Strole v. Wirth

CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedApril 4, 2025
Docket3:24-cv-08211
StatusUnknown

This text of Strole v. Wirth (Strole v. Wirth) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Strole v. Wirth, (D. Ariz. 2025).

Opinion

1 WO 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

9 Sherri Strole, No. CV-24-08211-PCT-DJH

10 Plaintiff, ORDER

11 v.

12 Mark Wirth, et al.,

13 Defendants. 14 15 Pro se Plaintiff Sherri Strole (“Plaintiff”) has filed an Application to Proceed in 16 District Court Without Prepaying Fees or Costs. (Doc. 2). Upon review, Plaintiff’s 17 Application, signed under penalty of perjury, indicates that she is financially unable to pay 18 the filing fee. The Court will therefore grant Plaintiff’s Application and allow her to 19 proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”). 20 Plaintiff has also filed a Motion to Compel Arbitration, a Motion for “Permanent 21 Anonymity,” and a Motion to Compel wherein she requests an Order granting her IFP 22 application and reopening closed cases not before this Court. (Docs. 5–6, 8). The Court 23 will proceed to screen Plaintiff’s Complaint (Doc. 1) under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). 24 I. Background 25 Plaintiff states that she moved to Defendant Fairgrounds RV LLC’s RV park in 26 January of 2023. (Doc. 1 at ¶ 6). She alleges that she has experienced “a continuous pattern 27 of harassment, discrimination, and intimidation by Defendants' management, staff, and 28 other tenants.” (Id. at ¶ 7). She specifically alleges that she was subject to the following 1 acts: 2 (A) Arbitrary rent increases without proper notice, inconsistent billing practices, and refusal to provide invoices and contract copies upon request. 3 (B) Discriminatory enforcement of park policies, including requirements to 4 elevate sewer hoses and complete repairs, which were not applied to other 5 tenants. (C) Repeated acts of vandalism to Plaintiff's RV, vehicle, and personal 6 property, including tampering with water connections, locks, and sewer 7 equipment, creating unsafe and unsanitary living conditions. 8 (D) Isolation from community events and refusal by management to address or investigate Plaintiff's complaints, leaving her subject to ongoing 9 harassment by other tenants. 10 (Id.) Due to the above alleged conduct, Plaintiff has brough claims against Defendants for: 11 (1) gender discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) (42 U.S.C. § 3604); 12 (2) retaliation and intimidation in violation of the FHA; (3) economic abuse and (4) 13 intentional infliction of emotional distress (“IIED”). (Id. at ¶¶ 11–19). 14 II. Legal Standard 15 When a party has been granted IFP status, the Court must review the complaint to 16 determine whether the action: 17 (i) is frivolous or malicious; 18 (ii) fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted; or 19 (iii) seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief. 20 See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B).1 In conducting this review, “section 1915(e) not only 21 permits but requires a district court to dismiss an [IFP] complaint that fails to state a claim.” 22 Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1127 (9th Cir. 2000) (citation omitted). 23 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) requires complaints to make “a short and plain 24

25 1 “While much of § 1915 outlines how prisoners can file proceedings in forma pauperis, § 1915(e) applies to all in forma pauperis proceedings, not just those filed by prisoners.” 26 Long v. Maricopa Cmty. Coll. Dist., 2012 WL 588965, at *1 (D. Ariz. Feb. 22, 2012) (citing Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1126 n.7 (9th Cir. 2000) (“[S]ection 1915(e) applies 27 to all in forma pauperis complaints[.]”); see also Calhoun v. Stahl, 254 F.3d 845 (9th Cir. 2001) (“[T]he provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) are not limited to prisoners.”) 28 (citation omitted). Therefore, section 1915 applies to this non-prisoner IFP Complaint. 1 statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” While Rule 8 does 2 not demand detailed factual allegations, “it demands more than an unadorned, ‘the 3 defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me’ accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 4 (2009).2 “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere 5 conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Id. A complaint “must contain sufficient factual 6 matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Id. (quoting 7 Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). A claim is plausible “when the 8 plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that 9 the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556). 10 A complaint that provides “labels and conclusions” or “a formulaic recitation of the 11 elements of a cause of action will not do.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. Nor will a complaint 12 suffice if it presents nothing more than “naked assertions” without “further factual 13 enhancement.” Id. at 557. 14 The Court must accept all well-pleaded factual allegations as true and interpret the 15 facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Shwarz v. United States, 234 F.3d 428, 16 435 (9th Cir. 2000). That rule does not apply, however, to legal conclusions. Iqbal, 556 17 U.S. at 678. The Court is mindful that it must “construe pro se filings liberally when 18 evaluating them under Iqbal.” Jackson v. Barnes, 749 F.3d 755, 763–64 (9th Cir. 2014) 19 (quoting Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010)). 20 III. Discussion 21 Plaintiff has brought this action against Defendants Mark Wirth, Fairgrounds RV, 22 LLC, and Orchard Ranch Park, LLC. (Doc. 1 at 1). Plaintiffs’ purport to bring claims for 23 FHA Gender Discrimination, Retaliation and Intimidation as well as Economic Abuse and 24 an IIED claim. (Id. at ¶¶ 11–19). The Court will screen each claim in turn. 25

26 2 “Although the Iqbal Court was addressing pleading standards in the context of a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the Court finds that those standards also apply in the initial screening of 27 a complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2) and 1915A since Iqbal discusses the 28 general pleading standards of Rule 8, which apply in all civil actions.” McLemore v. Dennis Dillon Auto. Grp., Inc., 2013 WL 97767, at *2 n.1 (D. Idaho Jan. 8, 2013). 1 A. The FHA 2 Plaintiff asserts that Defendants violated the FHA numerous times during her 3 residency at the Fairgrounds RV Park. Specifically, she brings three separate FHA claims: 4 discrimination, interference, and retaliation. The Court will begin by screening Plaintiff’s 5 claim for discrimination in violation of the FHA. 6 1.

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Strole v. Wirth, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/strole-v-wirth-azd-2025.