Christopher John Adams v. Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, et al.

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJune 10, 2026
Docket2:25-cv-07291
StatusUnknown

This text of Christopher John Adams v. Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, et al. (Christopher John Adams v. Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, et al.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Christopher John Adams v. Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, et al., (E.D. Pa. 2026).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

CHRISTOPHER JOHN ADAMS, : Plaintiff, : : v. : CIVIL ACTION NO. 25-CV-7291 : COURT OF COMMON PLEAS : OF PHILADELPHIA COUNTY, et al., : Defendant. :

MEMORANDUM COSTELLO, J. JUNE 10, 2026 Plaintiff Christopher John Adams, an unrepresented litigant, commenced this action by filing a complaint asserting violations of his constitutional rights and the Americans with Disabilities Act 42 U.S.C. § 12132, et seq. (“ADA”) arising from state court mortgage foreclosure proceedings. Currently before the Court are Adams’s Motion for Leave to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (ECF No. 1) and his Complaint (“Compl.” (ECF No. 2)), in which he asserts claims against the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, the Administrative Judge of that court’s Trial Division, and the Clerk of that court.1 For the following reasons, the Court will grant Adams leave to proceed in forma pauperis and dismiss his Complaint with prejudice for failure to state a claim pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii).

1 Included in Adams’s Complaint is an Emergency Motion for Temporary Restraining Order (see Compl. at 11-15), which will be docketed separately. In his Emergency Motion, Adams includes as Defendants the Administrative Judge of the Trial Division of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, and the Clerk of that court. (Compl. at 11.) The Court understands Adams to assert claims against the Administrative Judge and the Clerk in his Complaint, in addition to identifying them in his Emergency Motion. In light of the Court’s disposition of Adams’s claim, the motion will be denied as moot. I. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS2 The gravamen of Adams’s claim is that in the course of state court foreclosure proceedings involving an LLC of which he is the sole member, he was not permitted to represent the LLC in court proceedings because he is not an attorney. (See Compl.) Adams alleges that he

is an individual with documented cognitive and neurological impairments that substantially limit his participation in major life activities, including executive functioning, stress tolerance, and information processing. (Id. at 7.) He is also the sole managing member and owner of multiple limited liability companies. (Id.) In his capacity as sole owner of Young Money, LLC (“Young Money”), the owner of property located at 2331 Gerritt Street in Philadelphia (“the Property”) that is the subject of pending state court foreclosure proceeding, on December 22, 2025, he sought to appear on the entity’s behalf to assert equitable defenses and request relief. (Id. at 3, 7- 8.) The clerks at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas would not file his pro se motions and explained to him that Young Money must appear through licensed counsel, providing him with a copy of “Opinion 96-105” explaining this requirement.3 (Id. at 3, 8.) Adams alleges that his

2 Unless otherwise stated, the factual allegations set forth in this Memorandum are taken from Adams’s Complaint, consisting of the Court’s form for a non-prisoner filing a civil action, supplemented with a six-page typewritten complaint, and the incorporated Emergency Motion. (ECF No. 2.) The Court deems the entire submission to constitute the Complaint and adopts the pagination supplied by the CM/ECF docketing system. Where appropriate, grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors in Adams’s pleadings will be corrected for clarity.

3 Attached to the Complaint is a page from “Opinion 96-105” pertaining to representation of corporations by non-attorney corporate officers in the courts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as well as a page identifying sources of legal assistance, email exchanges reflecting efforts to resolve mortgage foreclosure proceedings on the Property, an appraisal of the Property, a summary of planned renovations to the Property, documents pertaining to an insurance claim related to the Property, a completed Standard Agreement for the sale of Real Estate reflecting the purchase of the Property by Young Money, and pleadings in Reigo by Meitav Dash US Investments LLC v. Young Money Trading LLC, No. 2083, December Term 2025 (C.P. Phila.). (See Compl. at 16-155.) disability limits his ability to secure and communicate effectively with counsel and, additionally, that he cannot afford an attorney. (Id. at 3, 8.) He claims that the refusal to permit him to represent the LLC caused him to lose the Property. (Id. at 3.) Adams asserts that less restrictive means of protecting an LLC’s interests exist than the

complete prohibition on permitting an individual member of an LLC who is not an attorney to represent the LLC. (Id. at 8.) He further claims that the Defendants have refused to consider these alternatives. (Id.) He asserts claims based on violations of his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, and the ADA. (Id. at 9.) He seeks appointment of counsel, declaratory relief, injunctive relief, and money damages. (Id. at 4, 10.) II. STANDARD OF REVIEW The Court will grant Adams leave to proceed in forma pauperis because it appears that he is incapable of paying the fees to commence this civil action. Accordingly, 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) requires the Court to dismiss the Complaint if it fails to state a claim. Whether a complaint fails to state a claim under § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii) is governed by the same standard

applicable to motions to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), see Tourscher v. McCullough, 184 F.3d 236, 240 (3d Cir. 1999), which requires the Court to determine whether the complaint contains “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 560 U.S. 544, 556 (2007)). At this early stage of the litigation, the Court will accept the facts alleged in the pro se complaint as true, draw all reasonable inferences in the plaintiff’s favor, and ask only whether the complaint contains facts sufficient to state a plausible claim. See Shorter v. United States, 12 F.4th 366, 374 (3d Cir. 2021), abrogation on other grounds recognized by Fisher v. Hollingsworth, 115 F.4th 197, 204 (3d Cir. 2024). Conclusory allegations do not suffice. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. Because Adams is proceeding pro se, the Court construes his allegations liberally. See Vogt v. Wetzel, 8 F.4th 182, 185 (3d Cir. 2021) (citing Mala v. Crown Bay Marina, Inc., 704

F.3d 239, 244-45 (3d Cir. 2013)). The Court will “apply the relevant legal principle even when the complaint has failed to name it.” Id. However, “pro se litigants still must allege sufficient facts in their complaints to support a claim.” Id. (quoting Mala, 704 F.3d at 245). An unrepresented litigant “cannot flout procedural rules — they must abide by the same rules that apply to all other litigants.” Mala, 704 F.3d at 245; see also Doe v. Allegheny Cnty. Hous. Auth., No. 23-1105, 2024 WL 379959, at *3 (3d Cir. Feb. 1, 2024) (per curiam) (“While a court must liberally construe the allegations and ‘apply the applicable law, irrespective of whether the pro se litigant mentioned it be name,’ Higgins v. Beyer, 293 F.3d 683, 688 (3d Cir.

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