Opinion
3:24-CV-00123 JM
11-04-2024
JODY SHACKELFORD PLAINTIFF v. MORGAN & MORGAN COMPLEX LITIGATION SERVICES, P.A. DEFENDANT
ORDER
Jody Shackelford, an Arkansas attorney, brings this action challenging the advertising practices of the large law firm of Morgan & Morgan Complex Litigation Services, P.A. Pending is Defendant's motion to dismiss Plaintiff's first amended complaint for failure to state a claim pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). Also pending is Defendant's motion for Rule 11 sanctions. However, before the Court can address the motion, it must consider whether it has jurisdiction over this action.
The jurisdiction of federal courts is limited to actual cases and controversies by Article III, § 2, of the United States Constitution. Eckles v. City of Corydon, 341 F.3d 762, 767 (8th Cir. 2003). Courts have an ““independent obligation to assure ourselves of subject-matter jurisdiction,' even when the parties . . . have not addressed it.” Hekel v. Hunter Warfield, Inc., 118 F.4th 938, 941-42 (8th Cir. 2024) (quoting Webb ex rel. K.S. v. Smith, 936 F.3d 808, 814 (8th Cir. 2019)). “[S]tanding is a jurisdictional prerequisite that must be resolved before reaching the merits of a suit.” City of Clarkson Valley v. Mineta, 495 F.3d 567, 569 (8th Cir. 2007).
To establish Article III standing, a plaintiff must establish three elements: (1) an “injury in fact”-an invasion of a legally protected interest which is both “concrete and particularized” and “actual or imminent; ” (2) proof that the injury is “fairly ... trace[able] to the challenged action of the defendant; and (3) it must be “likely,” as opposed to merely “speculative,” that the injury will be “redressed by a favorable decision.” Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlfe, 504 U.S. 555, 56061 (1992) (internal citations omitted).
Plaintiff is given until November 14, 2024 to file a short brief--- no longer than ten pages- to articulate his standing to bring this lawsuit. Defendant will have until November 22, 2024 to file a brief response
IT IS SO ORDERED