Opinion

(PS) Chiu v. President of US Donald Trump

Court
District Court, E.D. California
Filed
Jun 24, 2024
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 31.2%

court must 16 construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff

How later courts described this case

  • court must 16 construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff
  • court 15 must accept the allegations as true
  • holding that while leave to amend shall 21 be freely given, the court does not have to allow futile amendments

Written by the judges who cited it.

The opinion

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8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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11 TAIFUSIN CHIU, No. 2:24-cv-01738 KJM AC PS

12 Plaintiff,

13 v. ORDER AND FINDINGS AND

RECOMMENDATIONS

14 PRESIDENT OF US DONALD TRUMP,

15 Defendant.

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17 Plaintiff is proceeding in this action pro se. The case was referred to the undersigned by

18 E.D. Cal. R. 302(c)(21). Plaintiff has filed a request for leave to proceed in forma

19 pauperis (“IFP”) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915, and has submitted the affidavit required by that

20 statute. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1). The motion to proceed IFP will therefore be granted.

21 I. SCREENING

22 A determination that a plaintiff qualifies financially for in forma pauperis status does not

23 complete the inquiry required by the statute. The federal IFP statute requires federal courts to

24 dismiss a case if the action is legally “frivolous or malicious,” fails to state a claim upon which

25 relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief.

26 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). Plaintiff must assist the court in determining whether or not the

27 complaint is frivolous, by drafting the complaint so that it complies with the Federal Rules of

28 Civil Procedure (“Fed. R. Civ. P.”). Under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the complaint

1 must contain (1) a “short and plain statement” of the basis for federal jurisdiction (that is, the

2 reason the case is filed in this court, rather than in a state court), (2) a short and plain statement

3 showing that plaintiff is entitled to relief (that is, who harmed the plaintiff, and in what way), and

4 (3) a demand for the relief sought. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). Plaintiff’s claims must be set forth

5 simply, concisely and directly. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(d)(1).

6 A claim is legally frivolous when it lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact.

7 Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989). In reviewing a complaint under this standard, the

8 court will (1) accept as true all of the factual allegations contained in the complaint, unless they

9 are clearly baseless or fanciful, (2) construe those allegations in the light most favorable to the

10 plaintiff, and (3) resolve all doubts in the plaintiff’s favor. See Neitzke, 490 U.S. at 327; Von

11 Saher v. Norton Simon Museum of Art at Pasadena, 592 F.3d 954, 960 (9th Cir. 2010), cert.

12 denied, 564 U.S. 1037 (2011).

13 The court applies the same rules of construction in determining whether the complaint

14 states a claim on which relief can be granted. Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (court

15 must accept the allegations as true); Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236 (1974) (court must

16 construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff). Pro se pleadings are held to a

17 less stringent standard than those drafted by lawyers. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520

18 (1972). However, the court need not accept as true conclusory allegations, unreasonable

19 inferences, or unwarranted deductions of fact. Western Mining Council v. Watt, 643 F.2d 618,

20 624 (9th Cir. 1981). A formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action does not suffice

21 to state a claim. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-57 (2007); Ashcroft v. Iqbal,

22 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). To state a claim on which relief may be granted, the plaintiff must

23 allege enough facts “to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at

24 570. “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the

25 court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.”

26 Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678.

27 A pro se litigant is entitled to notice of the deficiencies in the complaint and an

28 opportunity to amend, unless the complaint’s deficiencies could not be cured by amendment. See

1 Noll v. Carlson, 809 F.2d 1446, 1448 (9th Cir. 1987), superseded on other grounds by statute as

2 stated in Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122 (9th Cir.2000)) (en banc).

3 II. THE COMPLAINT

4 The putative complaint is unintelligible. ECF No. 1. There is no clearly identifiable

5 incident that forms the basis of the complaint. No causes of action are asserted. Plaintiff’s

6 complaint consists of a series of nonsensical phrases. For example, plaintiff writes: “Medal of

7 Honor Versus Purple Heart[.] The President Show Down[.] 900 Septillion Number[.] 999 USD

8 Quora’ s Number President Show Down and USD Infinite President Show down[.]” ECF No. 1

9 at 1.

10 III. ANALYSIS

11 The complaint does not contain facts that indicate any basis for federal jurisdiction or that

12 support any cognizable legal claim against any defendant. The undersigned finds that the

13 complaint consists entirely of fanciful and nonsensical sentences and allegations with no basis in

14 law and no plausible supporting facts. Accordingly, the complaint cannot support relief and must

15 be dismissed. See Neitzke, 490 U.S. at 327; Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570.

16 It is readily apparent that amendment would be futile. Although leave to amend is

17 generally to be granted with liberality, “[v]alid reasons for denying leave to amend include undue

18 delay, bad faith, prejudice, and futility.” California Architectural Bldg. Prod. v. Franciscan

19 Ceramics, 818 F.2d 1466, 1472 (9th Cir. 1988); see also Klamath-Lake Pharm. Ass'n v. Klamath

20 Med. Serv. Bureau, 701 F.2d 1276, 1293 (9th Cir. 1983) (holding that while leave to amend shall

21 be freely given, the court does not have to allow futile amendments). Considering the content of

22 the complaint before the court, the undersigned finds that it would be futile to grant plaintiff leave

23 to amend.

24 IV. PRO SE PLAITNIFF’S SUMMARY

25 Your request that the court waive your filing fee is being granted and you will not have to

26 pay the filing fee in this case. However, because your complaint does not make any legal claim

27 or provide facts that could support any legal claim, the undersigned is recommending that your

28 case be dismissed.

1 V. CONCLUSION

2 In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's application to

3 || proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 2), is GRANTED.

4 Further, IT IS HEREBY RECOMMENDED that all claims against all defendants should

5 || be DISMISSED with prejudice.

6 These findings and recommendations are submitted to the United States District Judge

7 || assigned to the case, pursuant to the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). Within twenty-one days

8 | after being served with these findings and recommendations, plaintiff may file written objections

9 || with the court. Such a document should be captioned “Objections to Magistrate Judge’s Findings

10 || and Recommendations.” Plaintiff is advised that failure to file objections within the specified

11 || time may waive the right to appeal the District Court’s order. Martinez v. YIst, 951 F.2d 1153

12 | (9th Cir. 1991).

13 IT IS SO ORDERED.

14 | DATED: June 24, 2024

15 tirten.__Cthe

16 ALLISON CLAIRE

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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