LINCOLN v. FLORIDA GAS TRANSMISSION COMPANY LLC et al

Filing 4

ORDER re #1 Complaint: Clerk directed to provide Plaintiff a 28 U.S.C.1331 civil rights complaint form for filing as an amended complaint. (Amended Pleadings/AR due by 3/25/2013.). Signed by MAGISTRATE JUDGE CHARLES A STAMPELOS on 2/22/2013. (jws)(Form to Plaintiff as order directed.)

Page 1 of 5

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TALLAHASSEE DIVISION

WILLIAM F. T. LINCOLN,
Plaintiff,
vs.

Case No. 4:13cv74-MW/CAS

FLORIDA GAS TRANSMISSION CO., LLC,
et al.,
Defendants.
/

ORDER
Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, filed a complaint against eleven named Defendants
and other John Doe Defendants. Doc. 1. Included within the complaint is an
emergency petition for a preliminary injunction in which Plaintiff seeks to "suspend the
operation of the new Phase VIII Expansion pipeline until" certain violations are
remedied. Id. at 2. Plaintiff paid the filing fee at the time of case initiation. Doc. 1.
Because Plaintiff is not incarcerated and paid the filing fee, the Court is not
required to perform a frivolity review before directing service. Nevertheless, it would be
a waste of resources to serve this complaint as filed. Plaintiff will be required to file an
amended complaint to correct the obvious deficiencies with the complaint as explained
below.

Page 2 of 5

Plaintiff's complaint is not on court forms. Rule 5.1 provides that no civil action
commenced by pro se litigants under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 or 1346, "shall be considered
by the court unless the appropriate forms have been properly completed, signed, and
filed by the litigant." N.D. Fla. Loc. R. 5.1(J)(2). Forms for filing a complaint are
available from the Clerk's Office and are provided without charge. The Clerk of Court
will be directed to provide Plaintiff with a complaint form and Plaintiff must use that form
to submit an "amended complaint."
Another reason to require an amended complaint is the fact that Plaintiff has not
consistently used numbered paragraphs, he does not list any address for any named
Defendant and fails to specifically identify each Defendant in Section II. Plaintiff
suggests there is a conspiracy "to divert the new pipeline siting path with an object to
avoid the established pipeline route," doc. 1 at 7, but he fails to provide facts supporting
a claim for conspiracy or identifying which of the numerous Defendants are involved.
Plaintiff must do more than assert legal conclusions, Plaintiff must provide the facts
which would support the conclusion he asserts.
Plaintiff alleges violations of federal law, but he fails to specifically identify the
law which he claims has been violated. See doc. 1 at 8. Plaintiff alleges a large span
of time in which allegedly "fraudulent drawings and data" were transmitted. Id. at 9.
Plaintiff must be more specific in stating the facts and when the actions took place.
Claims concerning events from 2007 may be time-barred, although it is unknown at this
point because Plaintiff fails to specifically allege which federal laws have been violated,

Case No. 4:13cv74-MW/CAS

Page 3 of 5

identify the specific way in which the law was violated, and identify the specific
Defendant responsible for the violation.1
Additionally, a complaint must be filed separately from a petition for an
injunction. A complaint sets forth the facts of the case, and should not be combined
with motions or other documents.
Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a), a pleading need only contain a "short and plain
statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." FED . R. CIV. P.
8(a)(2), quoted in Dura Pharmaceuticals, Inc. V. Broudo, 544 U.S. 336, 125 S.Ct. 1627,
1634, 171 L.Ed.2d 577 (2005). Thus, the allegations of a complaint should give a
defendant "fair notice of what the plaintiff's claim is and the grounds upon which it
rests." Id. at 1634, quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d
80 (1957). A lengthy recitations of details is unnecessary at this stage of litigation,
although Plaintiff's complaint must provide sufficient information so that a Defendant
can know what he or she is alleged to have done, and respond to those allegations.
Here, Plaintiff's complaint does not comply with Rule 8, does not provide sufficient
notice to the Defendants, fails to specifically allege how each named Defendant has
violated the law and participated in the alleged conspiracy. Plaintiff will be required to
submit an amended complaint.
Plaintiff is also advised that when pleading such matters as fraud or mistake, he
"must state with particularity the circumstances constituting fraud or mistake. Malice,

1

Although Plaintiff cites to several regulations such as 49 C.F.R. § 192.317, 49
C.F.R. § 192.14, 49 C.F.R. § 192.903, 49 C.F.R. § 192.917, 49 C.F.R. § 192.325, he
fails to specify what each of those regulations require and how a particular named
Defendant violated the regulation.
Case No. 4:13cv74-MW/CAS

Page 4 of 5

intent, knowledge, and other conditions of a person's mind may be alleged generally."
FED . R. CIV . P. 9(b). Thus, to properly allege a conspiracy to defraud, doc. 1 at 17,
Plaintiff must provide specific facts in support of that claim and identify the particular
Defendant for whom those facts are alleged. Similarly for a RICO claim, Plaintiff must
allege the predicate acts with specificity. Plaintiff cannot rest his complaint on broad
and conclusory allegations that unspecified Defendants "wilfully conspired through a
pattern of criminal activity . . . ." Doc. 1 at-17.
In amending, Plaintiff should carefully review the foregoing to determine whether
he can present allegations sufficient to state a cause of action under the relevant law. If
Plaintiff is able to file an amended complaint, he must name as Defendants only those
persons who are responsible for the alleged violations. Plaintiff must place their names
in the style of the case on the first page of the civil rights complaint form and in the
other appropriate sections of the form, and he must provide addresses for each named
Defendant. Further, Plaintiff should clearly state the factual allegations which support
the legal conclusions of the complaint. Plaintiff cannot simply plead "the bare"
elements of [a] cause of action" but must provide facts which present a "plausible claim
for relief" to survive a motion to dismiss. See Randall v. Scott, 610 F.3d 553, 556-57
(11th Cir. 2010), citing Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173
L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). Plaintiff must allege the facts which support the claim raised
against each Defendant as legal conclusions of law are insufficient. Plaintiff must set
forth each allegation in a short, separately numbered paragraph, as it is essential that
the facts relating to each Defendant be set out clearly and in detail.

Case No. 4:13cv74-MW/CAS

Page 5 of 5

To amend the complaint, Plaintiff must completely fill out a new complaint form,
marking it "Amended Complaint." The amended complaint must contain all of Plaintiff's
allegations and should not in any way refer to the original complaint. An amended
complaint completely replaces all previous complaints and they are disregarded. N.D.
Fla. Loc. R. 15.1. The amended complaint filed with the Court must contain Plaintiff's
original signature, but Plaintiff shall also keep an identical copy for himself. Plaintiff
shall not file service copies until instructed to do so by the Court.
Accordingly, it is hereby
ORDERED:
1. The Clerk of Court provide Plaintiff with a civil rights complaint form to be
used in filing actions under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 which Plaintiff must use in submitting an
amended complaint.
2. Plaintiff shall have until March 25, 2013, to submit an amended complaint as
instructed above.
3. Failure to comply with this Court Order may result in a recommendation
of dismissal of this action.
4. The Clerk of Court shall return this file upon the filing of an amended
complaint or no later than Monday, March 25, 2013.
DONE AND ORDERED on February 22, 2013.

S/ Charles A. Stampelos
CHARLES A. STAMPELOS
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Case No. 4:13cv74-MW/CAS