Lindsey v. Trump

Filing 8

ORDER dismissing plaintiff's amended complaint without leave to amend, by U.S. District Judge John C Coughenour. (SWT) (cc: Plaintiff via USPS)

THE HONORABLE JOHN C. COUGHENOUR

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE

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MATTHEW JAMES LINDSEY,

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Plaintiff,

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ORDER

v.

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CASE NO. C17-1818-JCC

DONALD J. TRUMP,

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Defendant.

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This matter comes before the Court sua sponte. On December 6, 2017, Plaintiff was

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granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis. On December 7, 2017, the Court reviewed Plaintiff’s

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complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) and determined that it failed to state a claim

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upon which relief could be granted. (Dkt. No. 4.) The Court issued a minute order, directing

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Plaintiff to file an amended complaint within 21 days. (Id.) Plaintiff filed an amended complaint

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on December 11, 2017. (Dkt. No. 6). Having reviewed the amended complaint, the Court again

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finds Plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted and DISMISSES the

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complaint without prejudice and without further leave to amend.

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Plaintiff’s original complaint alleged that Defendant Donald J. Trump, the President of

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the United States, violated the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978 and the Treaty on the

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Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. (Dkt. No. 3 at 4.) Plaintiff requested relief of “Arrest of Chain

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of Command & Impeachment, allow a Military Tribunal.” (Id.) Plaintiff provided no factual
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allegations to support his claims, nor requested relief that this Court could provide. The Court

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directed Plaintiff to file an amended complaint that included “a short and plain statement

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demonstrating to the Court that there is a legal basis for his claims against Defendant” and to

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“identify facts that demonstrate Defendant violated the law.” (Dkt. No. 4 at 2.)

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Plaintiff’s amended complaint suffers from the same deficiencies. It is unclear what cause

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of action Plaintiff alleges against President Trump, but he asserts that “Provisions of no

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discrimination against ethnicity, and or race, and religious beliefs and or associations [and]

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[m]ismanagement and attempted theft from Medicare, Medicaid” are at issue in the case. (Dkt.

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No. 6 at 3.) He lists the events giving rise to his claim as “House of Representatives, by vote of

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certain Republicans and or Senate Majority . . . [t]he Republicans and or Senate have made

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proposals to defraud the Medicare/Medicaid Trusts.” (Id. at 5.) He seeks “[t]he dismissal and

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termination of all governmental supporters of the current tax bill.” (Id. at 6.)

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Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B), the Court must dismiss an in forma pauperis

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complaint at any time if the action fails to state a claim, raises frivolous or malicious claims, or

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seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. “[A] complaint must

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contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its

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face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S.

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544, 570 (2007)). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that

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allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct

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alleged.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678.

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Plaintiff neither presents a cognizable legal theory nor offers plausible facts to support his

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claim. In addition to failing to state a claim, Plaintiff’s claims are facially frivolous because they

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lack “an arguable basis in fact or law.” Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989). Even in

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applying the Ninth Circuit’s directive to construe pro se complaints liberally, the Court cannot

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find that Plaintiff has stated a claim upon which relief can be granted. See Hebbe v. Pliler, 627

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F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010). The Court will not grant Plaintiff further opportunity to amend his
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complaint because it has already done so and Plaintiff did not correct any of the stated

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deficiencies.

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For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff’s amended complaint is DISMISSED without

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prejudice and without leave to amend. The Clerk is DIRECTED to close this case. The Clerk is

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further DIRECTED to mail a copy of this order to Plaintiff at the address listed on the docket.

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DATED this 14th day of December 2017.

A

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John C. Coughenour
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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