Dunn v. Zakibe

Filing 9

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER - IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Clerk shall not issue process or cause process to issue upon the complaint. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiff shall file an amended complaint within thirty (30) days from the date of this Order. In the amended complaint, plaintiff shall complete in its entirety the court-provided form for filing a complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk shall mail plaintiff a form for filing a complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiff's failure to amend his complaint in accordance with this Court's instructions will result in the dismissal of this action, without prejudice. (NOTE: Copy of order and plaintiff form for filing a complaint pursuant to 1983, mailed to plaintiff) Signed by District Judge John A. Ross on 6/26/13. (LAH)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
ADRIAN L. DUNN, SR.,
Plaintiff,
v.
JAYNIE ZAKIBE,
Defendant.

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No. 4:13-CV-1026-JAR

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court for review under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A.
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, the "court shall review before docketing if
feasible or, in any event, as soon as practicable after docketing, a complaint in a civil
action in which a prisoner seeks redress from a governmental entity or officer or
employee of a governmental entity." The Court is to dismiss the complaint, or any
portion, if it is frivolous, malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief can be
granted, or seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief.
An action is frivolous if "it lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact." Neitzke
v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989). An action fails to state a claim upon which
relief can be granted if it does not plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is
plausible on its face.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007).

In reviewing a pro se complaint under § 1915A, the Court must give the
complaint the benefit of a liberal construction. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520
(1972). The Court must also weigh all factual allegations in favor of the plaintiff,
unless the facts alleged are clearly baseless. Denton v. Hernandez, 504 U.S. 25, 32
(1992).
The Complaint
At the outset, the Court finds that plaintiff’s complaint does not comply with
Local Rule 2.06(A), because it was not filed on a Court-provided form.1 In addition,
the complaint does not comply with Rules 8 and 10 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure. Rule 8(a) requires that a complaint contain “a short and plain statement
of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief, and . . . a demand for the
relief sought.” Rule 8(d) requires that “[e]ach allegation must be simple, concise, and
direct.”

Rule 10(b) requires that “ [a] party must state its claims or defenses in

numbered paragraphs, each limited as far as practicable to a single set of
circumstances.”2 Plaintiff’s complaint is a thirty-three-page photocopy of a motion

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This Court’s Local Rule 2.06(A) states, “All actions brought by pro se
plaintiffs or petitioners should be filed on Court-provided forms. If an action is not
filed on a Court-provided form, the Court . . . may order the pro se plaintiff or
petitioner to file the action on a Court-provided form.”
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Even pro se litigants are obligated to plead specific facts and must abide by
the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See U.S. v. Wilkes, 20 F.3d 651, 653 (5th
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to vacate that he filed with the United States Customs and Border Protection Agency
in 2012. It does not contain a short and plain statement showing that he is entitled to
relief. The allegations are not simple, concise, or direct, and the claims are not set
forth in numbered paragraphs.
Because plaintiff is proceeding pro se, the Court will grant him time to file an
amended complaint on a Court-provided form, as set forth below. Plaintiff is advised
that the filing of an amended complaint will supersede the original complaint and will
be the only complaint this Court reviews. See, e.g., In re Wireless Telephone Federal
Cost Recovery Fees Litigation, 396 F.3d 922, 928 (8th Cir. 2005). Because the Court
is allowing plaintiff to amend his complaint, it will take no action as to the named
defendant at this time.
In accordance with the foregoing,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Clerk shall not issue process or cause
process to issue upon the complaint.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiff shall file an amended complaint
within thirty (30) days from the date of this Order. In the amended complaint,

Cir. 1994); Boswell v. Honorable Governor of Texas, 138 F.Supp.2d 782, 785
(N.D. Texas 2000).
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plaintiff shall complete in its entirety the court-provided form for filing a complaint
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.3
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk shall mail plaintiff a form for
filing a complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiff's failure to amend his complaint
in accordance with this Court's instructions will result in the dismissal of this action,
without prejudice.
Dated this 26th day of June, 2013.

_________________________________
JOHN A. ROSS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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For his amended complaint, plaintiff shall use the Court-provided form for
filing a complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Court understands that
plaintiff is suing a federal actor pursuant to Bivens, nevertheless, the action should
be filed on the Court’s form for filing a complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
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