Opinion
Civil Action 23-00744 (UNA)
04-06-2023
PRINCESS MARIA SPENCER, Plaintiff, v. METROBUS, Defendant.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
TANYA S. CHUTKAN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
This matter, filed pro se, is before the Court on its initial review of Plaintiff's Complaint, ECF No. 1, and application for leave to proceed in forma pauperis, ECF No. 2. The Court will grant the application and dismiss the complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
The subject-matter jurisdiction of the federal district courts is limited and is set forth generally at 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1332. Under those statutes, federal jurisdiction is available only when a “federal question” is presented or the parties are of diverse citizenship and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. A party seeking relief in the district court must at least plead facts that bring the suit within the court's jurisdiction. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a). Failure to plead such facts warrants dismissal of the action. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(h)(3).
In the single-page complaint, Plaintiff, a District of Columbia resident, alleges that “persons” on a Metrobus she boarded in the District “had the whole bus covered in voodoo and was putting it and witchcraft on me.” At some point, the driver “stopped the bus in the middle of the street and told everyone to exit.” Because there was no bus stop or transfer point nearby, Plaintiff was forced to walk “several miles to get downtown” with her “safety at stake because [rowdy] stalkers were riding with the bus.” Plaintiff seeks trillions of dollars “for pain and suffering.”
Plaintiff has not pleaded a jurisdictional basis, which is reason enough to dismiss the complaint. Nevertheless, federal courts “are without power to entertain claims otherwise within their jurisdiction if,” as here, “they are so attenuated and unsubstantial as to be absolutely devoid of merit, wholly insubstantial, [or] obviously frivolous[.]” Hagans v. Lavine, 415 U.S. 528, 53637 (1974) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). Therefore, this case will be dismissed by separate order.