Starr v. Fort Wayne Police Dept et al

Filing 8

OPINION AND ORDER DISMISSING case pursuant to 28 USC § 1915A. Signed by Senior Judge James T Moody on 2/17/2015. (lns)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
FORT WAYNE DIVISION
CHANSE T. STARR,
Plaintiff,
v.
FORT WAYNE POLICE DEPT. et al.,
Defendants.

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No. 1:14 CV 236

OPINION and ORDER
Chanse T. Starr, a pro se prisoner, filed this case in an attempt to remove a state
court case that he filed in the Allen Superior Court under cause number 02C01-1301-CT5. “A document filed pro se is to be liberally construed, and a pro se complaint, however
inartfully pleaded, must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings
drafted by lawyers.” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (quotation marks and
citations omitted). Nevertheless, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, the court must review
the merits of a prisoner complaint and dismiss it if the action is frivolous or malicious,
fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief against
a defendant who is immune from such relief.
In the state court case, Starr is the plaintiff and he cannot remove a case that he
himself filed, since removal applies to defendants. See 28 U.S.C. § 1441. “Almost 70
years ago, the Supreme Court concluded that a litigant who files suit in state court is a
‘plaintiff’ and cannot remove the case . . ..” First Bank v. DJL Prop., LLC, 598 F.3d 915, 916
(7th Cir. 2010). See also Lawrence v. Sec’y of State, 467 Fed. Appx. 523, 2012 WL 2153155

(7th Cir. May 3, 2012) (“[A] plaintiff cannot remove his own case.”). Because a plaintiff
cannot remove his own case from state court to federal court, the filing of this
proceeding was frivolous.
For the foregoing reasons, this case is DISMISSED pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §
1915A.
SO ORDERED.
Date: February 17, 2015
s/James T. Moody
JUDGE JAMES T. MOODY
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT