Opinion
Case: 1:16-cv-01559
08-01-2016
JULIA A. HARRIS, Plaintiff, v. GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, et al., Defendant.
Assigned To : Unassigned
Assign. Date : 8/2/2016
Description: Pro Se Gen. Civil (F Deck) MEMORANDUM OPINION
This matter is before the Court on plaintiff's application to proceed in forma pauperis and her pro se civil complaint. The application will be granted, and the complaint will be dismissed with prejudice.
Plaintiff is a former employee of the District of Columbia Public Schools. She demands all "monies, benefits, privileges and all other rights" owed to her pursuant to a settlement agreement reached in 1986. Compl. at 2. Based on the complaint and its attachments, however, it appears that plaintiff was represented by counsel in a prior employment discrimination case, that the case was tried in November 1986, that the trial was suspended when the parties reached a settlement agreement, that the settlement agreement was vacated by the court at plaintiff's insistence, and that, ultimately, a judgment was entered in the District of Columbia's favor. Because there has been a prior judgment on the merits of plaintiff's employment discrimination claims, she cannot relitigate the same claim. See I.A.M. Nat'l Pension Fund v. Indus. Gear Mfg. Co., 723 F.2d 944, 949 (D.C. Cir. 1983) (noting that res judicata "forecloses all that which might have been litigated previously"); Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc. v. Thomas, 838 F.2d 1224, 1252 (D.C. Cir. 1988).
The Court concludes that the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Therefore, the Court will dismiss the complaint in its entirety. An Order is issued separately. DATE: 8/1/16
/s/_________
United States District Judge