Genora Greene v. Rochester Villas Apartments, Inc., et. al.

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedFebruary 27, 2026
Docket4:25-cv-13926
StatusUnknown

This text of Genora Greene v. Rochester Villas Apartments, Inc., et. al. (Genora Greene v. Rochester Villas Apartments, Inc., et. al.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Genora Greene v. Rochester Villas Apartments, Inc., et. al., (E.D. Mich. 2026).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN SOUTHERN DIVISION

GENORA GREENE,

Plaintiff, Case No. 25-13926 v. F. Kay Behm ROCHESTER VILLAS United States District Judge APARTMENTS, INC., et. al.,

Defendants. ___________________________ /

ORDER GRANTING APPLICATION TO PROCEED WITHOUT PREPAYING FEES AND COSTS (ECF No. 10) AND DISMISSING COMPLAINT FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM (ECF No. 1)

Plaintiff Genora Greene filed this action on December 8, 2025. ECF No. 1. Greene filed an application to proceed without prepaying fees and costs, which the court denied as incomplete. ECF No. 2, 7. She filed a new application on January 8, 2026. ECF No. 10. The court finds that application facially sufficient and GRANTS the application to proceed without prepaying fees and costs (ECF No. 10). But for the reasons explained below, her complaint is DISMISSED for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, and/or for seeking monetary relief against defendants who are immune from such relief.

28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(i)-(iii). I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY First, a procedural note. The court denied Greene’s motion to

“supplement” her complaint with a partial pleading for several independent reasons. ECF No. 7. But the court noted that she could simply submit one new amended complaint that incorporated her

changes. Id. In a later “notice,” Plaintiff stated that she would be “filing a single, complete First Amended Complaint” in order to cure any deficiencies the court had pointed out in her supplemental pleading.

ECF No. 9. But the court is not in receipt of any amended pleading as of writing. Greene was given an opportunity to file her amended complaint and was warned that the court is obliged to perform a

screening analysis under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e). ECF No. 12. Because she did not file an amended complaint, the court relies on her complaint at ECF No. 1.

II. ANALYSIS When an individual applies to proceed in forma pauperis, their claim is subject to the screening standards established in 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). Brown v. Bargery, 207 F.3d 863, 865-66 (6th Cir. 2000).

Congress introduced this subsection with an understanding that “a litigant whose filing fees and court costs are assumed by the public, unlike a paying litigant, lacks an economic incentive to refrain from

filing frivolous, malicious, or repetitive lawsuits.” Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 324 (1989). Under this subsection, a court may dismiss a claim if it: “(i) is frivolous or malicious, (ii) fails to state a claim on

which relief may be granted, or (iii) seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief.” 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B).1 Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a), a pleading must

contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). The standard “does not require ‘detailed factual allegations’ but it demands more than an

unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 677-78 (2009) (citing Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). A complaint will not suffice “if it

1 Generally, affirmative defenses should be considered after a defendant responds, but if the affirmative defense is clear from the face of the complaint, a court may dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) instead – and immunity from monetary relief is an independent reason to screen a claim under the PLRA. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2); Jones v. Bock, 549 U.S. 199, 215 (2007). tenders ‘naked assertion[s]’ devoid of ‘further factual enhancement.’”

Id. at 678. “Conclusory allegations are not entitled to the assumption of truth.” Washington v. Sodecia Auto., No. 25-1362, 2025 LX 434919, at *4 (6th Cir. Oct. 21, 2025). Additionally, a claim must exhibit “facial

plausibility,” meaning it includes facts sufficient to allow the court to “draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id.

Greene formally brings the following claims: claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for illegal search and seizure (Fourth Amendment), excessive bail (Eighth Amendment), and due process and equal

protection violations (Fourteenth Amendment). ECF No. 1, PageID.4. She also, liberally construing her complaint, brings a malicious prosecution claim for “racially discriminatory prosecution.” ECF No. 1,

PageID.9. She also says these actions were “intended to deprive me of federally protected rights under 42 U.S.C. §1981[,]” and seeks to remove her state criminal prosecution to federal court under 28 U.S.C.

§ 1443(1). A. Section 1981 First, although Plaintiff at times references an attempt to deprive

her of her rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, she provides no factual allegations to explain what that interference might be. For example, she says, “The Defendant asserts that the prosecution is racially

motivated and that his rights under []42 U.S.C. §1981[] - particularly the right to make and enforce contracts without racial discrimination - are being denied.” ECF No. 1, PageID.11. But how a state criminal

prosecution for an allegedly fraudulent financing statement (ECF No. 1, PageID.19) constitutes interference with her right to contract under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 is not explained. Her unadorned and unexplained

allegations relating to § 1981 are therefore dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. B. 28 U.S.C. § 1443(1)

Although Greene brings a host of claims under § 1983 (which the court will address in the following section), a fair reading of Plaintiff’s complaint is that the thrust of the complaint seeks removal of her state

criminal prosecution to federal court. Generally, federal courts do not – indeed, cannot – interfere with ongoing state criminal prosecutions. See Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 (1971). There are exceptions to that rule, most relevantly here the ability of a state criminal defendant to

remove their prosecution to federal court if they are “denied or cannot enforce in the state courts a right under any law providing for the equal civil rights of those persons.” 28 U.S.C.

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