The opinion
FILED
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NOV - 4 2010
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Clerk, U.S. District & Bankruptcy
Courts for the District of Columbia
)
Karen F. Long, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. )
)
Civil Action No.
10 1889
Stepen N. Zark, )
)
Defendant. )
)
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This matter is before the Court on its initial review of plaintiffs pro se complaint and
application for leave to proceed in forma pauperis. The Court will grant the in forma pauperis
application and dismiss the case because the complaint fails to meet the minimal pleading
requirements of Rule 8(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and is frivolous.
Pro se litigants 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
complaints 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, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1950 (2009); Ciralsky v. CIA, 355
F.3d 661,668-71 (D.C. Cir. 2004). The Rule 8 standard ensures that defendants 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).
Plaintiff, a resident of Oxon Hill, Maryland, purports to sue the President of the American
Bar Association but for what conduct is unknown. I The complaint, consisting of incoherent
scribble, fails to provide any notice of a claim and is simply frivolous. 2 A separate Order of
dismissal accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.
I The President of the American Bar Association is Stephen N. Zack. See
http://www.abanet.org.
2 This complaint is one of four such submissions received by the Clerk's Office on the
same day. Each complaint names a different defendant. Plaintiff, who just this year has had nine
cases dismissed under similar circumstances, is warned that her persistence in filing frivolous
lawsuits may result in the Court imposing restrictions on her ability to file cases in this Court.
2