“[F]ederal courts are without power to entertain claims otherwise within their 2 jurisdiction if they are so attenuated and unsubstantial as to be absolutely devoid of merit, wholly insubstantial, [or] obviously frivolous . . . .”
How later courts described this case
- “[F]ederal courts are without power to entertain claims otherwise within their 2 jurisdiction if they are so attenuated and unsubstantial as to be absolutely devoid of merit, wholly insubstantial, [or] obviously frivolous . . . .”
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
____________________________________
)
SEUNGJIN KIM, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
)
v. ) Civil Action No. 14-1107 (ABJ)
)
GOOGLE, INC., )
)
)
Defendant. )
____________________________________)
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Plaintiff Seungjin Kim has filed a pro se complaint against Google, Inc. According to
the complaint, “Plaintiff is an owner of the spiritual materials of Jehovah’s Witnesses” and an
“anointed one[]” who has “copyright right and owners[hip] of the spiritual materials of
Jehovah’s witnesses biblically.” Compl. ¶ 1 [Dkt. # 1]. Plaintiff claims that “[d]istribution of
Religious Apps 1 is extended preaching work as door-to-door. (Matthew 24:14),” but that
defendant has “terminated plaintiff’s developer accounts” and “deleted Plaintiff’s religious
Apps” by “force many times.” Id. ¶ 3. Plaintiff further alleges that defendant has violated the
First Amendment and “infringed religious freedom in U.S. history, Pilgrim Fathers.” Id. ¶¶ 4–5.
Plaintiff seeks an order reinstating his terminated developer account and an award of $10 billion,
which he states is the “value of Divine Law, Religious Freedom that Pilgrim Fathers in U.S.
history, and a value of the first amendment to the constitution.” Id., Prayer for Relief, at 3.
1 Plaintiff appears to refer to applications for use on Android devices and others. He also
brought a similar lawsuit against Apple, Inc. based on its apparent unwillingness to allow him to
distribute his application through the Apple Store. See Kim v. Apple, Inc., No. 14-1034, 2014
WL 3056136, at *1 (D.D.C. July 7, 2014).
“Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. They possess only that power
authorized by Constitution and statute, which is not to be expanded by judicial decree. It is to be
presumed that a cause lies outside this limited jurisdiction, and the burden of establishing the
contrary rests upon the party asserting jurisdiction.” Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am.,
511 U.S. 375, 377 (1994) (internal citations omitted). In addition, “‘[i]t is axiomatic that subject
matter jurisdiction may not be waived, and that courts may raise the issue sua sponte.’”
NetworkIP, L.L.C. v. FCC, 548 F.3d 116, 120 (D.C. Cir. 2008), quoting Athens Cmty. Hosp., Inc.
v. Schweiker, 686 F.2d 989, 992 (D.C. Cir. 1982). Indeed, a federal court must raise the issue
because it is “forbidden – as a court of limited jurisdiction – from acting beyond [its] authority,
and ‘no action of the parties can confer subject-matter jurisdiction upon a federal court.’” Id.,
quoting Akinseye v. District of Columbia, 339 F.3d 970, 971 (D.C. Cir. 2003). A district court
may dismiss a complaint sua sponte pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(h)(3), when
it is evident that the court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction. See Evans v. Suter, No. 09-5242,
2010 WL 1632902 (D.C. Cir. Apr. 2, 2010), citing Hurt v. U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.
Cir., No. 07-5019, 2008 WL 441786 (D.C. Cir. Jan. 24, 2008); Scholastic Entm’t, Inc. v. Fox
Entm’t Grp., Inc., 336 F.3d 982, 985 (9th Cir. 2003); Zernial v. United States, 714 F.2d 431,
433–34 (5th Cir. 1983).
Subject matter jurisdiction is lacking where a complaint “is patently insubstantial
presenting no federal question suitable for decision.” Tooley v. Napolitano, 586 F.3d 1006, 1009
(D.C. Cir. 2009), quoting Best v. Kelly, 39 F.3d 328, 330 (D.C. Cir. 1994). A claim is “patently
insubstantial” when it is “flimsier than doubtful or questionable . . . essentially fictitious.” Best,
39 F.3d at 330 (internal quotation marks omitted); see Hagans v. Lavine, 415 U.S. 528, 536–37
(1974) (“[F]ederal courts are without power to entertain claims otherwise within their
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jurisdiction if they are so attenuated and unsubstantial as to be absolutely devoid of merit, wholly
insubstantial, [or] obviously frivolous . . . .”) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted);
see, e.g., Peters v. Obama, Misc. No. 10-0298, 2010 WL 2541066 (D.D.C. June 21, 2010) (sua
sponte dismissing complaint alleging that President Obama had been served with and failed to
respond to an “Imperial Writ of Habeas Corpus” by the “Imperial Dominion of Amexem,”
requiring the plaintiff’s immediate release from a correctional institution).
Although mindful that complaints filed by pro se litigants are held to less stringent
standards than those applied to formal pleadings drafted by lawyers, see Haines v. Kerner, 404
U.S. 519 (1972); Brown v. District of Columbia, 514 F.3d 1279, 1283 (D.C. Cir. 2008),
plaintiff’s allegations in the present case present “no federal question suitable for decision.”
Best, 39 F.3d at 330. And to the extent that plaintiff invokes the First Amendment in his
complaint, the Court notes that the First Amendment does not apply to a private entity like
Google, Inc. Accordingly, the Court will dismiss this case sua sponte pursuant to Rule 12(h)(3)
of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. A separate order
will issue.
AMY BERMAN JACKSON
United States District Judge
DATE: July 28, 2014
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