Opinion
Case No. 17-13959
05-08-2018
ANGELA NAILS, Plaintiff, v. VIRGINIA KAPLER, Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION TO PROCEED IFP AND DISMISSING COMPLAINT
This matter came before the court on plaintiff Angela Nails' pro se, 35-page complaint and application to proceed in forma pauperis. The court finds Plaintiff's application to proceed without prepayment of fees to be facially sufficient and will grant the motion. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a); Gibson v. R.G. Smith Co., 915 F.2d 260, 262 (6 Cir. 1990).
Once a court grants a plaintiff permission to proceed in forma pauperis, it must review the complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e). The court "shall dismiss" the case if it finds that the complaint is "(I) frivolous or malicious; (ii) fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted; or (iii) seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief." 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B).
The beginning of plaintiff Nails' complaint reads as follows:
In the month of November 2016 on or about the 14 day the Defendant violated HIPAA rights Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule and federal civil rights laws protect Americans' fundamental health rights. The Plaintiff was a patient receiving services at 14799 Dix Toledo Highway Southgate, Michigan 48195 giving information to a third party source without the patient permission in writing of medical release form to release patient information to the third party source the Third Circuit Court located a 2 Woodward Street Detroit, Michigan 48226.Complaint at 1 (errors in original). The entire remainder of the complaint, comprising over 30 pages, is a verbatim rendition of an explanation of HIPAA taken from an unknown source without citation.
It is well-settled, however, that HIPAA provides no private right of action for individuals. "Rather, penalties for HIPAA violations are imposed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services." Wilson v. Memphis Light, Gas & Water, No. 12-2956, 2013 WL 4782379, at *3 (W.D. Tenn. Sept. 5, 2013) (citations omitted). Accordingly, plaintiff Nails' complaint fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted and must be dismissed.
ORDER
It is hereby ORDERED that plaintiff Angela Nail's application to proceed in forma pauperis is GRANTED.
It is further ORDERED that the complaint is DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.
s/John Corbett O'Meara
United States District Judge Date: May 8, 2018
I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was served upon Plaintiff on this date, May 8, 2018, using first-class U.S. mail.
s/William Barkholz
Case Manager