E. Edward Zimmermann v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania·Decided August 26, 2026·No. 2:26-cv-00281·Unknown

Opinion

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

E. EDWARD ZIMMERMANN, CIVIL ACTION

Plaintiffs, NO. 26-CV-281 v.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,

Defendants.

MEMORANDUM

Marston, J. August 26, 2026 For the twenty-second time in ten years, pro se Plaintiff E. Edward Zimmermann (“Plaintiff” or “Zimmermann”) has brought a suit in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. (Doc. No. 18 at 1.) This time, Plaintiff submitted a six-page bare-bones Complaint against the United States Department of Health and Human Services (“Government” or “HHS”), requesting declaratory judgement regarding the passage of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (“the ACA”). (Doc. No. 7.) The Government moves to dismiss Plaintiff’s Complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and frustrated by Plaintiff’s successive lawsuits, moves to designate Plaintiff as a vexatious litigant under the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651. (Id.) Plaintiff opposes the Government’s motion on both grounds. (Doc. No. 21.) For the reasons below, we grant the Government’s motion in its entirety. I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND Plaintiff alleges he is the owner and operator of a commercial construction company, and as such, is an employer under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). (Doc. No. 7 at 3.) Plaintiff is responsible for his employees, which includes instituting the terms and conditions of their employment and establishing their working conditions. (Id. at 3.) Plaintiff is engaged in commerce under the NLRA and is responsible for enforcing the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”).1 (Id. at 3.)2

Plaintiff asserts that Congress enacted the ACA pursuant to its necessary and proper authorities. (Doc. No. 7 at 4.) He pontificates that “if health insurance is appropriate subject matter for bargaining (collectively or individually) and if bargaining is by and between Plaintiff and Plaintiffs Employees then the [ACA] is neither necessary nor is it proper.” (Id.) Plaintiff further sermonizes “if health insurance is appropriate subject matter for bargaining and if health insurance resides within an individual or collective regulatory scheme[] (sic) of bargaining, then the [ACA] must be preempted by Plaintiff’s Fourteenth Amendments rights to procedural due process. Rendering the [ACA] void.” (Doc. No. 7 at 5.) Plaintiff asserts two claims. First, Plaintiff requests declaratory judgment determining whether “Congress’s use of its ‘necessary and proper’ authorities in enacting [ACA] . . . was

constitutionally proper.” (Doc. No. 7 at 1.) Second, Plaintiff also requests a determination about whether the ACA “is preempted by the regulatory scheme of collective bargaining found in the National Labor Relations Act . . . as well as preempted by the common law regulatory scheme of individual bargaining.” (Id.) He claims that “[i]njury in fact goes to the original sin (enactment of the [ACA]) and prior restraint of rights.” (Id. at 2.) And that following the ACA’s passage, “through the doctrine of conversion [the Government] took over Plaintiff’s (sic) dominion over

1 Plaintiff incorrectly refers to the Affordable Care Act as the Affordable Health Care Act throughout his Amended Petition. (Doc. No. 7 at 1, 2.)

2 Plaintiff also baselessly and inappropriately asserts that the ACA was derived from Communist and Nazi ideology. (Doc. No. 7 at 3.) The Court does not engage with this groundless rhetoric. health insurance and converted it to the federal government’s dominion over Plaintiff’s (sic) health insurance.” (Id. at 2–3.) II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY On January 15, 2026, Plaintiff initiated this action against the Government in the Eastern

District of Pennsylvania. (Doc. No. 1.) On March 7, 2026, Plaintiff filed an Amended Petition for declaratory relief. (Doc. No. 7.) He paid the filing fee in this case to proceed in forma pauperis two days later. (Doc. No. 6.) Subsequently, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Declaratory Judgment against the Government on April 15, 2026. (Doc. No. 12). On April 21, 2026, the Court issued an Order warning Plaintiff that he must make service on the Government by April 24, 2026 or his case could be dismissed without prejudice pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m). (Doc. No. 13.) Plaintiff subsequently served the Government and then filed a Motion for Default on June 10, 2026. (Doc. No. 17.) On June 11, 2026, the Government filed a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and for a pre-filing injunction. (Doc. No. 18.) Plaintiff filed a response in opposition the next day

but did not address the merits of the Government’s motion. (Doc. No. 19) On June 15, 2026, the Court denied Plaintiff’s Motion for Entry of Default and ordered Plaintiff to show cause why the Court should not impose a pre-filing injunction as set forth in the Government’s proposed order attached to its motion. (Doc. No. 20.) Plaintiff filed a substantive response to the Government’s motion on June 24, 2026, and an amendment on July 3, 2026. (Doc. Nos. 21, 22.) As this matter is fully briefed, it is ripe for resolution. III. LEGAL STANDARDS A. Motion To Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction “Rule 12(b)(1) governs jurisdictional challenges to a complaint.” Williams v. Litton Loan Servicing, No. 16cv5301, 2018 WL 6600097, at *5 (D.N.J. Dec. 17, 2018). “In deciding a

motion under Rule 12(b)(1), a court must first determine whether the movant presents a facial or factual attack, because that distinction determines how the pleadings are reviewed.” Orden v. Borough of Woodstown, 181 F. Supp. 3d 237, 243 (D.N.J. Dec. 11, 2015); see also Gould Elecs. Inc. v. United States, 220 F.3d 169, 176 (3rd Cir. 2000) (“A Rule 12(b)(1) motion may be treated as either a facial or factual challenge to the court's subject matter jurisdiction.”). Here, the Government brings a facial challenge because it “contests the sufficiency of the complaint because of a defect on its face.” Williams v. Litton Loan Servicing, 2018 WL 6600097, at *5 (D.N.J. Dec. 17, 2018) (quotation marks omitted). “Thus, we consider whether Plaintiffs’ allegations, attached documents, and referenced proceedings establish the necessary jurisdiction . . . .” Myers v. Caliber Home Loans, Seterus, Inc., 2019 WL 4393377, at *3 (M.D. Pa. Sept. 13,

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E. Edward Zimmermann v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, (E.D. Pa. 2026).

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