# Latham v. Brown

> District Court, D. Massachusetts · September 7, 2023

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10201360

## Case

- **Court:** District Court, D. Massachusetts
- **Decided:** September 7, 2023
- **Opinion:** 100trialcourt
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10201360

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- holding multiple filing fees are due simultaneously on a per case basis

## Opinion text

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

)
LINCOLN LATHAM, )
)
Plaintiff, )
v. ) Civil No. 23-cv-12033-ADB
)
TYREEK BROWN, Speaker of Favre )
Street in Mattapan, )
)
Defendant. )
)

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

BURROUGHS, D.J.

Plaintiff Lincoln Latham’s (“Latham”) “Petition for Restraining-Order against the
Defendant” (Dkt. No. 1) is DENIED without prejudice, and this action is DISMISSED without
prejudice.
The instant motion is the first-filed document in this matter. The Clerk’s Office assigned
a case number for the convenience of the Court, but Latham has not commenced an action
because a complaint has not been filed. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 3 (“A civil action is commenced by
filing a complaint with the court.”).
“In the absence of a complaint . . . setting out the basis for jurisdiction, the Court lacks
the jurisdiction to grant either a temporary restraining order (‘TRO’) or a preliminary
injunction.” Lowenthal v. Massachusetts, No. 14-13631-GAO, 2014 WL 5285615, at *2 (D.
Mass. Oct. 14, 2014) (quoting Greene v. Phila. Hous. Auth., No. 11–MC–60, 2011 WL 1833011
(E.D. Pa. May 11, 2011)); Latimore v. Boston Police Dep’t, No. 14-13685-FDS, 2014 WL
4965867, at *2 (D. Mass. Oct. 1, 2014). Accordingly, the motion is denied.
Because it is unclear whether Latham intended to file a new civil action, the Court
dismisses the action without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction to let Latham decide
whether he wishes to file a new action and incur the significant filing and administrative fees in
connection therewith. See Bruce v. Samuels, 577 U.S. 82 (2016) (holding multiple filing fees
are due simultaneously on a per case basis).

The Clerk is directed to file a separate order of dismissal without prejudice and close the
case. No filing fee is assessed.
SO ORDERED.
September 7, 2023 /s/ Allison D. Burroughs
ALLISON D. BURROUGHS
U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/10201360. Public record. Not legal advice.