PRELLE v. UNITED STATES MINT et al

Filing 28

MEMORANDUM AND/OR OPINION. SIGNED BY DISTRICT JUDGE MARK A. KEARNEY ON 11/26/2024. 11/26/2024 ENTERED AND COPIES E-MAILED.(sg)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR
THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
ARTHUR SCOTT PRELLE

: CIVIL ACTION
:
v.
: NO. 24-5291
:
UNITED STATES MINT; ROBERT
:
KURZYNA; THE TREASURER OF THE :
UNITED STATES; UNITED STATES
:
DEPARTMENT OF STATE; UNITED
:
STATES DEPARTMENT OF
:
TREASURY; UNITED STATES
:
SECRETARY OF STATE; UNITED
:
STATES OF AMERICA; STATE OF
:
NEW JERSEY
:

MEMORANDUM
KEARNEY, J.

November 26, 2024

A fifty-seven year old man alleges “redemptionist” theories typical of those filed by
“sovereign citizens” claiming his birth certificate is a contract between him and the United States and
his birth state of New Jersey, and creates a trust account for him which now entitles him to an
accounting, other equitable relief, and damages from the United States, its officials, and New Jersey.
We, like every colleague who studied these theories, find these fictitious allegations wholly frivolous
as a birth certificate or authentication of a birth certificate does not create a contract or a trust account,
the United States and its officials are immune from money damages, the state of New Jersey is
immune under the Eleventh Amendment, and the sovereign citizen is not entitled to equitable relief
absent an underlying legal basis. We dismiss his third amended Complaint consistent with our
screening obligations with prejudice.
I. Alleged pro se facts
Arthur Scott Prelle, born in New Jersey in 1967, alleges his parents “accidentally
permit[ted]” the State of New Jersey at the time of his birth to “create and attach the public legal

fiction known as ‘ARTHUR SCOTT PRELLE’ estate(s) trust(s)” to him “without adequate legal
basis or lawful consideration.” 1
In July 2015 and February 2016, Mr. Prelle purchased replacement birth certificates from
the State of New Jersey for twenty-five dollars each. 2 In March 2016, Mr. Prelle submitted a
“DS-4194” form to the State Department and United States Secretary of State seeking an
“authentication certificate.” 3 The Secretary of State issued him an “authentication certificate” on
March 24, 2016.
Mr. Prelle waited over eight years and then made two demands for an accounting and
redemption of his “equitable interest” in the “contract” in September 2024 on Robert Kurzyna,
Superintendent of the United States Mint in Philadelphia. 4 Mr. Prelle demanded an accounting
and redemption of his equitable interest in the contract from the Treasurer of the United States in
October 2024. 5 Unidentified federal or state actors did not provide him with a detailed
accounting of the money owed to him under the contract and to “redeem or return” to him his
“equitable interests” under the contract. 6
II.

Analysis
We granted Mr. Prelle leave to file this case without paying the filing fees due to his

sworn pauper status. He sues the United States Mint, Robert Kurzyna in his official capacity as
the Superintendent of the United States Mint in Philadelphia, the Treasurer of the United States,
United States Department of Treasury, the United States Department of State, United States
Secretary of State, the United States of America, and the State of New Jersey. 7 Mr. Prelle invokes
our jurisdiction under Article III, section 2, clause 1 of the Constitution granting judicial power
to controversies to which the United States is a party. 8

2

He asserts claims for breach of contract, imposition of a constructive trust, specific
performance, accounting, equitable estoppel, and seeks a declaration he “holds a valid and
enforceable equitable interest in the property interests” in his birth certificates, the contract he
entered into with the United States on March 24, 2016 is legally binding, the Defendants
breached their fiduciary duties to him, Defendants must redeem or return his equitable interest,
the Defendants are not immune from damages, and injunctive relief “to preserve his rights under
the Contract.” 9
Congress requires we screen Mr. Prelle’s allegations relying on sworn representations of
being a pauper leading us to grant him leave to proceed without paying filing fees. 10 We must
dismiss his Complaint before issuing summons if his claims are frivolous or malicious, if he does
not state a claim on which relief may be granted, or if he seeks monetary relief against a
defendant immune from such relief. 11 We apply to same standard under Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 12(b)(6) to determine whether a claim should be dismissed under section
1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). 12 We accept as true all well-pleaded facts in the complaint construed in the
light most favorable to Mr. Prelle. 13 “A claim is facially plausible ‘when the plaintiff pleads
factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable
for the misconduct alleged.’” 14 While “[t]he plausibility standard is not akin to a ‘probability
requirement,’” it does require the pleading show “more than a sheer possibility … a defendant
has acted unlawfully.” 15 “A pleading that merely ‘tenders naked assertion[s] devoid of further
factual enhancement’ is insufficient.” 16 We are mindful of our “obligation to liberally construe”
Mr. Prelle’s pro se complaint. 17
We studied Mr. Prelle’s repeated allegations. He again sues the United States and its
officials in their official capacities for money damages. The United States and its officials are

3

immune from money damages. We dismiss all claims seeking money damages from the United
States, the Department of Treasury, Department of State, the Treasurer of the United States, and
the Secretary of State. The State of New Jersey is immune from suit under the Eleventh
Amendment. We dismiss all claims against the State of New Jersey. We lack jurisdiction over
Mr. Prelle’s claims for money damages. And because we lack jurisdiction to award Mr. Prelle
damages, we cannot grant him equitable relief and dismiss his claims for accounting, equitable
estoppel, declaratory and injunctive relief.
A. We lack subject-matter jurisdiction over Mr. Prelle’s claims and requested relief.
The entirety of Mr. Prelle’s claim is based on his allegation his New Jersey birth
certificate and the State Department’s March 16, 2024 “authentication certificate” of his birth
certificate are contracts between him and New Jersey and the United States. Birth certificates are
not, as a matter of law, contracts because they do not recognize or impose contractual rights,
obligations, or duties. 18 The United States Court of Federal Claims and the United States Court
of Appeals for the Federal Circuit routinely dismiss claims of sovereign citizens based on a
contractual relationship created by birth certificates as fictitious. 19
For example, in Potter v. United States, Judge Sweeney dismissed a claim alleging a birth
certificate and “estate” created by the United States in the claimant’s name in all capitals
required the United States to compensate the claimant. 20 Judge Sweeney concluded sovereign
citizen Ms. Potter’s claims are a “legal fiction . . . not based in law but in the fantasies of the
sovereign citizen movement” and the court lacked jurisdiction over based on sovereign citizen
theories based on a fictitious trust.21 Mr. Prelle’s claims seeking to redeem a fictitious trust
cannot serve as the basis of our jurisdiction considering the weight of authority from the United

4

States Court of Federal Claims. We dismiss his third amended Complaint for lack of subjectmatter jurisdiction. 22
B. Defendants are immune from damages claims.
Even if Mr. Prelle’s claims are not sovereign citizen-type claims routinely dismissed as
frivolous, both the United States entities and the State of New Jersey are immune from damages
on breach of contract claims. We today offer yet another lesson to Mr. Prelle so he can avoid
further sanction should he continue suing the United States as a sovereign. 23
1. The United States as a sovereign is immune from damages claims.
We told Mr. Prelle the United States as a sovereign is immune from suit seeking money
damages. 24 The United States, the United States Mint, the United States Department of Treasury,
the United States Department of State, the Treasurer of the United States in her official capacity,
the Secretary of State in his official capacity, and Superintendent Kurzyna in his official capacity
are all immune from suit for money damages. Mr. Prelle persists.
Congress may waive the federal government’s immunity where a statute “unmistakabl[y]
allows it.” 25 Absent a waiver, sovereign immunity shields the United States, its agencies, and its
employees acting in their official capacities from suits for money damages. 26 Congress did not
waive sovereign immunity for a damages claim for any theory of liability advanced by Mr.
Prelle.
Mr. Prelle alleges the United States consented to be sued when it “awarded” a contract
(birth certificate) to him and sovereign immunity does not bar equitable remedies, citing
Supreme Court’s guidance in United States v. Mitchell and Bowen v. Massachusetts. Neither case
is applicable. The Court in Mitchell held the United States may be liable for money damages
under the Tucker Act if a substantive right is found in some other source of law and the claim

5

“must demonstrate that the source of substantive law he relies upon ‘can fairly be interpreted as
mandating compensation by the Federal Government for the damages sustained.’” 27 The
substantive right in Mitchell arose from the General Allotment Act of 1887 between the federal
government and Native Americans regarding land and timber. 28 We have no such substantive
right here or any right. The Supreme Court’s guidance in Bowen v. Massachusetts does not apply
either. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sued the Secretary of Health and Human Services
from a final order refusing to reimburse the Commonwealth for a certain expenditures under the
Medicaid program. 29 The Commonwealth asserted the United States waived immunity for final
agency action under the Administrative Procedures Act. 30 The Court considered whether a
federal district court has jurisdiction to review a final order of an agency or whether the federal
Claims Court is the exclusive forum. 31 The waiver of immunity in Bowen rested in the
Administrative Procedures Act and the question facing the Court pertained to jurisdiction. These
are entirely different matters than Mr. Prelle’s birth certificate sovereign citizen claims.
Mr. Prelle does not cure the deficiencies. The United States, its departments, and its
officials acting in their official capacity are immune from money damages.
2. The State of New Jersey is immune from suit under the Eleventh Amendment.
Mr. Prelle’s claims against the State of New Jersey for breach of contract and quasicontract theories are barred by the Eleventh Amendment. The Eleventh Amendment “bar[s] all
private suits against non-consenting States in federal court . . . with the goal of protecting ‘the
States’ solvency and dignity.’” 32 The Supreme Court interprets the Eleventh Amendment “to
shield States and certain State-affiliated entities from suits for damages in federal court.” 33
“There is no exception to Eleventh Amendment immunity for plaintiffs who bring state law
claims against a state.” 34

6

New Jersey may waive its Eleventh Amendment immunity permitting a suit against it in
federal court if it does so by making “a clear declaration that it intends to submit itself to our
jurisdiction.” 35 New Jersey’s legislature waived sovereign immunity for breach of contract claims
in limited circumstances in the New Jersey Contractual Liability Act. 36 The legislature provided:
“The State of New Jersey hereby waives its sovereign immunity from liability arising out of an
express contract or a contract implied in fact and consents to have the same determined in
accordance with the rules of law applicable to individuals and corporations; provided, however,
that there shall be no recovery against the State for punitive or consequential damages arising out
of contract nor shall there be any recovery against the State for claims based upon implied
warranties or upon contracts implied in law.” 37
The New Jersey Legislature, through the Act, also provides for jurisdiction over claims in
the New Jersey state courts: “The courts of competent jurisdiction of the State of New Jersey shall
have jurisdiction over all claims against the State for breach of a contract, either express or implied
in fact. Contract claims against the State shall be heard by a judge sitting without a jury. Except as
otherwise expressly provided herein, all suits filed against the State under this chapter shall be in
accordance with the rules governing the courts of the State of New Jersey.” 38 Judge Shipp held
over ten years ago New Jersey waived immunity for breach of contract claims brought in state
court only and did not waive its immunity to breach of contract actions in federal court. 39
We lack subject-matter jurisdiction over Mr. Prelle’s breach of contract claims based on his
birth certificate against New Jersey and dismiss them.
C. We dismiss Mr. Prelle’s claims for equitable relief based on a fictitious contract.
Mr. Prelle claims the United States entities and the State of New Jersey breached their
fiduciary duties to him and asks us to impose a constructive trust, direct specific performance,

7

order an accounting, equitably estop Defendants from “deny[ing] their obligations,” enjoin the
United States entities and the State of New Jersey from denying his “rights” under the “contract,”
and declare he “holds a valid and enforceable equitable interest” in his birth certificate and
authentication certificate, the authentication certificate is a “legally binding agreement,” the
United States entities and the State of New Jersey owe him a fiduciary duty, the United States
entities and the State of New Jersey must redeem or return his equitable interest on his “demand”
as part of their contractual obligations, and the United States entities and the State of New Jersey
are not immune from suit. 40
Mr. Prelle’s requested equitable relief is based on a presumption his birth certificate and
the authenticated certificate from March 2024 created an equitable interest in property entitling
him to payment from the United States and the State of New Jersey. He asks us to impose a
constructive trust, an equitable remedy typically designed to prevent unjust enrichment. But
neither the United States entities nor the State of New Jersey have been unjustly enriched by the
alleged failure to pay Mr. Prelle on an equitable interest which does not exist. He essentially asks
us to order the United States, its officers and officials and the State of New Jersey to “redeem”
his “equitable interests linked to the Contract.” 41 There is no contract and, relying on the Federal
Claims court’s routine dismissal of frivolous claims, we dismiss claims for declaratory relief.
Mr. Prelle seeks injunctive relief to enjoin Defendants from denying his rights under the
contract. 42 The first element of injunctive relief is a reasonable probability of success on the
merits. 43 Mr. Prelle cannot meet his burden on the first element because there is no contract. Mr.
Prelle seeks declaratory relief under the Declaratory Judgment Act authorizing a federal court, in
its discretion, “in a case of actual controversy within its jurisdiction” to declare “the rights and
other legal relations of any interested party seeking such declaration[.]” 44

8

Mr. Prelle does not have rights in a non-existent contract. We deny Mr. Prelle’s requested
equitable relief with prejudice.
III. Conclusion
We dismiss Mr. Prelle’s third amended Complaint consistent with our screening
obligations. We gave Mr. Prelle an opportunity to amend his complaint. He did so several times.
He continues to advance a theory his birth certificate from 1967, authenticated by the State
Department in March 2024, creates a contract with the United States and/or the State of New
Jersey based on sovereign citizen redemptionist theories repeatedly rejected by federal courts.
We join our colleagues in holding these sovereign citizen theories are frivolous. We dismiss this
case with prejudice.
1

ECF 24 ¶¶ 14, 17. Mr. Prelle’s third amended Complaint appears to reflect his belief in the
sovereign citizen movement and the “redemption” process. The movement is centered on the
belief the federal government enters contracts with its citizens through birth certificates and
social security cards and holds money in individual trust accounts for each citizen. The contracts
create a fictitious entity in the individual’s name in all-capital letters. Ammon v. United States,
142 Fed. Cl. 210, 214-15 (Fed. Cl. 2019) (citing Bryant v. Washington Mut. Bank, 524 F. Supp.
2d 753, 758-59 (W.D. Va. 2007)); see also Potter v. United States, 161 Fed. Cl. 24, 28-29 (Fed.
Cl. 2022) (explaining the distinction sovereign citizen plaintiffs make between their names
written in all capital letters and the same names written with only the initial letter capitalized);
Coppedge v. Deutsche Bank Nat’l Tr., 511 F. App’x 130, 131 (3d Cir. 2013) (affirming denial of
preliminary injunction by a sovereign citizen challenging a state court writ of judgment using his
“corporate issue name” in all capital letters). Mr. Prelle seeks to collect the money he alleges the
United States owes to him under the contract through the redemption process. We dismissed an
earlier complaint filed by Mr. Prelle against his own fictitious entity (in all capital letters)
seeking monies allegedly owed to him in August 2016. See Prelle v. Prelle, No. 16-3723.
2

ECF 24 ¶¶ 31, 33. Mr. Prelle refers to these as “certificates.” We understand these are
replacement birth certificates issued by the State of New Jersey at a cost of twenty-five dollars.
Vital Statistics Fees at a Glance, STATE OF N.J. DEP’T OF HEALTH,
https://www.nj.gov/health/vital/order-vital/fees/ (last visited Nov. 22, 2024).
3

ECF 24 ¶¶ 25-27. Mr. Prelle paid eight dollars for the “authentication certificate.” A form DS4194 is a request for an authentication certificate “used by individuals, institutions, and
government agencies to request authentication and/or apostille certificates under the seal of the
U.S. Department of State for documents used for legal and administrative purposes abroad.” U.S.
9

DEP’T OF STATE, DS-4194, REQUEST FOR AUTHENTICATIONS SERVICE (2023),
https://eforms.state.gov/Forms/ds4194.PDF (last visited Nov. 22, 2024). The Department of State
will authenticate documents for use abroad by United States citizens using the DS-4194 form for
use in countries not in the 1961 Hague Convention Treaty. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/
en/replace-certify-docs/authenticate-your-document/ authentication-certificate-requirements.html
(last visited Nov. 22, 2024). Mr. Prelle does not plead how a form DS-4194 applies to him.
4

Id. ¶¶ 43-44. Mr. Prelle alleges the March 2016 authentication certificate is a contract between
him and the United States. Id. ¶ 29. He also Mr. Prelle alleges the contract he has with the United
States is evidenced by his authenticated birth certificate. See e.g. Id. ¶¶ 21, 25, 75. Liberally
construing Mr. Prelle’s allegations, certificates, forms, and pleaded process, Mr. Prelle appears to
have ordered two copies of his birth certificate from the State of New Jersey. ECF 6 at 7; ECF 24
at ¶¶ 31, 33. Mr. Prelle attached one copy of his birth certificate to earlier filed exhibits. See ECF
6 at 7. Mr. Prelle then submitted a DS-4194 form and his birth certificates to the Department of
State to authenticate the birth certificates. The Department of State issued Mr. Prelle an
authentication certificate showing his New Jersey birth certificates are authentic documents. ECF
6 at 3; ECF 24 ¶¶ 25-28.
5

ECF 24 ¶ 45.

6

Id. ¶¶ 22-24.

7

The Treasurer of the United States is Marilynn Malerba sued in her official capacity. Id. ¶ 4.
The Secretary of State is Antony Blinken sued in his official capacity. Id. ¶ 7.
8

Id. ¶ 10.

9

Mr. Prelle first sued the United States Mint, Robert Kurzyna, and the Treasurer of the United
States on October 1, 2024 seeking an accounting and redemption of his “certificate” relying on
the Uniform Commercial Code, the Trading with the Enemy Act, and an unidentified civil
rights claim under 42 U.S.C. §1983. ECF 2. We granted Mr. Prelle’s motion to proceed in forma
pauperis and screened his complaint consistent with our obligation under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a).
We dismissed his Complaint explaining the United States Mint, its Superintendent, and the
Treasurer of the United States are immune from suit seeking money damages and we lack
jurisdiction over Mr. Prelle’s claims for an accounting under the Uniform Commercial Code.
ECF 14, 15. We granted Mr. Prelle leave to timely amend if he could plead facts consistent with
his Rule 11 obligations. Id. Mr. Prelle filed an amended Complaint again suing the United
States Mint, Superintendent Kurzyna, and the Treasurer of the United States adding more
claims. ECF 16. Before we could screen the amended Complaint, Mr. Prelle filed a second
amended Complaint suing the same parties but adding the United States as a defendant. ECF
19. We struck the amended Complaint (ECF 16) as moot on the filing of the second amended
Complaint (ECF 19) subject to our screening obligations. ECF 22. Four days later, Mr. Prelle
filed his third amended Complaint. ECF 24. We struck the second amended complaint as moot
(ECF 19). Mr. Prelle’s third amended Complaint (ECF 24) is the operative complaint subject to
our screening.
10

10

28 U.S.C. § 1915(a).

11

Id. § 1915(e)(2)(B).

12

Allah v. Seiverling, 229 F.3d 220, 223 (3d Cir. 2000); Jones v. Grill, No. 21-2091, 2024 WL
3423707, at *2 n. 3 (3d Cir. July 16, 2024).
13

City of Cambridge Ret. Sys. v. Altisource Asset Mgmt. Corp., 908 F.3d 872, 878 (3d Cir. 2018).

14

Klotz v. Celentano Stadtmauer and Walentowicz LLP, 991 F.3d 458, 462 (3d Cir. 2021)
(quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009)).

15

Riboldi v. Warren Cnty. Dep’t of Human Servs. Div. of Temp. Assistance & Soc. Servs., 781 F.
App’x 44, 46 (3d Cir. 2019) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678).
16

Id. (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 668).

17

Higgs v. Att’y Gen., 655 F.3d 333, 339 (3d Cir. 2011). See also Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S.
89, 94 (2007) (“a pro se complaint, however inartfully pleaded, must be held to less stringent
standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers”). We are mindful, however, of Mr. Prelle’s
repeated and unsuccessful attempts to recover on a trust created by his birth certificate issued by
the State of New Jersey. In March 2020, our Court of Appeals denied Mr. Prelle’s petition for
writ of mandamus from the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey’s denial of
his application to proceed in forma pauperis. See In re Arthur Scott Prelle, 795 F. App’x 880 (3d
Cir. 2020). In March 2022, Judge Shipp of the United States District Court for the District of
New Jersey dismissed Mr. Prelle’s second amended Complaint against the Treasurer of the State
of New Jersey, the Governor of the State of New Jersey, and the Treasurer of the United States
seeking a trust, accounting, and claiming unjust enrichment based on an alleged trust created by
his New Jersey birth certificate with no further leave to amend. Prelle v. Chief Executive of New
Jersey, No. 16-5447, 2022 WL 657641 (D.N.J. Mar. 4, 2022). Mr. Prelle appealed to our Court of
Appeals which, in a per curiam opinion, affirmed Judge Shipp’s dismissal of the complaint
making blanket assertions and conclusory allegations not compliant with Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 8 and affirmed the District Court’s denial of further leave to amend. Prelle v. United
States by Prelle, No. 22-1453, 2022 WL 16958896 (3d Cir. Nov. 16, 2022). Mr. Prelle petitioned
for a writ of certiorari denied by the United States Supreme Court. Prelle v. Chief Executive
Officer of New Jersey, 143 S.Ct. 2590, 216 L. Ed. 2d 1197 (June 5, 2023). Mr. Prelle petitioned
the Supreme Court for rehearing which it denied last year. Id., 144 S.Ct. 50, 216 L.Ed. 2d 1304
(Aug. 21, 2023). His earlier New Jersey actions are in addition to his 2016 action dismissed by
us in this Court and the current action.
18

Gravatt v. United States, 100 Fed. Cl. 279, 286 (Fed. Cl. 2011).

19

Robinson v. United States, No. 24-166, 2024 WL 4524743, at *6, n. 11 (Fed. Cl. Sept. 17,
2024) (citing Walby v. United States, 957 F.3d 1295, 1297, 1302 (Fed. Cir. 2020) (collecting
11

cases)); Potter, 161 Fed. Cl. at 28-29; Ammon, 142 Fed. Cl. at 218-20; Rivera v. United States,
105 Fed. Cl. 644, 646, 647-48, 650 (Fed. Cl. 2012); Gravatt, 100 Fed. Cl. at 286.
20

Potter, 161 Fed. Cl. at 28-29.

21

Id. at 29 (citing Boeing Co. v. United States, 968 F.3d 1371, 1383 (Fed. Cir. 2020)).

22

Mitchell v. United States, 136 Fed. Cl. 286, 289 (Fed. Cl. 2018).

23

We remind Mr. Prelle of our Court of Appeals’ observations rejecting claims based on
sovereign citizen or redemptionist movements “which frequently rely on attacks on the judiciary
and invocations or alchemistic, archaic, and irrelevant formalism, are unlikely to bring [plaintiff]
relief in any court of law, and [plaintiff] would be wise to direct his energies in a more
productive direction.” Coppedge, 511 F. App’x at 133 (emphasis in original)
24

See ECF 14; see also Agric. Rural Dev. Rural Housing Serv. v. Kirtz, 601 U.S. 42, 48 (2024)
(citing United States v. Testan, 424 U.S. 392, 399 (1976)); D.J.S.-W by Stewart v. United States,
962 F.3d 745, 749 (3d Cir. 2020).
25

Kirtz, 601 U.S. at 48-49 (quoting FAA v. Cooper, 566 U.S. 284, 291 (2012)).

26

Bah v. United States, 91 F.4th 116, 120 (3d Cir. 2024) (quoting FDIC v. Meyer, 510 U.S. 471,
475 (1994)).

27

United States v. Mitchell, 463 U.S. 206, 216-17 (1983) (quoting Testan, 424 U.S. at 400)
(footnote omitted).

28

Id. at 208-09.

29

487 U.S. 879 (1988).

30

Id. at 887.

31

Id. at 882-83, 912.

32

Allen v. New Jersey State Police, 974 F.3d 497, 504 (3d Cir. 2020) (quoting Hess v. Port Auth.
Trans-Hudson Corp., 513 U.S. 30, 52 (1994)).
33

Id. at 505 (quoting Bradley v. W. Chester Univ. of Pa. State Sys. of Higher Educ., 880 F.3d 643,
654 (3d Cir. 2018)).
34

Id.(citing Pennhurst State Sch. & Hosp. v. Halderman, 465 U.S. 89, 106 (1984)).

35

Id. (quoting MCI Telecomm. Corp. v. Bell Atl. Pa., 271 F.3d 491, 504 (3d Cir. 2001)).

12

36

N.J. STAT. ANN. § 59:13-1.

37

Id. § 59:13-3.

38

Id. § 59:13-4.

39

NJSR Surgical Ctr., LLC. v. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, Inc., 979 F. Supp.
2d 513, 520 (D.N.J. 2013). Judge Shipp recently applied his finding to dismiss breach of contract
claims against the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs’ Division of Housing and
Community Resources for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction in federal court without prejudice to
assert in state court. Winfield Scott Tower Urban Renewal LP v. Luciani, No. 23-133, 2024 WL
4570908, at *4, n.5 (D.N.J. Oct. 24, 2024).
40

ECF 26.

41

See e.g. ECF 26 ¶¶ 78b, 84a, 97c, 102b, 126.

42

Id. ¶ 146.

43

Reilly v. City of Harrisburg, 858 F.3d 173, 176 (3d Cir. 2017).

44

28 U.S.C. § 2201(a); MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc. 549 U.S. 118, 136 (2007).

13