Matthew v. United States
- Proceeding
- district
- Area
- civil
- Panel
- James E. Simmons (author)
Analysis
The court reviewed a pro se plaintiff's First Amended Complaint seeking to compel the issuance of a U.S. passport without a Social Security Number, along with several accompanying motions. The court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim without leave to amend and denied all other motions as moot.
| What the court decided | The model |
|---|---|
Dismissal of First Amended Complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e) without leave to amend“Consequently, the Court finds that Plaintiff once again fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted and DISMISSES the FAC pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e) without leave to amend.” | agree with court The court applied the mandatory screening requirement of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim. The denial of leave to amend is supported by the cited authority (Zucco Partners) regarding the court's discretion to deny amendment after repeated failures to cure deficiencies, given the prior dismissal with leave to amend. The decision follows from the law and the recited record. |
Denial of Motion for Leave to Proceed in Forma Pauperis“Because Plaintiff fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, the Court DENIES all other motions as moot.” | agree with court The motion is denied as a consequence of the dismissal of the underlying complaint. This is a standard procedural outcome when the substantive claim fails. |
Denial of Motion to Clarify Equitable Status“Because Plaintiff fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, the Court DENIES all other motions as moot.” | agree with court The motion is denied as a consequence of the dismissal of the underlying complaint. |
Denial of Motion for Request for In-Chambers Conference“Because Plaintiff fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, the Court DENIES all other motions as moot.” | agree with court The motion is denied as a consequence of the dismissal of the underlying complaint. |
Denial of Motion for Preliminary Injunction“Because Plaintiff fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, the Court DENIES all other motions as moot.” | agree with court The motion is denied as a consequence of the dismissal of the underlying complaint. A plaintiff cannot obtain injunctive relief if they fail to state a claim. |
Denial of Notice of Motion for Hearing“Because Plaintiff fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, the Court DENIES all other motions as moot.” | agree with court The motion is denied as a consequence of the dismissal of the underlying complaint. |
The order itself: sound — The order correctly applies the mandatory screening statute for in forma pauperis cases. It cites appropriate Ninth Circuit precedent for the court's authority to dismiss and deny leave to amend after a prior opportunity to cure deficiencies. The reasoning is concise but sufficient for a procedural dismissal based on the failure to state a claim.
Opinion
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 JACOB MATTHEW, Case No.: 3:25-cv-01664-JES-JLB 12 Plaintiff, ORDER:
13 v. (1) DISMISSING FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT PURSUANT TO 14 UNITED STATES, UNITED STATES SCREENING UNDER § 1915(e); DEPARTMENT OF STATE, SAN 15 DIEGO PASSPORT AGENCY, and (2) DENYING MOTION FOR 16 MARCO RUBIO, in his official capacity LEAVE TO PROCEED IN FORMA as Secretary of State, 17 PAUPERIS; Defendants. 18 (3) DENYING MOTION TO 19 CLARIFY EQUITABLE STATUS;
20 (4) DENYING MOTION FOR 21 REQUEST FOR IN-CHAMBERS CONFERENCE; 22 23 (5) DENYING MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION; 24 AND 25 (6) DENYING NOTICE OF MOTION 26 FOR HEARING 27 28 1 Pro se Plaintiff Jacob Matthew (“Plaintiff”) brings the instant action against 2 Defendants the United States, United States Department of State, San Diego Passport 3 Agency, and Marco Rubio, in his official capacity as Secretary of State (collectively, 4 “Defendants”), seeking to compel Defendants to issue a U.S. passport without the 5 requirement of providing a social security number (“SSN”). 6 Plaintiff filed his initial complaint in this matter on June 30, 2025. ECF No. 1. On 7 July 2, 2025, this Court dismissed Plaintiff’s complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e) 8 with leave to amend and dismissed other pending motions as moot. ECF No. 11. The Court 9 identified multiple deficiencies within the complaint; most glaringly, however, was 10 Plaintiff’s failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. See id. at 3-5. 11 On July 22, 2025, Plaintiff filed his first amended complaint (“FAC”) and brings the 12 following motions: (1) Motion for Leave to Proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”); (2) Ex 13 Parte Motion to Clarify Equitable Status; (3) Ex Parte Motion to Request for In-Chambers 14 Conference; (4) Motion for Preliminary Injunction; and (5) Notice of Motion for Hearing. 15 ECF Nos. 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. Plaintiff’s FAC, however, contains the same factual 16 allegations as his initial complaint. See ECF No. 12. Consequently, the Court finds that 17 Plaintiff once again fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted and 18 DISMISSES the FAC pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e) without leave to amend. Lopez v. 19 Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1127 (9th Cir. 2000) (IFP complaint is subject to a mandatory and 20 sua sponte review by the Court); 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) (instructing courts to dismiss IFP 21 complaint that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted); see also Cato v. 22 United States, 70 F.3d 1103, 1106 (9th Cir. 1995) (district court has discretion to dismiss 23 IFP complaint); Barren v. Harrington, 152 F.3d 1193 (9th Cir. 1998) (affirming sua sponte 24 dismissal for failure to state a claim); Zucco Partners, LLC v. Digimarc Corp., 552 F.3d 25 981, 1007 (9th Cir. 2009) (“A district court…may in its discretion deny leave to 26 amend…due to repeated failure to cure deficiencies by amendments previously allowed.”) 27 (internal quotations and citations omitted). 28 Because Plaintiff fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, the Court 2 DENIES all other motions as moot. The Clerk of Court 1s directed to close this case. 3 IT IS SO ORDERED. 4 ; Dated: August 25, 2025 “4 we SH 4, 6 Honorable James E. Sunmons Jr. 4 United States District Judge 8 9 10 1] 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28