The opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
ANTHONY BRIAN MALLGREN, )
)
Plaintiff, )
v. ) Civil Action No. 25-1627 (UNA)
)
)
UNITED STATES, )
)
Defendant. )
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This matter is before the court on plaintiff’s application to proceed in forma pauperis, ECF
No. 2, and pro se petition, ECF No. 1, construed as a civil complaint. The Court grants the
application and dismisses the complaint without prejudice.
The Court holds a pro se complaint to a “less stringent standard[]” than is applied to a
pleading drafted by a lawyer. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520 (1972). Still, a pro se litigant
must comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Jarrell v. Tisch, 656 F. Supp. 237, 239
(D.D.C. 1987). Rule 8(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires that a complaint contain
a short and plain statement of the grounds upon which the court’s jurisdiction depends, a short and
plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief, and a demand for
judgment for the relief the pleader seeks. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). It “does not require detailed factual
allegations, but it demands more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me
accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quotations omitted). The Rule 8
standard ensures that defendants receive fair notice of the claim being asserted so that they can
prepare a responsive answer, mount an adequate defense, and determine whether the doctrine of
res judicata applies. See Brown v. Califano, 75 F.R.D. 497, 498 (D.D.C. 1977).
The Court dismisses the complaint for the simple reason that there are no factual allegations
supporting an actual legal claim. It is unclear what happened to plaintiff, who is responsible for
whatever happened to plaintiff, or when and where any relevant incident occurred. As drafted, the
complaint falls well short of Rule 8’s minimal pleading standard, and the Court will dismiss it
without prejudice. A separate order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.
DATE: June 11, 2025 /s/
AMIT P. MEHTA
United States District Judge
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