Graham v. Lavoy ( 2012 )

FILED
MAY 3 1 2012
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Clerk, U.S. District & Bankruptcy
Courts for the District of Columbia
)
Ronald Graham, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) Civil Action No. 12 0874
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Donald J. Lavoy et al., )
)
Defendants. )
)
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This matter is before the Court on its initial review of plaintiffs 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 ofRule 8(a) ofthe Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Prose 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 purports to be a resident ofNew York, New York. He is suing an official of the
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") and the agency for $200
million in compensatory damages and $175 million in punitive damages. Compl. at 5. The
complaint's allegations are mostly incomprehensible, but it appears from the attachments that
plaintiff is complaining about the processing of his application for public housing assistance by
New York officials. Plaintiff has stated no facts to support a claim against the named defendants.
A separate Order of dismissal accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.
,, fit United States District Judge
Date: May _ _ , 2012
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