Buckley v. Nixon et al

Filing 4

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's motion to proceed in forma pauperis [ECF No. 2 ] is GRANTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this action is DISMISSED without prejudice. An Order of Dismissal will be filed forthwith. Signed by District Judge John A. Ross on 12/13/2016. (CLO)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION

EDDIE BUCKLEY, JR.,
Plaintiff,

v.
JEREMIAH NIXON, et al.,
Defendants,

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No. 4:16-CV-1687 JAR

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Plaintiff seeks leave to proceed in forma pauperis in this civil action under 42 U.S.C.

§ 1983. The motion is granted. Additionally, this action is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
The Complaint

The Missouri Department of Social Services filed a lien on plaintiffs bank account to
collect child support. Plaintiff says the family court order requiring child support is no longer
enforceable. He also says that the State has put a lien on his taxes. He seeks to have the liens
removed, and he wants the Missouri statute governing administrative hearings on family law
matters repealed.
Discussion

Under Rule 12(h)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court is required to
dismiss any case for which it lacks subject matter jurisdiction.
"Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. The requirement that jurisdiction be
established as a threshold matter springs from the nature and limits of the judicial power of the
United States and is inflexible and without exception." Kessler v. Nat'! Enterprises, Inc., 347
F.3d 1076, 1081 (8th Cir. 2003) (quotation marks omitted); see Kuhl v. Hampton, 451 F.2d 340,

342 (8th Cir. 1971) (federal courts "were not established to mediate any and all types of
complaints and alleged wrongs.").
The Court lacks jurisdiction over the subject matter of this case, i.e., child support. Kahn

v. Kahn, 21 F.3d 859, 861 (8th Cir. 1994) ("The domestic relations exception ... divests the
federal courts of jurisdiction over any action for which the subject is a divorce, allowance of
alimony, or child custody."); Lannan v. Maul, 979 F.2d 627, 631 (8th Cir. 1992) ("child support
obligations [are] within the domestic relations exception domain"). As a result, this action must
be dismissed pursuant to Rule 12(h)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiffs motion to proceed in forma pauperis [ECF
No. 2] is GRANTED.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this action is DISMISSED without prejudice.
An Order of Dismissal will be filed forthwith.
Dated this 13th day of December, 2016.

.ROSS
D STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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