# Willy Toussaint v. U.S. Attorney's Office

> Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · August 6, 2025

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11115352

## Case

- **Court:** Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- **Decided:** August 6, 2025
- **Precedential status:** Unpublished
- **Opinion:** Opinion
- **Nature of suit:** NEW
- **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/11115352

## Opinion text

USCA11 Case: 24-10116 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 08/06/2025 Page: 1 of 19

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Eleventh Circuit

____________________

No. 24-10116
Non-Argument Calendar
____________________

WILLY TOUSSAINT,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE,

Defendant-Appellee.

____________________

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
D.C. Docket No. 1:23-cv-24624-JEM
____________________
USCA11 Case: 24-10116 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 08/06/2025 Page: 2 of 19

2 Opinion of the Court 24-10116

Before LAGOA, KIDD, and WILSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Plaintiff-Appellant Willy Toussaint appeals the district
court’s sua sponte dismissal of his pro se complaint with prejudice,
without giving him an opportunity to amend. The district court
cited two bases for dismissing Toussaint’s complaint. First, it
“screened” Toussaint’s complaint under the in forma pauperis stat-
ute, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2), finding that it was “frivolous and fail[ed]
to state a cause of action on which relief may be granted.” And sec-
ond, it dismissed the complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Proce-
dure 41(b) and its inherent authority, finding the complaint was an
“improper shotgun pleading” that consisted “entirely of conclu-
sory, vague, and immaterial facts not obviously connected to any
particular case of action.” After careful review, we affirm the dis-
trict court’s dismissal.
I.
In December 2023, Toussaint filed a pro se civil complaint
against the U.S. Attorney’s Office, challenging his 2014 federal con-
victions for one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and two
counts of bank fraud. Toussaint filed an application to proceed in
forma pauperis the same day. In the attached civil cover sheet,
Toussaint listed Assistant U.S. Attorney Mac Anton as the only de-
fendant.
Toussaint attached a letter to his complaint alleging that J.P.
Morgan Chase Bank and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department
USCA11 Case: 24-10116 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 08/06/2025 Page: 3 of 19

24-10116 Opinion of the Court 3

“assassinated” his “career and character” by framing him for a
crime on or around December 2012 in retaliation for Toussaint’s
employment discrimination lawsuit against Chase (his former em-
ployer). This caused him to be denied for a job and become home-
less, stressed, and diabetic.
The letter referenced “Case #0:13-cr-60247-BB-1,” also
heard in the Southern District of Florida, in which Toussaint
pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud
and two counts of bank fraud for his alleged participation in a fraud-
ulent tax refund scheme from October 2011 to February 2012. See
United States v. Toussaint, 620 F. App’x 831, 832 (11th Cir. 2015) (per
curiam).
In that case, Toussaint signed a formal written plea agree-
ment and written factual proffer in July 2014. In exchange, the gov-
ernment dropped two charges of aggravated identity theft. In Oc-
tober 2014, fifteen days before sentencing, Toussaint moved to
withdraw his guilty plea and asserted his innocence. On October
31, after a four-hour hearing, the district court denied the motion
and sentenced Toussaint to forty-six months in jail. We affirmed
Toussaint’s conviction, sentence, and the denial of his motion to
withdraw his guilty plea in September 2015. Id. at 835. Toussaint
was released from prison in March 2018.
Between 2015 and 2019, Toussaint sent “a litany of letters”
to the Southern District of Florida, repeating his claims that he was
forced to plead guilty, and Chase framed him for the crime. Order
on Motion to Correct Sentence at 3, Toussaint v. United States, No.
USCA11 Case: 24-10116 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 08/06/2025 Page: 4 of 19

4 Opinion of the Court 24-10116

16-cv-60621 (S.D. Fla. Dec. 14, 2016). We later denied Toussaint a
certificate of appealability on the district court’s denial of his 28
U.S.C. § 2255 motion to vacate his sentence asserting his actual in-
nocence and involuntariness of his plea. Toussaint v. United States,
No. 17-10255 (11th Cir. June 14, 2017).
In this suit, Toussaint claims he was wrongfully convicted of
the crime because his attorney “convinced” him to plead guilty and
the prosecutor (Anton) “convinced” the judge not to allow him to
withdraw the plea. And “[d]ue to the voluntary implication of law
enforcement in the staged crime,” the “statute of limitation doesn’t
apply.”
The day after Toussaint filed his complaint and applied to
proceed in forma pauperis, the district court sua sponte dismissed
the case with prejudice. The court found the case was frivolous and
failed to state a claim because it was “entirely unclear” what dam-
ages Toussaint sought for what injuries. The court identified nu-
merous deficiencies with the complaint. For one, Toussaint
marked the boxes on his form complaint for both federal question
and diversity jurisdiction. But he “failed to identify any specific fed-
eral statutes, federal treaties, and/or provisions of the United States
Constitution” at issue when prompted. And he failed to indicate
the citizenship of both parties or list an amount in controversy. In-
stead, he repeated his allegations about the impact that his convic-
tions had on his life, reputation, and employment prospects in the
“amount in controversy” section.
USCA11 Case: 24-10116 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 08/06/2025 Page: 5 of 19

24-10116 Opinion of the Court 5

The district court also found that Toussaint failed to comply
with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, specifically: (1) where
the form directed him to “write a short and plain statement of the
claim,” as required by Rule 8(a), Toussaint wrote nothing;
(2) where the form directed Toussaint to “state briefly and pre-
cisely what damages or other relief” he sought, he repeated only
his claims that his career and character were “assassinated”; (3) the
“only law” Toussaint cited “throughout the entire Complaint” was
when he checked the box for “False Claims Act” as the nature of
his suit on his civil claims cover sheet, but he was likely well past
the statute of limitations and did not meet the heightened pleading
requirements of Rule 9(b).
Toussaint timely appealed, stating he filed “his claim for
compensation so that the felony record due to the staged crime
could be expunged.” His supplemental information again refer-
enced the denial of the withdraw of the guilty plea and accused the
prosecutor of altering the evidence. He included the transcript
from his October 2014 plea withdrawal hearing. We granted Tous-
saint’s motion for appointment of counsel.
II.
We review a district court’s dismissal of a claim filed in
forma pauperis as frivolous under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i) “only
for abuse of discretion.” Bilal v. Driver, 251 F.3d 1346, 1349 (11th Cir.
2001). “A district court abuses its discretion if it applies an incorrect
legal standard, applies the law in an unreasonable or incorrect man-
ner, follows improper procedures in making a determination, or
USCA11 Case: 24-10116 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 08/06/2025 Page: 6 of 19

6 Opinion of the Court 24-10116

makes findings of fact that are clearly erroneous.” Aycock v. R.J.
Reynolds Tobacco Co., 769 F.3d 1063, 1068 (11th Cir. 2014) (internal
quotation marks omitted).
We review a district court’s dismissal for failure to state a
claim under § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) de novo, using the same standard as
we would for dismissals under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
12(b)(6). Hughes v. Lott, 350 F.3d 1157, 1159–60 (11th Cir. 2003); Ev-
ans v. Ga. Reg’l Hosp., 850 F.3d 1248, 1253 (11th Cir. 2017), abrogated
on other grounds by Bostock v. Clayton Cnty., 590 U.S. 644 (2020).
“While we accept the factual allegations in the complaint as true,
construing them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, the al-
legations must state a claim for relief that is plausible, not merely
possible.” Quality Auto Painting Ctr. of Roselle, Inc. v. State Farm In-
dem. Co., 917 F.3d 1249, 1260 (11th Cir. 2019) (en banc). “Threadbare
recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere
conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S.
662, 678 (2009).
We hold pro se pleadings to less stringent standards than
those drafted by lawyers, but pro se litigants still “must suggest
(even if inartfully) that there is at least some factual support for a
claim.” Jones v. Fla. Parole Comm’n, 787 F.3d 1105, 1107 (11th Cir.
2015). And all litigants in federal court—pro se or counseled—are
required to comply with the applicable procedural rules. See Albra
v. Advan, Inc., 490 F.3d 826, 829 (11th Cir. 2007) (per curiam).
We review denials of leave to amend for abuse of discretion.
Troville v. Venz, 303 F.3d 1256, 1259 (11th Cir. 2002) (per curiam).
USCA11 Case: 24-10116 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 08/06/2025 Page: 7 of 19

24-10116 Opinion of the Court 7

But we review the district court’s legal conclusion that amendment
would be futile de novo. St. Charles Foods, Inc. v. Am.’s Favorite
Chicken Co., 198 F.3d 815, 822 (11th Cir. 1999).
When dismissing an in forma pauperis complaint sua sponte
under § 1915(e), a district court “must explain its findings with suf-
ficient clarity for effective appellate review.” Dimanche v. Brown, 783
F.3d 1204, 1214 (11th Cir. 2015) (internal quotation marks omitted).
“We may affirm the district court’s judgment on any ground that
appears in the record, whether or not that ground was relied upon
or even considered by the district court.” EEOC v. STME, LLC, 938
F.3d 1305, 1313 (11th Cir. 2019) (citation modified).
III.
Counseled on appeal, Toussaint argues that the district court
abused its discretion when it dismissed his in forma pauperis com-
plaint as frivolous under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) and denied him an
opportunity to amend as a matter of course under Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 15(a)(1).
The in forma pauperis statute allows litigants to bring civil
actions in federal court, without prepaying any fees, when they
would otherwise be unable to pay the costs of their lawsuits. See 28
U.S.C. § 1915. But, to prevent “abusive or captious litigation” by lit-
igants whose “court costs are assumed by the public,” Neitzke v.
Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 324 (1989), the statute directs courts to dis-
miss claims filed in forma pauperis if “at any time” the court finds
the action or appeal “(i) is frivolous or malicious; (ii) fails to state a
claim on which relief may be granted; or (iii) seeks monetary relief
USCA11 Case: 24-10116 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 08/06/2025 Page: 8 of 19

8 Opinion of the Court 24-10116

against a defendant who is immune from such relief.” 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(e)(2)(B).
To the extent that a complaint filed in forma pauperis “lacks
even an arguable basis in law,” it may be dismissed for both frivo-
lousness and failure to state a claim. Neitzke, 490 U.S. at 328 (dis-
cussing § 1915(d), now § 1915(e)). A complaint may be dismissed
for failure to state a claim under § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii), as under Rule
12(b)(6), if the allegations, taken as true, show the plaintiff is not
entitled to relief. See Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. 199, 215 (2007). A com-
plaint fails to state a claim when “ignoring any ‘mere conclusory
statements,’ the remaining allegations do not ‘plausibly suggest’
that the defendant is liable.” Harper v. Pro. Prob. Servs. Inc., 976 F.3d
1236, 1240 n.4 (11th Cir. 2020) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 681).

By contrast, the court may dismiss an in forma pauperis
claim as frivolous under § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i) “if it is without arguable
merit either in law or fact.” Bilal, 251 F.3d at 1349. A complaint lacks
an arguable basis in law when it is “based on an indisputably merit-
less legal theory.” Neitzke, 490 U.S. at 327. And a claim lacks an ar-
guable basis in fact “if the facts alleged are clearly baseless, a cate-
gory encompassing allegations that are fanciful, fantastic, and de-
lusional.” Denton v. Hernandez, 504 U.S. 25, 32–33 (1992) (citation
modified). The court is not bound, as it usually is, “to accept with-
out question the truth of the plaintiff’s allegations.” Id. at 32. Judges
may “pierce the veil of the complaint’s factual allegations and dis-
miss those claims whose factual contentions are clearly baseless.”
Bilal, 251 F.3d at 1349 (quotation marks omitted).
USCA11 Case: 24-10116 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 08/06/2025 Page: 9 of 19

24-10116 Opinion of the Court 9

Even if a complaint legally states a claim and the facts are
not fantastic, a district court is still within its discretion to dismiss a
complaint as frivolous if it is obvious from the face of the com-
plaint that an affirmative defense would defeat the action. See Clark
v. Ga. Pardons & Paroles Bd., 915 F.2d 636, 640 (11th Cir. 1990). This
includes situations where the defendant is immune from suit, the
complaint “reasserts allegations litigated in a previous suit,” or the
statute of limitations has expired. Id. at 640 n.2.
A. Frivolousness
When Toussaint applied to proceed in forma pauperis, the
district court did as it was required—reviewed his complaint and
dismissed it “at any time” after finding it had no arguable merit in
fact or law. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i); see also Bilal, 251 F.3d at 1348
n.4 (reviewing dismissal based on frivolousness where the court’s
order cited § 1915(e)(2) and found both that the complaint failed to
state a claim and was frivolous).
Procedurally, the district court explained its findings with
“sufficient clarity” for our review. Dimanche, 783 F.3d at 1214 (quo-
tation marks omitted). The court identified numerous deficiencies
with Toussaint’s form complaint, including that his attached letter
cited no law, it was “entirely unclear” what damages Toussaint
sought, he failed to establish any of the elements of a claim under
the only statute he did cite (the False Claims Act), and the filing
consisted “of conclusory, vague, and immaterial facts not obvi-
ously connected to any particular cause of action.”
USCA11 Case: 24-10116 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 08/06/2025 Page: 10 of 19

10 Opinion of the Court 24-10116

Substantively, the complaint’s sole legal basis is “indisputa-
bly meritless.” Neitzke, 490 U.S. at 327. As the district court noted,
the “only law cited” by Toussaint “throughout the entire Com-
plaint is his check mark on the box for ‘375 False Claims Act’ as the
Nature of Suit” on the civil cover sheet. And the court correctly
observed that Toussaint did not plead his claim with particularity,
nor identify a false claim, and that any False Claims Act claim
would likely be time barred, see 31 U.S.C. § 3731(d). The complaint
is also plainly meritless because Toussaint, as a pro se litigant, can-
not bring a False Claims Act claim. The Eleventh Circuit, like
“every other court of appeals to have addressed the question,”
United States ex rel. Feliciano v. Ardoin, 127 F.4th 382, 384 (D.C. Cir.
2025), has held that pro se litigants cannot bring civil claims under
the False Claims Act. See Timson v. Sampson, 518 F.3d 870, 873–74
(11th Cir. 2008).

The rest of the complaint, in vague and conclusory terms,
alleges that Toussaint’s July 2014 guilty plea and October 2014 con-
viction violated his due process rights because Chase and the Fort
Lauderdale Police Department framed him for the crime, and As-
sistant U.S. Attorney Anton forced him to plead guilty. But there
are a multitude of issues with any possible claim Toussaint could
bring related to his decade-old conviction, including that the gov-
ernment defendants are absolutely immune from suit,1 the

1 Prosecutors have absolute immunity for all actions they take while perform-

ing their role as an advocate for the government, including the initiation and
pursuit of criminal prosecution, all appearances before the court, examining
USCA11 Case: 24-10116 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 08/06/2025 Page: 11 of 19

24-10116 Opinion of the Court 11

complaint “reasserts allegations” and arguments we have rejected
on direct appeal and habeas, without raising new arguments or ev-
idence, and the statute of limitations has likely expired. Clark, 915
F.2d at 640 n.2.
Although we must construe pro se pleadings liberally, “this
leniency does not give a court license to serve as de facto counsel
for a party, or to rewrite an otherwise deficient pleading in order to
sustain an action.” Campbell v. Air Jam. Ltd., 760 F.3d 1165, 1168–69
(11th Cir. 2014) (quotation marks omitted). It was not the district
court’s responsibility to “act as counsel” for a self-represented liti-
gant, nor review Toussaint’s filings for possible claims. Pliler v. Ford,
542 U.S. 225, 231 (2004). Without any other legal basis to grant re-
lief, the district court acted within its “range of choice” when it
dismissed Toussaint’s complaint as frivolous. Betty K Agencies, Ltd.
v. M/V MONADA, 432 F.3d 1333, 1337 (11th Cir. 2005) (internal quo-
tation marks omitted).
B. Leave to Amend
Toussaint argues that the district court erred in dismissing
the claim with prejudice when he had another two weeks to amend
his pleading “as of right” under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
15(a)(1). A district court may not dismiss an in forma pauperis

witnesses, and presenting evidence. Rowe v. City of Fort Lauderdale, 279 F.3d
1271, 1279 (11th Cir. 2002). Absolute immunity shields prosecutors from lia-
bility for “even wrongful or malicious acts,” including false arrest, false impris-
onment, abuse of process, and malicious prosecution claims. Hart v. Hodges,
587 F.3d 1288, 1298 (11th Cir. 2009); see also 28 U.S.C. § 2680(h).
USCA11 Case: 24-10116 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 08/06/2025 Page: 12 of 19

12 Opinion of the Court 24-10116

complaint without allowing leave to amend when required by Rule
15(a). Troville, 303 F.3d at 1260 n.5.
Under Rule 15(a)(1), a party may amend his complaint “once
as a matter of course” within twenty-one days after serving it. Pro
se plaintiffs proceeding in forma pauperis are given the same op-
portunity to amend their complaints as paying pro se plaintiffs.
Brown v. Johnson, 387 F.3d 1344, 1348 (11th Cir. 2004). Typically, “a
pro se plaintiff must be given at least one chance to amend the com-
plaint before the district court dismisses the action with preju-
dice—at least, that is, where a more carefully drafted complaint
might state a claim.” Silberman v. Miami Dade Transit, 927 F.3d 1123,
1132 (11th Cir. 2019) (citation modified). But that “extra dose of
grace” is “not warranted” if amendment would be futile. Id. at 1133.
And it is unnecessary if the claim is “patently frivolous.” Tazoe v.
Airbus S.A.S., 631 F.3d 1321, 1336 (11th Cir. 2011).
Leave to amend is futile “if an amended complaint would
still fail at the motion-to-dismiss or summary-judgment stage.” L.S.
ex rel. Hernandez v. Peterson, 982 F.3d 1323, 1332 (11th Cir. 2020).
We do not ask whether the plaintiff “has otherwise stated a claim”
but “whether, when all is said and done, he can do so.” Silberman,
927 F.3d at 1133. We look to “whether the underlying facts or cir-
cumstances relied upon by a plaintiff may be a proper subject of
relief.” Hernandez, 982 F.3d at 1332 (internal quotation marks omit-
ted).
A district court does not abuse its discretion by denying
leave to amend as futile where a plaintiff fails to identify any new
USCA11 Case: 24-10116 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 08/06/2025 Page: 13 of 19

24-10116 Opinion of the Court 13

facts that might form the basis for a successful claim, or “give any
indication about what the substance of his proposed amendment
would be.” Vanderberg v. Donaldson, 259 F.3d 1321, 1326–27 (11th
Cir. 2001); see also U.S. ex rel. Atkins v. McInteer, 470 F.3d 1350, 1362
(11th Cir. 2006). Although plaintiffs need not always “attach a copy
of the proposed amendment,” they must at least describe its “sub-
stance.” Advance Tr. & Life Escrow Servs., LTA v. Protective Life Ins.
Co., 93 F.4th 1315, 1336 (11th Cir. 2024). A statement that “merely
hypothesizes, in broad strokes, the kinds of amendments [the plain-
tiff] might have been able to make” is not enough. Newton v. Duke
Energy Fla., LLC, 895 F.3d 1270, 1278 (11th Cir. 2018).
A district court may also find amendment futile if the newly
asserted claims would be barred by the applicable statute of limita-
tions. Moore v. Baker, 989 F.2d 1129, 1131 (11th Cir.1993). A plaintiff
need not negate a statute-of-limitations defense in his complaint,
but we dismiss a complaint on statute-of-limitations grounds
where it is “apparent from the face of the complaint that the claim
is time-barred.” Wainberg v. Mellichamp, 93 F.4th 1221, 1224 (11th
Cir. 2024) (per curiam) (quotation marks omitted). In such cases, a
district court does not abuse its discretion in finding amendment
would be futile where a party “failed to point to any additional facts
or allegations that could make its claims timely.” Cita Tr. Co. AG v.
Fifth Third Bank, 879 F.3d 1151, 1157 (11th Cir. 2018).
Here, Rule 15(a) did not require the district court to allow
Toussaint leave to amend before it dismissed his complaint. The
district court’s finding that Toussaint’s suit was “frivolous” is, by
USCA11 Case: 24-10116 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 08/06/2025 Page: 14 of 19

14 Opinion of the Court 24-10116

definition, a finding that amendment would be futile because his
claim was “without arguable merit either in law or fact,” Bilal, 251
F.3d at 1349, and that his “realistic chances of ultimate success are
slight.” Clark, 915 F.2d at 639; see also Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122,
1127 n.8 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc) (“When a case may be classified
as frivolous . . . there is, by definition, no merit to the underlying
action and so no reason to grant leave to amend.”).
We cannot say the district court abused its discretion in find-
ing that amendment would be futile when Toussaint has not “ten-
der[ed] an amended complaint or suggest[ed] what new allegations
any amended complaint would include.” Fla. Parole Comm’n, 787
F.3d at 1106. Toussaint acknowledges that he never moved for
leave to amend, and we recognize that he may not have had the
opportunity to because the district court issued its order the day
after the complaint was filed. 2 But, even on appeal, he has yet to
demonstrate he can offer an amendment that would state a valid
claim for relief.

2 We have suggested that the right to amend a complaint once as a matter of

course under Rule 15(a)(1) terminates once the district court has dismissed the
complaint and entered final judgment for the defendant. See MacPhee v.
MiMedx Grp., Inc., 73 F.4th 1220, 1250 (11th Cir. 2023) (collecting cases); see
also Vanderberg v. Donaldson, 259 F.3d 1321, 1326 (11th Cir. 2001). Post-judg-
ment, the plaintiff must seek leave to amend within ten days under Rule 59(e)
or Rule 60(b)(6). See Friedman v. Mkt. St. Mortg. Corp., 520 F.3d 1289, 1293 n.4
(11th Cir. 2008). We do not address this procedural question because, even the
more lenient Rule15(a) standard, the district court did not abuse its discretion
in finding amendment futile.
USCA11 Case: 24-10116 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 08/06/2025 Page: 15 of 19

24-10116 Opinion of the Court 15

Toussaint’s counsel acknowledges that his complaint “is not
a model of clarity” but maintains that it “does hint at serious, viable
claims.” He insists that the complaint’s deficiencies are not “neces-
sarily incurable” and “since the Complaint routinely alleges wrong-
ful conviction . . . it is not clear that [the False Claims Act] is the full
extent” of his claims. He points to several possible claims based on
Toussaint’s accusation that Chase and the Fort Lauderdale Police
Department framed him for the crime, including defamation or
malicious prosecution under § 1983. But this statement that
“merely hypothesizes, in broad strokes, the kinds of amendments
[the plaintiff] might have been able to make” does not suffice to
show the district court mistakenly found amendment to be futile.
Newton, 895 F.3d at 1278.
Even construing Toussaint’s complaint as liberally as possi-
ble, the district court did not err in finding that “when all is said and
done,” he cannot state a claim based on his July 2014 guilty plea
and October 2014 conviction. Silberman, 927 F.3d at 1133. The Su-
preme Court has “strictly limited the circumstances under which a
guilty plea may be attacked on collateral review.” Bousley v. United
States, 523 U.S. 614, 621 (1998). “Due regard for the finality of crim-
inal convictions counsels special restraint in the review of collateral
attacks on convictions entered pursuant to guilty pleas.” United
States v. Peter, 310 F.3d 709, 712 (11th Cir. 2002) (per curiam).
But “a criminal conviction is not always the end of the line
for defendants.” See Ramdeo v. United States, 136 F.4th 1348, 1350
(11th Cir. 2025). “[F]ederal courts retain the authority to issue some
USCA11 Case: 24-10116 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 08/06/2025 Page: 16 of 19

16 Opinion of the Court 24-10116

forms of relief after appeal—though interests in finality and comity
make it much harder to come by.” Id. at 1351. Toussaint has al-
ready, unsuccessfully challenged his conviction and sentence on di-
rect appeal in 2015 and through habeas corpus proceedings under
28 U.S.C. § 2255 in 2017. In both proceedings, he raised nearly the
same arguments about the involuntariness of his plea, his actual
innocence, and Chase and the Fort Lauderdale Police Department
framing him for the crime. See Toussaint, 620 F. App’x at 835.
Because Toussaint has served his sentence and is no longer
in custody, he is no longer eligible for post-conviction relief under
§ 2255. Even after serving his sentence, a petitioner may be eligible
for coram nobis relief to vacate his conviction because “the results
of the conviction may persist. Subsequent convictions may carry
heavier penalties, civil rights may be affected.” United States v. Peter,
310 F.3d 709, 712 (11th Cir. 2002) (per curiam) (quotation marks
omitted). But the “bar for coram nobis relief is high.” Alikhani v.
United States, 200 F.3d 732, 734 (11th Cir. 2000). As Toussaint has
“already attacked his sentence under § 2255 and lost,” based on the
involuntariness of his plea and his actual innocence, this is not “the
proper vehicle for his challenge.” Ramdeo, 136 F.4th at 1353.
And precedent forecloses Toussaint’s claims for damages
against federal or state officials, or a private entity conspiring with
federal or state officials, based on this allegedly wrongful convic-
tion. Plaintiffs may not sue government officials “to recover dam-
ages for allegedly unconstitutional conviction or imprisonment, or
for other harm caused by actions whose unlawfulness would
USCA11 Case: 24-10116 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 08/06/2025 Page: 17 of 19

24-10116 Opinion of the Court 17

render a conviction or sentence invalid,” unless the plaintiff shows
that “the conviction or sentence has been reversed on direct appeal,
expunged by executive order, declared invalid by a state tribunal
authorized to make such determination, or called into question by
a federal court’s issuance of a writ of habeas corpus.” Alvarez v. U.S.
Immigr. & Customs Enf’t, 818 F.3d 1194, 1212 n.7 (11th Cir. 2016)
(quotation marks omitted).
Because Toussaint’s remaining claims for damages “rest on
the contention that the defendants unconstitutionally conspired to
convict him of crimes he did not commit,” judgment on these
claims “would necessarily imply the invalidity of his conviction.”
Abella v. Rubino, 63 F.3d 1063, 1065 (11th Cir. 1995) (per curiam)
(quotation marks omitted). As Toussaint’s convictions have not
been invalidated, he cannot recover based on these acts. See id.
On top of all the substantive obstacles to relief, Toussaint
“failed to point to any additional facts or allegations that could
make [his] claims timely.” Cita Tr. Co. AG, 879 F.3d at 1157. Florida
has a four-year statute of limitations for most intentional torts.
Chappell v. Rich, 340 F.3d 1279, 1283 (11th Cir.2003) (per curiam);
Fla. Stat. § 95.11(3)(o)–(p). The statute of limitations begins to run
when “facts which would support a cause of action are apparent or
should be apparent to a person with a reasonably prudent regard
for his rights.” Wainberg, 93 F.4th at 1225 (quotation marks omit-
ted). Because all of Toussaint’s claims are based on facts that were
apparent to him by the time he attempted to withdraw his plea in
USCA11 Case: 24-10116 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 08/06/2025 Page: 18 of 19

18 Opinion of the Court 24-10116

2014, his 2023 complaint is well outside the applicable four-year
statute of limitations.
Toussaint argues that the statute of limitations should not
apply to him, which we interpret as an argument that the statute
of limitations should have tolled. See Leal v. Ga. Dep’t of Corr., 254
F.3d 1276, 1280 (11th Cir. 2001) (per curiam) (interpreting similar
pro se argument). But Toussaint has pointed us to no legal basis for
his claim that the statute of limitations might be tolled in his case,
and we can discern none from the record. See Hughes, 350 F.3d at
1163. As Toussaint has been arguing that his plea was coerced and
Chase and the Fort Myers Police Department framed him since at
least 2014, when he tried to withdraw his plea, he knew of the facts
giving rise to his claims by 2014 at the latest.
Toussaint has not raised new violations of the law after his
prosecution and sentencing, which took place between 2012 and
2014. At most, Toussaint argues that his criminal conviction caused
him to become homeless, diabetic, and denied for a job at Costco.
But these hardships, at most, represent “the present consequence”
of Toussaint’s past convictions and cannot extend the limitations
period. Doe as Next Friend of Doe #6 v. Swearingen, 51 F.4th 1295,
1305 (11th Cir. 2022).
Because Toussaint has not shown how his complaint could
be amended to save his meritless claim and overcome a variety of
procedural and substantive hurdles, see Atkins, 470 F.3d at 1362, we
USCA11 Case: 24-10116 Document: 45-1 Date Filed: 08/06/2025 Page: 19 of 19

24-10116 Opinion of the Court 19

find the district court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing his
complaint as frivolous and finding amendment would be futile. 3
IV.
The district court’s dismissal of Toussaint’s in forma pau-
peris complaint with prejudice under § 1915(e)(2) is AFFIRMED.

3 Because the in forma pauperis statute is a sufficient basis to dismiss Tous-

saint’s case, we do not reach the issue of whether the district court correctly
relied on its inherent authority to dismiss the complaint for failing to meet
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 8 and 9’s requirements.

---

Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11115352. Public record. Not legal advice.