# Mallgren v. United States

> District Court, District of Columbia · December 9, 2025

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11217180

## Case

- **Court:** District Court, District of Columbia
- **Decided:** December 9, 2025
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Opinion
- **Judges:** Judge Ana C. Reyes
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

ANTHONY BRIAN MALLGREN, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) Civil Action No. 1:25-cv-03004 (UNA)
)
)
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, et al., )
)
Defendants. )

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, has filed a Complaint (“Compl.”), ECF No. 1, and an

Application for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”), ECF No. 2. The Court grants

Plaintiff’s IFP Application, and for the reasons discussed below, dismisses this matter without

prejudice.

Plaintiff sues the United States and the state of New York. See Compl. at 1. The Complaint

is vague, at best. Plaintiff alleges that

[u]pon arriving, and attempting to board a bus, in Houston, TX, Anthony
Brian Mallgren, petitioner, noticed a missing wallet (“Wallet Theft”).
While NEW YORK STATE, of case isolated individualized respondent,
reportedly has a mobile phone identity application (“NY Mobile ID”), it
seemingly requires a document number (in obtaining another
identification card via the online portal to scan into NY Mobile ID), which
Anthony Brian Mallgren, petitioner, does not have reasonable access to
(“NY Tort”). While Anthony Brian Mallgren, petitioner, submitted a
passport application, the UNITED STATES, of case isolated
individualized respondent, STATE DEPARTMENT, seemingly has
avoided a digital identity solution, rather opting for a tortuous process
requiring the mailing of paper documents, such as birth certificate,
application, deficiency notice letters, passport, et cetera (“US Tort”). NY
Tort and US Tort have resulted in, at least, a delay of proper financial
compensation, per value potential reciprocation metrics.
Id. (paragraph numbers removed). Plaintiff demands “[i]mplementation of a purely digital

solution for issuing replacement state identification” and “a purely digital solution for issuing a

passport.” Id. He also seeks unenumerated damages. See id.

Pro se litigants must comply with the Federal and Local Rules of Civil Procedure. See

Jarrell v. Tisch, 656 F. Supp. 237, 239–40 (D.D.C. 1987). Federal Rule 8(a) requires a complaint

to contain “(1) a short and plain statement of the grounds for the court’s jurisdiction [and] (2) a

short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ.

P. 8(a); see Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678–79 (2009); Ciralsky v. CIA, 355 F.3d 661, 668-

71 (D.C. Cir. 2004). The Rule 8 standard ensures that respondents receive fair notice of the claim

being asserted so that they can prepare a responsive answer and an adequate defense and determine

whether the doctrine of res judicata applies. Brown v. Califano, 75 F.R.D. 497, 498 (D.D.C. 1977).

Here, Plaintiff’s ambiguous allegations fail to provide Defendants or this Court with notice

of Plaintiff’s intended claims, nor has he established this Court’s subject matter jurisdiction;

indeed, he does not cite to any legal authority. Insofar as Plaintiff, perhaps, challenges the

procedures by which one must apply for a passport, the Secretary of State possesses “substantial

discretion” over such applications and their review, see Haig v. Agee, 453 U.S. 280, 294 n.26

(1981); 22 U.S.C. § 211a (Passport Act of 1926), and Plaintiff has not pleaded any injury sustained

from the existing application requirement to “mail paper documents,” excepting mere

inconvenience. See Compl. at 1. Furthermore, as pleaded, Plaintiff has failed to show how this

Court may exercise subject matter jurisdiction over New York’s own administrative procedures.

“[T]hreadbare recitals” that are “supported by mere conclusory statements” are

insufficient to state a claim. See Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. Although a pro se complaint “must be

held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers,” Erickson v. Pardus, 551
U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (per curiam) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted), it still “must plead

‘factual matter’ that permits the court to infer ‘more than the mere possibility of [defendant’s]

misconduct,’” Atherton v. District of Columbia Office of the Mayor, 567 F.3d 672, 681–82 (D.C.

Cir. 2009) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678–79; see Aktieselskabet AF 21. Nov.2001 v. Fame Jeans,

Inc., 525 F.3d 8, 16 n.4 (D.C. Cir. 2008) (“We have never accepted ‘legal conclusions cast in the

form of factual allegations’ because a complaint needs some information about the circumstances

giving rise to the claims.” (quoting Kowal v. MCI Commc’ns Corp., 16 F.3d 1271, 1276 (D.C. Cir.

1994)).

For all of these reasons, the Court dismisses the Complaint, and this matter, without

prejudice. An Order consistent with this Memorandum Opinion is issued separately.

Date: December 9, 2025
/s/_________________________
ANA C. REYES
United States District Judge

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/11217180. Public record. Not legal advice.