Hester v. Everest College

• Court: District Court, District of Columbia
• Decided: May 8, 2009
• Docket: Civil Action No. 2009-0858
• Status: Published

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FILED FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Sheliah Hester, ) MAY - 8 2009 ) /W.ICY MAYER WHITTINGTON CLERK Plaintiff, ) U.S. DISTRICT COURT' ) v. ) Civil Action No. ) 09 0858 Everest College, ) ) Defendant. )

MEMORANDUM OPINION

This matter is before the Court on plaintiffs pro se complaint and application to proceed

in forma pauperis. The Court will grant 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. 12(h)(3).

Plaintiff, a resident of the District of Columbia, sues a school in McLean, Virginia, for

breach of contract. The complaint neither presents a federal question nor provides a basis for

diversity jurisdiction inasmuch as plaintiff has not pleaded any amount of monetary damages.

Accordingly, the complaint will be dismissed. I A separate Order accompanies this Memorandum

Opinion.

Date: April v~, 2009

I Presumably, plaintiff can seek redress in the appropriate state court in Virginia.

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