Opinion
Civil Action No 14-638
04-02-2014
Eric Hill, Plaintiff, v. W.H.H. Trice & Co. et al., Defendants.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This matter is before the Court on the plaintiffs pro se complaint and application to proceed in forma pauperis. The Court will grant the plaintiffs application and dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
The subject matter jurisdiction of the federal district courts is limited and is set forth generally at 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1332. Under those statutes, federal jurisdiction is available only when a "federal question" is presented or the parties are of diverse citizenship and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. A party seeking relief in the district court must at least plead facts that bring the suit within the court's jurisdiction. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). Failure to plead such facts warrants dismissal of the action. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3).
Plaintiff is a homeless resident in the District of Columbia suing a company in Williamsburg, Virginia, for $50,000 in damages. He alleges that the company's attorney "went to landlord and tenant court," presumably in the District of Columbia, and "start[ed] bragging about how she can get the judge to do anything she wants." Compl. at 1. Plaintiff concludes that "the defendants violated [his] civil, constitutional and 6th amendment rights," but he has not alleged any facts presenting a federal question. In addition, the amount in controversy is below the threshold amount for exercising diversity jurisdiction. Hence, this case will be dismissed. A separate Order accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.
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United States District Judge