MCKINNIE v. HUDSON COUNTY PROSECUTOR OFFICE et al

Filing 29

OPINION fld. Signed by Judge Kevin McNulty on 4/6/15. (sr, )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

Civ. No. 13-7290 (KM)(MAH)

DERECK MCKINNIE,

Plaintiff,
OPINION
V.

HUDSON COUNTY PROSECUTOR OFFICE
et al.,
Defendants.

Plaintiff Derrick McKinnie has filed a complaint in this Court. The
Complaint, however, does not describe any wrongdoing on the part of the
defendants; it merely lists the defendants and the titles of the causes of action.
Several defendants have filed two motions to dismiss under FED. R. Civ. P.
12(b)(6). These motions will be granted; the Complaint will be dismissed
without prejudice to the filing of an amended complaint within 45 days.

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO THE PLAINTIFF
1.

Any amended complaint must contain a statement of the facts

underlying your claim, and state how each defendant violated your rights as to
each of your claims. You may wish to consult the Court’s Procedural Guide for
Pro Se Litigants, available at
www.njd.uscourts.gov/ sites/njd/ files/ ProSeGuide.pdf
2.

Certain defendants have filed a motion stating that they were never

properly served with the complaint. They are: Hudson Vicinage of the State of
New Jersey Judiciary (improperly pleaded as “Superior Court of N.J. Hudson
1

County Chancery Div.”), Priscila Pender (improperly pleaded as “Priscilla
Syeriek Pender”), Michelle Field, Michelle Vicari, and Miguel Torres (improperly
pleaded as “Migule Torres”). These defendants, associated with the Judiciary,
cannot be served through the County Prosecutor’s Office. If you file an
amended complaint, you should make certain that these defendants have been
served properly.

DISCUSSION
Federal law requires the complaint in a civil lawsuit to provide a certain
minimum level of detail about what the plaintiff alleges the defendant to have
done. At a minimum, the complaint must contain
(1) a short and plain statement of the grounds for the court’s
jurisdiction, unless the court already has jurisdiction and the
claim needs no new jurisdictional support;(2) a short and plain
statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief;
and (3) a demand for the relief sought, which may include relief in
the alternative or different types of relief
FED. R. CIV. P. 8(a). McKinnie’s complaint falls short of providing the first two of

these elements.
The complaint here contains no recitation of facts at all. Indeed, it
contains hardly any full sentences. The first page of the complaint is a list of
several “Ground[s] for Legal Action,”
1. Violation of Fourteen Amendment Of the U.S. Constitution
a. Equal Protection Clause
b. Due Process Clause
2. Breach of Trust
3. Duty
4. Misrepresentation
5. Fraud
6. Negligence
7. Harm
(Compl., 1).
The following two pages consist of a lengthy list of the names, titles, and
addresses of individual and institutional defendants. (Compl., 2-3). The next
2

three pages are all titled “Cause Of Action: Discovery.” Each contains what
appears to be a table of contents, referring to page numbers where attached
exhibits may be found. See Dkt. No. 1-1. Some of these exhibits appear to be
filings or decisions from prior state and federal court proceedings; others are
documents related to a real property purchase. The complaint, however, makes
no attempt to explain what allegations of wrongdoing these exhibits support.
The seventh page of the complaint is titled “Jurisdiction.” It contains, not
a statement of the Court’s jurisdiction, but a list of places. Following that is a
list of persons, but not the same list of persons named as defendants earlier.
The final page of the complaint, titled “Demand,” requests $8.86 1 million
in relief.
A complaint must “give the defendant fair notice of what the claim is and
the grounds upon which it rests.” Bell Ati. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555
(2007) (internal quotations and citations omitted). This complaint does not. It
contains no factual allegations at all. It does not state what the defendants
allegedly did. It contains no dates. The list of “legal actions” on the first page of
the Complaint (for instance, “Due Process Clause”) does not, without any
supporting facts, make out any claim for relief. See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S.
662, 678 (2009) (“Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action,
supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.”). A defendant or
court reading McKinnie’s complaint would have little, if any, idea what he is
alleging. The complaint must therefore be dismissed.’
This dismissal, however, is without prejudice. Within 45 days, McKinnie
may revise his complaint to comply with the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)
and file a proposed amended complaint. Because I am dismissing this
complaint as to all defendants, I will administratively terminate the motion of
There is a reference to an earlier complaint, McKinnie u. Miller, No. 09-cv-3293.
(Dkt No. 1-1, 1 (“[The Court has] original document in Civil #209-CV-3293”). That
complaint appears to allege two causes of action: 1) that two attorneys defrauded
McKinnie into paying the down payment on a house by telling him he would be an
“undisclosed owner.” (Miller Compl., 5); and 2) that one individual committed “Welfare
Fraud.” (Miller Compi., 6). That complaint was dismissed for lack of federal
jurisdiction. (Case No. 09-cv-3293, Dkt. Nos. 4, 12).
1

3

several defendants to dismiss based on improper service; unless plaintiff files
an amended complaint, this motion is moot.
A separate order will issue.

Dated April 6, 2015
Newark, New Jersey

United States District Jud

4