Opinion
Civil Action 22-12112-JGD
12-27-2023
JOSEPH A. LOSANO, Plaintiff, v. WILLIAM EVANS, CITY OF BOSTON, et al., Defendants.
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER ON MOTION TO STRIKE AND DISMISS COMPLAINT
Judith Gail Dein, United States Magistrate Judge
I. INTRODUCTION
Plaintiff Joseph A. Losano (“Losano”) has filed a pro se complaint spanning 150 pages with exhibits, and 373 paragraphs. He has named eight (8) defendants, including William Evans (“Evans”) and the City of Boston (the “City”) (Evans and the City are, collectively, the “Defendants”). This matter is presently before the court on the Defendants' “Motion to Strike and Dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint” (“Mot. Dismiss”) (Docket No. 7), through which the Defendants ask this Court to strike and to dismiss Losano's Complaint (“Compl.”) (Docket No. 1) pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(f) and 41(b), for failure to comply with the pleading requirements of Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a) and 8(d). A court may exercise its power to dismiss a complaint that fails to conform with Rule 8's pleading requirements where that pleading is “so confused, ambiguous, vague, or otherwise unintelligible that its true substance, if any, is well disguised.” Atkinson v. Town of Rockport, Civil Action No. 11-11073-NMG, 2012 WL 4888423, at *1 (D. Mass. July 30, 2012) (additional citations omitted), report and recommendation adopted, No. 1:11-cv-11073-NMG (D. Mass. Oct. 11, 2012). Because Losano's Complaint is such a pleading, Defendants' “Motion to Strike and Dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint” is ALLOWED without prejudice. (See note 6, infra).
II. STATEMENT OF FACTS
On December 12, 2022, Plaintiff Joseph A. Losano filed the complaint at issue and initiated this action. (See Docket No. 1). On March 10, 2023, this court granted Losano's Motion for Leave to proceed in forma pauperis and summons were issued thereafter. (See Docket No. 4). On May 26, 2023, the Defendants filed their motion to dismiss, and on June 9, 2023, Losano filed an opposition to that motion. (See Docket Nos. 7-8, 11). On November 15, 2023, Losano and the Defendants filed their consent to proceed before the undersigned Magistrate Judge. (See Docket No. 22).
Overview of the Complaint
While this court will not attempt to detail all of the complaint's allegations, it will provide a basic overview of its structure. Losano's Complaint spans 150 pages (inclusive of exhibits) and contains 373 total paragraphs; the allegations within it are numerous and fragmented, but liberally construed, they appear to relate to an elaborate, alleged conspiracy with the Defendants and members of the Boston Police Department at its center.
Preceding these allegations, and beginning on page three, are thirty-nine (39) paragraphs detailing Losano's “. . . PERSONAL HISTORY,” “EDUCATION,” “MILITARY WORK HISTORY,” and “CIVILIAN WORK HISTORY,” in resume-like fashion. (See Compl. ¶¶ 22-60). The complaint also includes the detailed descriptions of ten (10) non-party individuals labeled as “NON-DEFENDANTS” and a separate section titled “LEGAL BACKGROUND.” (Id. ¶¶ 12-21, 6163). Following these sections, the complaint's “STATEMENT OF FACTS” covers seventeen (17) pages and 268 separate paragraphs, and it outlines a scattered chronology of various events and alleged occurrences between 2016 up until 2022. (Id. ¶¶ 64-331). According to his allegations, Losano claims to have been targeted by the Defendants and others, and charged as a suspect and briefly incarcerated for violations he allegedly did not commit. He was ultimately released following an entry of nolle prosequi. As a result of these events, he alleges to have suffered numerous civil rights violations, which the complaint sets forth as separate counts beginning at paragraph 332.
The complaint's four counts include:
COUNT I
VIOLATION OF 42 U.S.C. ss 1983, 4th AMENDMENT RIGHT OF SEARCH and SEIZURE, BY THE DEFENDANTS GOFF, ROONEY, and KELLY
COUNT II
VIOLATION OF 42 U.S.C. ss 1983, 4th AMENDMENT RIGHT of PROTECTING PEOPLE FROM UNREASONABLE SEARCH and SEIZURE BY THE GOVERNMENT BY THE DEFENDANTS EVANS, JULIANO, and the CITY of BOSTON
COUNT III
VIOLATION OF 42 U.S.C. ss 1983 5th and 14th AMENDMENT RIGHTS of DUE PROCESS of the UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, ARTICLE XII of the MASSACHUSETTS DECLARATION of RIGHTS, and MASSACHUSETTS CIVIL RIGHTS STATUTE Ch. 12 ss 11-I BY THE DEFENDANTS GOFF, ROONEY, KELLY, WYNNE and MACLEAN
[COUNT IV]
MASSACHUSETTS STATE TORT: ABUSE OF PROCESS BY DEFENDANTS GOFF and ROONEY(Id. ¶¶ 332-73). By his complaint, Losano seeks compensatory and punitive damages against “all Defendants,” costs, and any “other and further relief . . . this Court may deem just, necessary, and appropriate.” (Compl. at 24).