Opinion
Civil Action No. 10 1903.
November 5, 2010
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This matter is before the Court on its initial review of plaintiff's pro se complaint and application for leave to proceed in 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 8(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and is frivolous.
Pro se litigants must comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Jarrell 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 "(1) a short and plain statement of the grounds for the court's jurisdiction [and] (2) a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a); see Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1950 (2009); 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).
Plaintiff, a District of Columbia resident, sues the federal government, President Barack Obama and other high-level federal and District of Columbia officials but for what conduct is unknown. The complaint, consisting mostly of disjointed words and phrases, fails to provide any notice of a claim and is simply frivolous. A separate Order of dismissal accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.
This complaint is one of five such submissions received by the Clerk's Office on the same day. Each complaint names a different set of defendants but is otherwise the same. Moreover, the Court recently dismissed another of plaintiff's complaints as frivolous. Malone v. U.S. President Barack Obama, No. 10-1826 (D.D.C. Oct. 28, 2010). Plaintiff is warned that her persistence in filing similar lawsuits may result in the Court imposing restrictions on her ability to file cases in this Court.
Date: November 3, 2010