ALFREDS v. SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINS & EMPLOYEES

Filing 5

ENTRY Directing Futher Proceedings - The bundle of documents received from the plaintiff on September 30, 2011, is unintelligible and shall be returned to the plaintiff unfiled. The complaint is dismissed. However, no judgment shall issue at this tim e. Instead, the plaintiff shall have through October 24, 2011, in which to file an amended complaint which has sufficient factual content to state a plausible claim for relief pursuant to the FTCA or on any other or additional legal basis which is wa rranted. Proceedings other than as specified above are stayed until the amended complaint is filed or until the deadline for the filing of an amended complaint has passed. If an amended complaint is filed the court will issue whatever order is warranted. If no amended complaint is filed as directed, the action will be dismissed without further notice. (copy to Plaintiff via US Mail). Signed by Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson on 10/3/2011. (JKS)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA

DANA ALFREDS,

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Plaintiff,
vs.
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
& EMPLOYEES,
Defendants.

1:11-cv-1274-JMS-MJD

Entry Directing Further Proceedings
I.
The bundle of documents received from the plaintiff on September 30, 2011, is
unintelligible and shall be returned to the plaintiff unfiled.
II.
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. ' 1915(e)(2)(B), a court shall dismiss a case in which the
plaintiff has been permitted to proceed in forma pauperis at any time if the court
determines that the action fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted. AA
complaint must always . . . allege >enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible
on its face.=A Limestone Development Corp. v. Village of Lemont, Ill., 520 F.3d 797, 803
(7th Cir. 2008) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). A
claim has facial plausibility Awhen the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the
court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct
alleged.@ Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 1949 (2009)).
The complaint in this action is brought pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act
(“FTCA”), which “permits claims based upon misconduct which is tortious under state
law. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(6), 2680." Sisk v. United States, 756 F.2d 497, 500 n.4 (7th Cir.
1985). The complaint, however, fails to state a plausible claim for relief pursuant to the
FTCA because it is so prolix as to fail to convey any meaning. Additionally, the only
proper defendant in an action pursuant to the FTCA is the United States itself, Hughes

v. United States, 701 F.2d 56, 58 (7th Cir. 1982), and the United States is not among
the defendants in this case. Myles v. United States, 416 F.3d 551, 552 (7th Cir.
2005)(noting that the composition and content of the amended complaint are entirely
the responsibility of the plaintiff, for “even pro se litigants are masters of their own
complaints and may choose who to sue-or not to sue”). To make someone a party the
plaintiff must specify him in the caption and arrange for service of process; the court
cannot add litigants on its own motion. See id., at 551. The United States is not a party
to this case. See United States ex rel Eisenstein v. City of New York, 129 S. Ct. 2230,
2234 (2009)(a “party” is “[o]ne by or against whom a lawsuit is brought”)(citing Black’s
Law Dictionary 1154 (8th ed. 2004). No claim under the FTCA can be asserted against
those who are named as defendants.
III.
Based on the foregoing, the complaint is dismissed. However, no judgment shall
issue at this time. Instead, the plaintiff shall have through October 24, 2011, in which
to file an amended complaint which has sufficient factual content to state a plausible
claim for relief pursuant to the FTCA or on any other or additional legal basis which is
warranted.
In filing an amended complaint, the plaintiff shall conform to the following
guidelines: (a) the amended complaint shall comply with the requirement of Rule 8(a)(2)
of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that pleadings contain "a short and plain
statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief. . . . ," (b) the
amended complaint shall comply with the requirement of Rule 10 that the allegations in
a complaint be made in numbered paragraphs, each of which should recite, as far as
practicable, only a single set of circumstances, (c) the amended complaint must identify
what legal injury he claims to have suffered and what persons are responsible for each
such legal injury, and (d) the amended complaint shall contain a clear statement of the
relief which is sought.
Proceedings other than as specified above are stayed until the amended
complaint is filed or until the deadline for the filing of an amended complaint has
passed.
If an amended complaint is filed the court will issue whatever order is warranted.
If no amended complaint is filed as directed, the action will be dismissed without further
notice.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

10/03/2011
Date: __________________
_______________________________
Hon. Jane Magnus-Stinson, Judge
United States District Court
Southern District of Indiana

Distribution:
Dana B. Alfreds
6389 River Valley Way
Indianapolis, IN 46221