Bell v. Scripture Cathedral Church

• Court: District Court, District of Columbia
• Decided: September 13, 2013
• Docket: Civil Action No. 2013-1394
• Status: Published

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA F 1 L E o sEP 1 3 zm; Kareemah Bell, ) clerk l U»S ' ) - lstnct and Plaintiff, ) Ba"k""pt€y Courts ) v. ) Civil Action No. _.¢ . (‘ L][ ) l § “ 15 7 Scripture Cathedral Church, ) ) Defendant. ) ) MEMORANDUM OPINION

This matter is before the Court on the plaintiffs pro se complaint and application to proceed in forma pauperis. The Court will grant the plaintiffs application and dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

The subject matter jurisdiction of the federal district courts is limited and is set forth generally at 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1332. Under those statutes, federal jurisdiction is available only when a "federal question" is presented or the parties are of diverse citizenship and the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. A party seeking relief in the district court must at least plead facts that bring the suit within the court's jurisdiction. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). Failure to plead such facts warrants dismissal of the action. See Fed. R. Civ. P. l2(h)(3).

Plaintiff is a District of Columbia resident suing a church in the District of Columbia for "mental damages" stemming from an alleged encounter with a security officer and an usher

during the church’s service. Compl. at l-2. Since the complaint neither presents a federal

question nor provides a basis for diversity jurisdiction, it will be dismissed.l A separate Order

accompanies this Memorandum Opinion.

l

United States Distr'ict Judge

,,

l

Presumably, plaintiff may seek redress in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.