Stanfill-EL v. Bay et al
Filing
4
OPINION AND ORDER: This Court GRANTS Plaintiff's Application for Leave to Proceed IFP, ECF #2 . However, the Court DISMISSES the Complaint, ECF #1 , without prejudice for failing to state a claim. For details, see the attached Opinion and Order. If Plaintiff believes he can cure the deficiencies described in the Order, he can file an amended complaint on or before April 25, 2024. If Plaintiff does not file an amended complaint by that date, the Court will enter judgment dismissing the case. Signed on March 26, 2024 by Judge Karin J. Immergut. (Deposited in outgoing mail to pro se party on 3/26/24.) (jy)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF OREGON
LAWRENCE STANFILL-EL,
Plaintiff,
v.
Case No. 3:24-cv-00496-IM
OPINION AND ORDER DISMISSING
IFP COMPLAINT
MELISSA BAY; DEPARTMENT OF
PVARO VOCATION
REHABILITATION; GARY
RICHARDSON; VINCE DIMONE; and
CINDY BUKOWSKY,
Defendants.
IMMERGUT, District Judge.
This matter concerns Plaintiff Lawrence Stanfill-El’s pro se Application for Leave to
Proceed In Forma Pauperis (“IFP”), ECF 2. As part of the IFP application process, the Court has
screened Plaintiff’s complaint, ECF 1. For the reasons explained below, this Court DISMISSES
Plaintiff’s complaint because it fails to state a claim for which relief can be granted.
PAGE 1 – OPINION AND ORDER
LEGAL STANDARDS
The federal IFP statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1915, permits an indigent litigant to forgo the
administrative costs associated with initiating and prosecuting a lawsuit in federal court. Denton
v. Hernandez, 504 U.S. 25, 27 (1992). In drafting § 1915, Congress recognized that a litigant
who is not required to shoulder the financial burden of litigating may lack “an economic
incentive to refrain from filing frivolous, malicious, or repetitive lawsuits.” Neitzke v. Williams,
490 U.S. 319, 324 (1989). To temper such abuses, § 1915(e) authorizes a district court to dismiss
a complaint upon finding that it (i) is frivolous or malicious; (ii) fails to state a claim on which
relief may be granted; or (iii) seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from
such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B); id. § 1915A(b). A complaint filed in forma pauperis may
be dismissed at any time, including before service of process, thereby “spar[ing] prospective
defendants the inconvenience and expense of answering such complaints.” Neitzke, 490 U.S. at
324; see also Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1126 n.7 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc) (explaining that
§ 1915(e) applies to all IFP complaints, and not just those filed by individuals in custody).
As the Ninth Circuit has instructed, however, courts must “continue to construe pro se
filings liberally.” Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010). A complaint filed by a selfrepresented litigant “must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by
lawyers.” Id. (quoting Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (per curiam)). A pro se litigant
will be given leave to amend his or her complaint unless it is clear that the deficiencies of the
complaint cannot be cured by amendment. Lopez, 203 F.3d at 1130–31.
DISCUSSION
Plaintiff brings this suit against Melissa Bay, Gary Richardson, Vince Dimone, and
Cindy Bukowsky, who all appear to be employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs
(“VA”). See Complaint, ECF 1 at 2 (listing VA email addresses for each Defendant). Plaintiff
PAGE 2 – OPINION AND ORDER
additionally brings suit against the Portland Veterans Affairs Regional Office (which Plaintiff
refers to as “PVARO”). Invoking the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual
punishments, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1985, 1986, and other statutes, Plaintiff alleges that “Defendants,
namely Melissa Bay [and] Carol Roane conspired to inappropriately stop [his] educational
benefits with the assistance of Mark Letterde [and] Johnathan Berreth vocation rehabilitation
counselors; which also violated [his] civil rights and defamed [his] reputation.” Id. at 3–4. In
addition, Plaintiff says, “[t]he entire Department of VA CH-31 office in Portland conspired to
remove [him] from [his] 1405 education plan while enrolled in classes at [Portland State
University].” Id. As relief, Plaintiff requests “10 million dollars in compensatory damages as
well an enforcement of U.S. Veteran Court of Appeals decision.” Id. at 5.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 requires that pleadings contain “a short and plain
statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,” and instructs that “each
allegation must be simple, concise, and direct.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2), 8(d)(1). “A claim is ‘the
aggregate of operative facts which give rise to a right enforceable in the courts.’” Bautista v. Los
Angeles County, 216 F.3d 837, 840 (9th Cir. 2000) (citation omitted). Compliance with Rule 8
therefore requires a plaintiff to plead a short and plain statement “identifying the transaction[s] or
occurrence[s] giving rise to the claim[s] and the elements of the prima facie case” for each claim
alleged. Id. Though detailed factual allegations are not required, a plaintiff must provide more
than “an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556
U.S. 662, 678 (2009).
Plaintiff’s complaint falls short of asserting a short and plain statement showing that he is
entitled to relief. It is unclear how Plaintiff’s factual allegations (and the many documents he
appends to his complaint) are relevant to the constitutional and statutory provisions he has listed,
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and confusingly, his complaint refers to individuals whom he has not listed as Defendants. See
Brazil v. U.S. Dep’t of Navy, 66 F.3d 193, 199 (9th Cir. 1995) (“Although . . . pro se
litigant[s] . . . may be entitled to great leeway when the court construes [their] pleadings, those
pleadings nonetheless must meet some minimum threshold in providing a defendant with notice
of what it is that it allegedly did wrong.”). Accordingly, Plaintiff’s complaint does not comply
with Rule 8 and must be dismissed. See, e.g., McHenry v. Renne, 84 F.3d 1172, 1177–80 (9th
Cir. 1996) (upholding district court’s dismissal of a complaint that failed to set forth a short and
plain statement of the claims at issue in violation of Rule 8(a)).
Furthermore, Plaintiff’s complaint faces potential jurisdictional issues. First, to the extent
that Plaintiff is arguing that this Court should award damages to him based on a VA decision
regarding his benefits, this Court lacks jurisdiction over his case. As the Ninth Circuit has
explained, a district court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction over a claim “if it requires the district
court to review VA decisions that relate to benefits decisions, including any decision made by
the Secretary [of the VA] in the course of making benefits determinations.” Veterans for
Common Sense v. Shinseki, 678 F.3d 1013, 1025 (9th Cir. 2012) (en banc) (citations and internal
quotation marks omitted); see also Stephens v. Biden, Case No. 3:23-cv-00817-SB, 2024 WL
554274, at *11 (D. Or. Jan. 26, 2024) (citing cases). Second, to the extent that Plaintiff is seeking
damages pursuant to a constitutional tort claim against VA employees in their official capacities,
this Court likely lacks jurisdiction over his case. As a general matter, the United States has not
waived its sovereign immunity against damages claims that it, or its employees in their official
capacities, violated the Constitution. See Jachetta v. United States, 653 F.3d 898, 904 (9th Cir.
2011) (citing cases). This list of potential jurisdictional obstacles is not exhaustive, and there
may be other jurisdictional issues that Plaintiff’s claims, if clarified, may trigger.
PAGE 4 – OPINION AND ORDER
CONCLUSION
The Court DISMISSES without prejudice Plaintiff’s Complaint, ECF 1, for failure to
state a claim for which relief can be granted. Plaintiff has thirty (30) days to amend his
complaint.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED this 26th day of March, 2024.
/s/ Karin J. Immergut
Karin J. Immergut
United States District Judge
PAGE 5 – OPINION AND ORDER
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