Daul v. Bauer et al

Filing 8

ORDER signed by Judge Lynn Adelman on 5/1/18. IT IS ORDERED that plaintiff's motion for leave to proceed without prepayment of the filing fee 7 is GRANTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiff's complaint 1 is DISMISSED for failure to state a claim on which relief may be granted. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiff shall amend his complaint on or before 5/31/18. (cc: all counsel, plaintiff) (jad)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
______________________________________________________________________
JESSE AARON DAUL,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 18-C-566

VICTORIA E. BAUER and JOHN DOE,
Defendants.
______________________________________________________________________
ORDER
Jesse Aaron Daul, proceeding pro se, brings this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
Daul seeks leave to proceed without prepaying the filing fee under 28 U.S.C. § 1915.
Based on his request, Daul is unable to pay such fees or give security therefor, so I will
grant his motion.
“Notwithstanding any filing fee, or any portion thereof, that may have been paid,”
I must dismiss a complaint, or any portion of it, if I determine “at any time” that it “fails to
state a claim on which relief may be granted.” § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii). A complaint states a
claim on which relief may be granted if it contains “factual content that allows the court
to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct
alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009).
Daul’s complaint alleges as follows: In 2000, he sexually assaulted Victoria
Bauer, “which resulted in the birth of a child.” Compl., Docket No. 1, at 1. Bauer
concealed the child from Daul for 15 years “to protect [him] from criminal prosecution”
and went on to work for the Brown County Sheriff’s Department and the Green Bay
Police Department. Id. During that time, Bauer sexually assaulted Daul twice, which
“result[ed] in the birth of” two more children. Id. at 2.

Beyond these initial allegations, Daul’s complaint is basically indecipherable. He
mentions abuse and assaults in prison, possible gang activity, “being subject to distant
radio and/or telecommunication ‘White Noise,’” and development of “a severe ‘HYPER
VIGILANCE’ bordering [on] psychic abilities,” among other things. See id. at 2–3. Daul
seeks damages, as well as “DNA acknowledgement of [his] parental rights and Shared
Placement/Custody of” his alleged children, the inclusion of his name on their birth
records, and “changes of such children’s Surnames from being ‘Bauer’ to ‘Bauer-Daul,’”
among other things. See id. at 3–4.
The only thing that I can say with certainty about this case is that “‘child custody
decrees’ remain outside federal jurisdictional bounds.” Marshall v. Marshall, 547 U.S.
293, 308 (2006) (quoting Ankenbrandt v. Richards, 504 U.S. 689, 704 (1992)).
Therefore, I cannot adjudicate Daul’s claims concerning custody of Bauer’s children.
Indeed, I cannot discern from the complaint’s factual allegations a single legal
claim on which relief may be granted over which this court has jurisdiction. Accordingly,
I will exercise my “authority to dismiss [the] complaint because it is confusing.” Fid. Nat.
Title Ins. Co. of New York v. Intercounty Nat. Title Ins. Co., 412 F.3d 745, 749 (7th Cir.
2005). As “a confusing pleading is not ordinarily a fatal defect,” I will give Daul an
opportunity to amend his complaint. See id. If he does not do so in a timely manner, as
ordered below, or if “despite repeated attempts,” he “is unable to draft an intelligible
complaint,” I will dismiss this case without prejudice. Id.
THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that plaintiff’s motion for leave to proceed
without prepayment of the filing fee (Docket No. 7) is GRANTED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiff’s complaint (Docket No. 1) is
DISMISSED for failure to state a claim on which relief may be granted.
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IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that plaintiff shall amend his complaint on or before
May 31, 2018, using the form entitled “Complaint for Non-Prisoner Filing Without a
Lawyer,” available through the Clerk of Court’s office or on the court’s website at
http://www.wied.uscourts.gov/forms/guide-and-complaint-non-prisoner-filing-withoutlawyer. If plaintiff does not timely amend his complaint, I will infer that he does not wish
to proceed with this action, and I will dismiss it without prejudice and without further
notice for failure to diligently prosecute it. See Civil L. R. 41(c) (E.D. Wis.).
Dated at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this 1st day of May, 2018.

s/Lynn Adelman___________
LYNN ADELMAN
District Judge

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