Thistle v. The State of Alabama

Opinion

6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 8 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 9 10 DAVID JOHN THISTLE, Case No.: 21cv02073-LL-KSC Plaintiff, 11 ORDER: 12 v. (1) DENYING MOTION TO PROCEED IN FORMA 13 THE STATE OF ALABAMA, PAUPERIS 14 Defendant. (2) DISMISSING COMPLAINT [ECF No. 2] 15 16 I. INTRODUCTION 17 Presently before the Court is the Motion to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (“IFP”) of 18 Plaintiff David John Thistle (“Plaintiff”). ECF No. 2 (“Mot.”). Plaintiff, proceeding pro 19 se,1 alleges that the Alabama Secretary of State’s website contains unconstitutional 20 limitations on candidate eligibility to run for the United States House of Representatives. 21 See generally ECF No. 1 (“Compl.”). Having considered carefully Plaintiff’s Complaint, 22 IFP Motion, and the applicable law, the Court (1) DENIES Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed 23 IFP and (2) DISMISSES the Complaint without prejudice. 24 II. BACKGROUND 25 Plaintiff alleges that “while researching The ALABAMA Secretary of State’s 26 1 In reviewing the instant motion, the Court is mindful that “[a] document filed pro se is to 27 be liberally construed … and a pro se [pleading], however inartfully pleaded, must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Erickson v. Pardus, 28 1 Official Website to become an ‘Official Ballot Candidate for the Office of U.S. 2 Representative,’” he discovered that the website unconstitutionally sought to “limit and 3 prevent otherwise fully qualified Ballot Candidates” from running for office. Compl. at 2- 4 3.2 Plaintiff’s does not allege the specific language on the website he takes issue with, but 5 he appears to contend that the website imposes limitations on candidates more stringent 6 than Article 1 of the Constitution, which only requires that a Representative “when elected, 7 be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.” U.S. Const. art. I, § 2. 8 III. LEGAL STANDARD 9 A. In Forma Pauperis Motion 10 Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), the Court may authorize a plaintiff to pursue a case 11 without payment of the filing fee. Whether an affiant has satisfied § 1915(a) falls within 12 “the reviewing court[’s] . . . sound discretion.” California Men’s Colony v. Rowland, 939 13 F.2d 854, 858 (9th Cir. 1991), rev’d on other grounds, 506 U.S. 194 (1993). A party need 14 not “be absolutely destitute” to proceed IFP. Adkins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 15 335 U.S. 331, 339 (1948). “Nonetheless, a plaintiff seeking IFP status must allege poverty 16 ‘with some particularity, definiteness, and certainty.’” Escobedo v. Applebees, 787 F.3d 17 1226, 1234 (9th Cir. 2015) (citing United States v. McQuade, 647 F.3d 938, 940 (9th Cir. 18 1981)). “An affidavit in support of an IFP application is sufficient where it alleges that the 19 affiant cannot pay the court costs and still afford the necessities of life.” Id. However, “the 20 same even-handed care must be employed to assure that federal funds are not squandered 21 to underwrite, at public expense, either frivolous claims or the remonstrances of a suitor 22 who is financially able, in whole or in part, to pull his own oar.” Temple v. Ellerthorp, 586 23 F. Supp. 848, 850 (D. R.I. 1984). 24 B. Screening 25 The Court is obligated to screen all cases filed IFP pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 26 § 1915(e)(2). See, e.g., Calhoun v. Stahl, 254 F.3d 845, 845 (9th Cir. 2002) (per curiam) 27 2 Unless otherwise indicated, all page number references are to the ECF generated page 28 1 (holding 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) screening applies to non-prisoners proceeding IFP); see 2 also Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1126–27 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc) (discussing 28 3 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)). Under this statute, the Court must sua sponte dismiss a complaint, 4 or any portion of it, that is frivolous, malicious, fails to state a claim, or seeks damages 5 from defendants who are immune. See Lopez, 203 F.3d at 1126–27. Courts “may consider 6 facts contained in documents attached to the complaint” to determine whether the 7 complaint states a claim for relief. Nat’l Assoc. for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis v. 8 Cal. Bd. of Psychology, 228 F.3d 1043, 1049 (9th Cir. 2000). “The purpose of [screening] 9 is ‘to ensure that the targets of frivolous or malicious suits need not bear the expense of 10 responding.’” Nordstrom v. Ryan, 762 F.3d 903, 920 n.1 (9th Cir. 2014) (citations 11 omitted). 12 IV. DISCUSSION 13 A. In Forma Pauperis Motion 14 The Court find that Plaintiff has not met his burden of demonstrating his indigence 15 with particularity, definiteness, or certainty. In Escobedo, for example, the filing fees 16 constituted 40% of the plaintiff’s monthly income before factoring in her expenses. 17 Escobedo, 787 F.3d at 1235. Taking into account the plaintiff’s rent and debt payments, 18 the filing fee would have required the entirety of two months’ worth of her remaining funds, 19 meaning that the plaintiff “would have to forgo eating during those sixty days, to save up 20 to pay the filing fee.” Id. Under those circumstances, the Ninth Circuit determined that 21 paying the filing fee would constitute a significant financial hardship to the plaintiff. Id. 22 Accordingly, the court reversed the magistrate judge’s ruling denying the plaintiff IFP 23 status. Id. at 1236. 24 Here, Plaintiff’s IFP motion indicates that his monthly income is $4,620.00. Mot. 25 at 2. Plaintiff indicates that his only asset is a 2016 Kia Soul, and he has $5.23 in a checking 26 account and $20.00 in a savings account. Id. at 3. His monthly expenses average $4,850.00 27 and consist of the following: mortgage ($2,980.00), utilities ($1,000.00), laundry and dry 28 cleaning ($100.00), home insurance ($200.00), car payment ($500.00), and credit card 1 payment ($70.00). Id. at 4. Plaintiff claims that “my retirement pay is not enough to live 2 on in C[alifornia].” Id. at 5. Before factoring in expenses, the $402.00 filing fee3 3 constitutes less than 10% of Plaintiff’s monthly income. 4 There are inconsistencies in Plaintiff’s IFP application. For example, Plaintiff avers 5 his average monthly expenses exceed his monthly income by $230.00; however, Plaintiff 6 does not explain how he pays the difference every month when he only has $25.00 in his 7 bank accounts and no listed assets other than his vehicle. Section 1915(a)(1) requires that 8 Plaintiff attest to “all assets [he] possesses.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1) (emphasis added). 9 The Court costs are not a significant portion of Plaintiff’s monthly income. Although 10 Plaintiff has elected to pay a substantial portion of his income toward a monthly mortgage 11 payment, given Plaintiff’s level of income, it appears he is financially able to pay the Court 12 costs. 13 Given these facts, the Court concludes that Plaintiff is able to pay the requisite fees 14 and costs and “still afford the necessities of life.” Escobedo, 787 F.3d at 1234. 15 Accordingly, the Court DENIES Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed IFP. 16 B. Screening Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) 17 Even if Plaintiff paid the filing fee or had sufficiently demonstrated his indigence, 18 his Complaint would still be dismissed. 19 Plaintiff seeks to bring his claim pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 242. Compl. at 2. He 20 requests the Court “immediate[ly] assign[ ] a Federal Prosecuting Attorney from the Office 21 of the U.S. Attorney to thoroughly examine the State of ALABAMA’ [sic] Official 22 Election Division and Website for any and all possible violations of altering of the 23 Constitution of these United States”; “order the Elected and Appointed Officers of the State 24 of ALABAMA to immediately and without haste restore the Law of Article 1 Section 2 25 3 In addition to the $350.00 statutory fee, civil litigants must pay an additional 26 administrative fee of $52.00. See 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a) (Judicial Conference Schedule of 27 Fees, District Court Misc. Fee Schedule, § 14 (eff. Dec. 1, 2020)). The additional $52.00 administrative fee does not apply to persons granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis. 28 1 Paragraph 2 of the Constitution of the United States”; and “extend Witness Protection to 2 the Plaintiff and his family due to the nature of the High Political and State Offices held by 3 the Defendants.” Id. at 3-4. 4 As an initial matter, Plaintiff seeks to assert his claim pursuant to a statute in the 5 United States Criminal Code, 18 U.S.C. § 242. However, this statute does not provide a 6 private cause of action. See Aldabe v. Aldabe, 616 F.2d 1089, 1092 (9th Cir. 1980). 7 Therefore, Plaintiff cannot bring a civil suit on the basis of this statute, and he fails to state 8 a claim upon which relief can be granted under this statute.4 9 Additionally, the Court finds that Plaintiff lacks standing to bring the asserted claim 10 because he has not alleged an injury in fact. In order to bring a case in federal court, a 11 plaintiff must demonstrate he or she has “standing.” U.S. Const., Art. III; Clapper v. 12 Amnesty Intern. U.S.A., 568 U.S. 398, 408 (2013). “The plaintiff must have (1) suffered 13 an injury in fact, (2) that is fairly traceable to the challenged conduct of the defendant, and 14 (3) that is likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision.” Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 15 578 U.S. 330, 338 (2016), as revised (May 24, 2016) (citing Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 16 504 U.S. 555, 560-61 (1992)). “Standing focuses on whether a plaintiff has a ‘personal 17 stake’ in the action such that she will be an effective litigant to assert the legal challenge at 18 issue.” Townley v. Miller, 722 F.3d 1128, 1135 (9th Cir. 2013). The United States 19 Supreme Court has explained the concept of standing as follows: To establish Article III standing, an injury must be concrete, 20 particularized, and actual or imminent; fairly traceable to the 21 challenged action; and redressable by a favorable ruling. Although imminence is concededly a somewhat elastic concept, 22 it cannot be stretched beyond its purpose, which is to ensure that 23 the alleged injury is not too speculative for Article III purposes— that the injury is certainly impending. Thus, we have repeatedly 24 25 4 Under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a complaint must be 26 dismissed when a plaintiff’s allegations fail to set forth a set of facts which, if true, would 27 entitle the complainant to relief. Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007); Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 679 (2009) (holding that a claim must be facially plausible 28 1 rceointesrtaittuetde tihnajut r“yth irne afatecnt,e dan idn jtuhrayt m[au]lslte bgea tcioenrtsa ionfl yp oimsspibelned fiuntgu troe 2 injury” are not sufficient.

3 Clapper, 568 U.S. at 409 (internal citations and quotations omitted). 4 It does appear from the Complaint that Plaintiff has a personal stake in this action. 5 See Townley, 722 F.3d at 1135. Plaintiff contends that he was looking at the Alabama 6 Secretary of State website “to become an ‘Official Ballot Candidate for the Office of U.S. 7 Representative.’” Compl. at 2. Further, Plaintiff avers in his IFP Motion that he is a 8 resident of Santee, California. See Mot. at 5. Therefore, it appears Plaintiff is not currently 9 an inhabitant of the state where he is attempting to run for a congressional seat. However, 10 Plaintiff does not adequately allege injury in fact. He does not allege that the Alabama 11 Secretary of State prevented him from filing his notice of candidacy or refused his 12 application based on Plaintiff’s residency in California. As a result, Plaintiff has not 13 pleaded a “concrete, particularized, and actual or imminent” injury because he has not 14 alleged that he was denied an opportunity to run for a U.S. House of Representatives seat 15 in Alabama based on the language at issue on the Alabama Secretary of State website. See 16 Clapper, 568 U.S. at 409. Accordingly, Plaintiff’s Complaint must be dismissed for the 17 additional reason that he lacks standing to maintain the present action. 18 V. CONCLUSION 19 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 20 1. Plaintiff’s Motion to Proceed IFP is DENIED; 21 2. Plaintiff’s Complaint is DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE; and 22 3. Plaintiff is GRANTED thirty (30) calendar days from the date on which 23 this Order is electronically docketed, or in other words by, Wednesday, April 30, 2022, in 24 which to reopen his case by both (1) paying the entire $402.00 statutory and administrative 25 filing fee and (2) filing an amended complaint. 26 Any amended filing must be complete in itself, without reference to Plaintiff’s 27 original Complaint. Any claim not re-alleged in Plaintiff’s amended complaint will be 28 1 considered waived. See CivLR 15.1; Hal Roach Studios, Inc. v. Richard Feiner & Co., 9 |[Inc., 896 F.2d 1542, 1546 (9th Cir. 1989) (“[A]n amended pleading supersedes the 3 |/original.”); see also Lacey v. Maricopa Cty., 693 F.3d 896, 928 (9th Cir. 2012) (noting that 4 ||claims dismissed with leave to amend which are not re-alleged in an amended pleading 5 || may be “considered waived if not repled”). If Plaintiff fails to pay the $402.00 filing fee 6 full, this action will remain dismissed without prejudice pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a), 7 without further Order of the Court. 8 IT IS SO ORDERED. et 9 || DATED: March 22, 2022 10 HON. LINDA LOPEZ United States District Judge 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28