The opinion
FILED
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NOV - 4 2009
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Clerk, U.S. District and
Bankruptcy Courts
)
Jerome Julius Brown, Sr., )
)
Plaintiff, )
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v. )
)
Civil Action No. 09 2074
Associate County Attorney )
Brennan C. McCarthy, )
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Defendant. )
)
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This matter is before the Court on its initial review of plaintiffs pro se complaint and
application for leave to proceed informa 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.
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); Oralsky 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).
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Plaintiff, a resident of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, sues an associate county attorney
presumably for Prince George's County, Maryland. Similar to plaintiffs previous eight
complaints dismissed this year under Rule 8, this complaint consists of one page and a stack of
unexplained attachments. The allegations are incomprehensible and, thus, fail to provide any
notice of a claim and the basis of federal court jurisdiction. Plaintiff is advised that his
persistence in filing such actions will result in this Court restricting his ability to proceed in
forma pauperis. A separate order of dismissal accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.
Date: Octobe.l b, 2009
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