Carrie Luft v. Citigroup Global Markets Realty Corporation

620 F. App'x 702
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedJuly 7, 2015
Docket14-11936
StatusUnpublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 620 F. App'x 702 (Carrie Luft v. Citigroup Global Markets Realty Corporation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carrie Luft v. Citigroup Global Markets Realty Corporation, 620 F. App'x 702 (11th Cir. 2015).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Carrie Luft, proceeding pro se, appeals the district court’s dismissal with prejudice of her second amended complaint, in which Luft challenged the foreclosure on her home. No reversible error has been shown; we affirm.

Luft filed a two-count complaint against Defendants Citigroup Global Markets Realty Corporation and Citi Property Holdings, Inc. (“Citi Defendants”). After Citi Defendants moved to dismiss, Luft filed a motion for leave to amend her complaint, also requesting that the court relax the federal pleading standards. The district court granted Luft leave to amend. her complaint but explained that Luft was required to comply with Fed.R.Civ.P. 8 and with the pleading standards set out in Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007), and in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009).

Luft then filed a four-count first amended complaint against five named defendants, including both Citi Defendants. The district court dismissed the complaint without prejudice for failure to state a claim and for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

The district court granted Luft leave to file a second amended complaint. In doing so, the district court described Luft’s complaint as a “shotgun pleading” and instructed Luft to “replead each of her claims and to specify which factual allegations are relevant to each count,” in accordance with the federal pleading standards. In a later order (ruling on Luft’s motion for clarification and for an extension of time) the district court explained again the pleading requirements of Rule 8.

Luft filed a 117-page second amended complaint, on behalf of herself and others similarly situated. This second amended .complaint purpgrts to allege 7 claims against 13 named defendants, including both Citi Defendants.

Citi Defendants filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim and for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Because Citi Defendants relied in part on documents outside the pleadings, Luft moved — and Citi Defendants agreed — to have the court convert the motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment. As a result, the district court denied Citi Defendants’ motion to dismiss; and Citi Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment. Luft responded, opposing the motion.

By a thorough written opinion, the district court then dismissed with prejudice •Luft’s second amended complaint, concluding that — despite the court’s repeated and detailed instructions about how to cure the deficiencies in her complaint — Luft still failed to satisfy the pleading requirements of Rules 8 and 10. The district court described Luft’s second amended complaint as “a quintessential ‘shotgun’ pleading replete with factual allegations and rambling legal conclusions.” In the alternative, the district court also concluded that each of Luft’s seven claims should be dismissed either for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction or for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. The district court then denied as moot Citi Defendants’ motion for summary judgment.

We review de novo a district court’s order dismissing a complaint with preju *704 dice, “accepting the allegations in the complaint as true and construing them in- the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Am. Dental Ass’n v. Cigna Corp., 605 F.3d 1283, 1288 (11th Cir.2010). Although we construe liberally pro se pleadings, pro se litigants must still conform to procedural rules. Albra v. Advan, Inc., 490 F.3d 826, 829 (11th Cir.2007).

Construed liberally, Luft raises four arguments on appeal: (1) that the district court erred in concluding that Luft failed to satisfy the federal pleading requirements; (2) that the district court erred in dismissing Count 4 for failure to identify a governmental actor; (3) that the district court erred in dismissing Luffs complaint before ruling on Citi Defendants’ motion for summary judgment; and (4) that the district court erred in refusing to admit into evidence Exhibit Ml.

As an initial matter, because Luft failed to challenge the district court’s independent, alternative reasons — no jurisdiction or failure to state a claim — for dismissing Counts 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7, she has abandoned those arguments. See Timson v. Sampson, 518 F.3d 870, 874 (11th Cir.2008). Thus, we focus on the district court’s dismissal with prejudice of Count 4, in which Luft purports to assert a civil rights violation under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

To comply with the federal pleading standards, Luft is required to, among other things, provide “a short and plain statement” of her claims showing that she is entitled to relief. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2). She is also required to present each of her claims in a separate numbered paragraph, with each paragraph “limited as far as practicable to a single set of circumstances.” See Fed.R.Civ.P. 10(b).

A complaint that fails to comply with Rules 8 and 10 may be classified as a “shotgun pleading.” See Byrne v. Nezhat, 261 F.3d 1075, 1129-30 (11th Cir.2001). When faced with a shotgun pleading, a district court must order a litigant to re-plead for a more definite statement of the claim. Id. at 1133. When the amended complaint still fails to cure the deficiency, the complaint may be subject to dismissal. See id.

Here, the district court determined expressly that Luffs first amended complaint was a “shotgun pleading” and twice granted Luft leave to amend her complaint to satisfy the federal pleading requirements. Despite the court’s detailed and repeated instructions, Luffs second amended complaint still failed to provide a “short and plain statement” of her claims. Instead of clarifying and providing factual support for her existing claims, Luft amended her complaint by adding several new defendants, several new causes of action, and by seeking class certification. In the light of Luffs continued failure to comply with Rules 8 and 10 and of Luffs failure to comply with the court’s repeated orders to cure the deficiencies in her complaint, the district court committed no error in dismissing with prejudice Luffs second amended complaint.

To be more specific about the district court’s alternative ground for dismissing Count 4, we agree with the district court’s determination that Luft failed to allege sufficiently that Citi Defendants were governmental actors or that a conspiracy existed.

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Bluebook (online)
620 F. App'x 702, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carrie-luft-v-citigroup-global-markets-realty-corporation-ca11-2015.