Opinion
22-2354-JWB
12-19-2022
BENJAMIN O. MAYS, Plaintiff, v. SABIN MLIVIC, Defendant.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
JOHN W. BROOMES, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
On September 14, 2022, Magistrate Judge Teresa James ordered Plaintiff to show cause why this action should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. (Doc. 6.) The matter is now before the court on Plaintiff's response to the show cause order. (Doc. 8.) After reviewing the response, the court concludes that the action must be DISMISSED for lack of jurisdiction.
As noted in the show cause order, federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction and must dismiss an action at any stage of the proceedings if it becomes apparent that jurisdiction is lacking. See Pueblo of Jemez v. United States, 790 F.3d 1143, 1151 (10th Cir. 2015). As Magistrate Judge James also pointed out, there are two statutory bases upon which this court can exercise jurisdiction over a case: diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332 and federal question jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. The former applies to suits where the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 and is between citizens of different states. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1). The latter applies where the claim arises under the Constitution or laws of the United States. 28 U.S.C. § 1331.
Plaintiff was put on notice by the show cause order that his complaint-which contains allegations about a dispute over rent between Plaintiff and his landlord-did not contain any allegations to show either diversity or federal question jurisdiction. In response, Plaintiff simply adds more allegations to the effect that his landlord has not fully credited rent payments or is otherwise failing to live up to their rental agreement. (Doc. 8.) Nothing in the response provides any basis for this court to find that it has diversity or federal question jurisdiction over the dispute.
Conclusion
Based on Plaintiff's failure to show that this court has subject matter jurisdiction, the action is hereby DISMISSED without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction. IT IS SO ORDERED.