Opinion

Williams-Striplin v. Federal Bureau of Investigation

Court
District Court, District of Columbia
Filed
Jun 23, 2017
Status
Published
On the bench
Judge Tanya S. Chutkan
Nature of suit
Civil
Cited by
0 cases
Authority
More cited than 3.8%

The opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Aaren Williams-Striplin, )

Plaintiff, §

v. § Civil Action No. l7-cv-976 (UNA)

Federal Bureau of lnvestigation et al., §

Defendants. §

)

MEMORANDUM OPINION

This matter is before the Court on its initial review of plaintiffs pro se complaint and

application for leave to proceed iri 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 S(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Pro se litigants must comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. .]arre]l 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 “(l) a short and plain statement of the grounds for the court’s jurisdiction

[and] (2) a short and plain statement ofthe 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 (20()9); 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). “[A] complaint that is excessively long, rambling, disjointed,

incoherent, or full of irrelevant and confusing material does not meet [Rule 8’s] liberal pleading

requirement.” T.M. v. D_C., 96l F. Supp. 2d 169, l74 (D.D.C. 2013).

The instant complaint is comprised Of cryptic statements about plaintiffs upbringing and

life in general, which fail to provide any notice of a claim and the basis of federal court

jurisdiction Consequently, this case will be dismissed A separate order accompanies this

ZMM

Date: June l g , 20l7 Unite States District Judge

Memorandum Opinion.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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