file an Amended Complaint within
FOURTEEN (14) DAYS from the date of this order, which must correct the
deficiency discussed herein. Failure to file an Amended Complaint within
the time provided will result in the dismissal of this action, without
prejudice, without further notice.
DONE and ORDERED in Tampa, Florida on May 9, 2024.

Copies furnished to:
Counsel of Record
Unrepresented Parties

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