Hickman v. Freedom Liberty Independence Party ( 2009 )

FILED
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT /JEc l. 3 2008
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Clerk Us o· .
Sank · . .strlct and
ruptcy COurts
)
Derian Douglas Hickman, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) Civil Action No. U 241 ()
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)
Freedom Liberty Independence Party et aI., )
)
Defendants. )
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MEMORANDUM OPINION
Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, has filed a complaint and an application to proceed in forma
pauperis. The application will be granted and the complaint will be dismissed.
Complaints filed by pro se litigants are held to less stringent standards than are formal
pleadings drafted by lawyers. See Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519,520 (1972). Nonetheless, pro
se plaintiffs must comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Jarrell v. Tisch, 656 F.
Supp. 237, 239 (D.D.C. 1987). Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure states the
minimum requirements for complaints. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). Rule 8(a) requires that a complaint
contain a short and plain statement of the grounds upon which federal jurisdiction rests, a short
and plain statement showing that the plaintiff is entitled to relief, and a demand for judgment for
the relief sought. The minimum requirements Rule 8 imposes are designed to provide defendants
with sufficient notice of the claim or claims being asserted in order to allow defendants to
prepare a responsive answer and an adequate defense, and to determine whether the doctrine of
res judicata applies. Brown v. Califano, 75 F.R.D. 497, 498 (D.D.C. 1977). Further, compliance
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with Rule 8(a)'s requirements should provide a court with sufficient information to determine
whether it has jurisdiction over the claims.
In its entirety, this one-page pro se complaint against the Freedom Liberty Independence
Party, the Federal Communications Commission, and the Department of Education states as
follows:
Requesting information and civil court transcripts filings, for use in jury trial.
Compensation for discrimination and lost business revenue. Also State
Department trial transcripts. Compensation for property lost while awaiting court
dates. Asking for trial by jury. 1 million dollars and documents.
Complaint at 1 (punctuation and spelling altered). This complaint does not present any factual
allegations that would support a claim against the defendants named, and thus does not include a
"short and plain statement showing that the plaintiff is entitled to relief," Rule 8, or provide the
defendants with sufficient notice of the claims against them. Accordingly, the complaint will be
dismissed for failure to comply with the requirements of Rule 8.
Plaintiff has filed at least ten complaints this year, all of which have been dismissed in
screening because either the complaint is clearly frivolous and based on delusions or does not
meet the minimum standards required as set froth in Rule 8. 1 The plaintiff is advised that ifhe
persists in filing such complaints, this Court may restrict . a 1 ity proceed in forma pauperis.
A separate order accompanies this memo an
Date: / t-/ j / ~1
1 ,
United States District Judge
In addition to this one and another submitted on December 3, 2009, plaintiff has filed at
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least eight other complaints. See Civil Action Nos. 09-342,09-359,09-816,09-974,09-1071,
09-1362,09-1616,09-2251.
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