Rust, Vanessa v. Alter Metal Recycling

Filing 9

ORDER that plaintiff Vanessa Rae Rust may have until May 26, 2017, to file an amended complaint that provides a short and plain statement of her claims against defendant Alter Metal Recycling. Signed by District Judge James D. Peterson on 5/5/2017. (jef),(ps)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN

VANESSA RAE RUST,
Plaintiff,
v.

OPINION & ORDER

ALTER METAL RECYCLING,

16-cv-003-jdp

Defendant.
Pro se plaintiff Vanessa Rust brings this lawsuit about her termination from defendant
Alter Metal Recycling. I dismissed Rust’s complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8
because it did not provide a short and plain statement of a claim against Alter Metal. See Dkt. 4.
I took her to be alleging that Alter Metal violated her rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 by discriminating against her on the basis of her sex, but her allegations were so
threadbare that she failed to allege facts showing unlawful discrimination. Id. I gave her a
chance to submit an amended complaint explaining her claims. Id.
Rust has submitted a response to my order, but it cannot reasonably be characterized
as an amended complaint. Perhaps misunderstanding my order, Rust has submitted more than
250 pages of documents discussing her employment with Alter Metal and alleged mistreatment.
See Dkt. 5. After looking through these materials, I am confident that Rust indeed intends to
bring sex discrimination claims against Alter Metal, but what’s missing in these voluminous
materials is a short and plain statement of the facts related to her claims, as required under
Rule 8. Alter Metal cannot file an answer responding to the materials Rust has submitted. Nor
is now the time for Rust to present documents she wishes to use as evidence in litigating these
claims.

I will give Rust a final chance to submit an amended complaint that complies with Rule
8. All things considered, she was closer to the mark with her original complaint, and her goal
should be to provide more detail to the information she provided in that complaint. I will
attach to this opinion a complaint form, which she should use to fill out her amended
complaint. The “statement of claim” section should be her brief story of what happened; it
should not be documents cobbled together from previous proceedings. She should draft her
amended complaint as if she was telling a story to people who know nothing about her
situation. In particular, she should explain what facts form the basis for her belief that she was
discriminated against based on her sex. Plaintiffs can usually accomplish this task in five to ten
pages. There should be no need to provide so much detail that the complaint is much longer
than that.
If Rust’s amended complaint properly sets out claims regarding her employment and
termination, the case will proceed on those claims. If Rust does not submit an amended
complaint by the deadline set forth below, or of the amended complaint does not lay out a
short and plain statement of her claims, I will dismiss the case.

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ORDER
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. Plaintiff Vanessa Rae Rust may have until May 26, 2017, to file an amended
complaint that provides a short and plain statement of her claims against defendant
Alter Metal Recycling.
2. If plaintiff fails to timely amend her complaint, I will dismiss this case for failure to
state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
Entered May 5, 2017.
BY THE COURT:
/s/
________________________________________
JAMES D. PETERSON
District Judge

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