Okereke v. Torruella ( 2020 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
FILED
Precious Okereke, ) 04/23/2020
) Clerk, U.S. District & Bankruptcy
Plaintiff, ) Court for the District of Columbia
)
v. ) Civil Action No. 20-42 (UNA)
)
Juan R. Torruella et al., )
)
Defendants. )
MEMORANDUM OPINION
This matter, filed pro se, is before the Court on consideration of plaintiff’s complaint and
application to proceed in forma pauperis. The application will be granted, and this case will be
dismissed. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i) (requiring dismissal of the case “at any time” the
court determines that it is frivolous).
Plaintiff is a resident of Boston, Massachusetts. She has sued six circuit judges in the
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and one district judge in the United States
District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Compl. at 4 (“Parties”). The Complaint, to the
extent intelligible, is based on (1) the alleged decisions of United States District Judge Indira
Talwani during plaintiff’s civil case against United States District Judge Rya W. Zobel, and (2)
the circuit court’s alleged dismissal of plaintiff’s appeal. See id. at 1-3, 5-6. Plaintiff seeks $80
million in compensatory and punitive damages from each defendant. Id. at 7.
An “in forma pauperis complaint is properly dismissed as frivolous . . . if it is clear from
the face of the pleading that the named defendant is absolutely immune from suit on the claims
asserted.” Crisafi v. Holland 655 F.2d 1305, 1308 (D.C. Cir. 1981). Judges enjoy absolute
immunity from suits based on acts taken in their judicial capacity, so long as they have jurisdiction
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over the subject matter. Moore v. Burger, 655 F.2d 1265, 1266 (D.C. Cir. 1981) (per curiam)
(citing cases). Consequently, a complaint, such as here, against judges who have “done nothing
more than their duty” is “a meritless action.” Fleming v. United States, 847 F. Supp. 170, 172
(D.D.C. 1994), cert. denied 513 U.S. 1150 (1995); see accord Caldwell v. Kagan, 777 F. Supp. 2d
177, 179 (D.D.C. 2011) (finding “claims against the district and court of appeals judges . . . patently
frivolous because federal judges are absolutely immune from lawsuits predicated, as here, for their
official acts”).
In addition, complaints lacking “an arguable basis either in law or in fact” are subject to
dismissal as frivolous. Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989); see Crisafi, 655 F.2d at
1307-08 (“A court may dismiss as frivolous complaints reciting bare legal conclusions . . ., or
postulating events and circumstances of a wholly fanciful kind.”). Plaintiff’s complaint satisfies
this standard as well. So, this case will be dismissed with prejudice. See Firestone v. Firestone,
76 F.3d 1205, 1209 (D.C. Cir. 1996) (per curiam) (“A dismissal with prejudice is warranted . . .
when a trial court ‘determines that the allegation of other facts consistent with the challenged
pleading could not possibly cure the deficiency.’”) (quoting Jarrell v. United States Postal Serv.,
753 F.2d 1088, 1091 (D.C. Cir. 1985) (emphasis omitted)). A separate order accompanies this
Memorandum Opinion.
_________s/_____________
AMY BERMAN JACKSON
Date: April 22, 2020 United States District Judge
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