Chodos v. FBI

• Decision Date: 04 January 1982
• Docket Number: No. 81 Civ. 0652 (CBM).,81 Civ. 0652 (CBM).
• Citation: 559 F. Supp. 69
• Parties: Eva CHODOS, Plaintiff, v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION and Police Department of the City of New York, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

559 F. Supp. 69

Eva CHODOS, Plaintiff, v. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION and Police Department of the City of New York, Defendants.

No. 81 Civ. 0652 (CBM).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

January 4, 1982.^*

Eva Chodos, plaintiff pro se.

John S. Martin, Jr., U.S. Atty., S.D.N.Y. by R. Nicholas Gimbel, Asst. U.S. Atty., New York City, for defendant F.B.I.

Allen G. Schwartz, Corp. Counsel of City of New York by Noel Anne Ferris, Asst. Corp. Counsel, New York City, for defendant Police Dept. of City of New York.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

MOTLEY, District Judge.

Plaintiff pro se, Eva Chodos, brought this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to recover monetary damages for alleged violations of her constitutional rights by defendants, the United States of America (the F.B.I.)¹ and the New York City Police Department.

Plaintiff filed an initial complaint on February 3, 1981. In lieu of an answer, defendants moved to dismiss the complaint on the grounds that it failed to comply with Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a), which requires that the complaint contain "a short and plain statement of the claim" and that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction. Plaintiff responded to the motions by filing an amended complaint.² In it, plaintiff alleges that she has been deprived of her constitutional rights as a result of a conspiracy by defendants. Both defendants have moved to dismiss the amended complaint for failure to state a claim and lack of subject matter jurisdiction as well as being barred by the statute of limitations. For the reasons discussed below, defendants' motions are granted and plaintiff's complaint is dismissed without leave to amend.

FACTS

It is well settled that a pro se complaint must be construed liberally and dismissed only if "beyond doubt ... the plaintiff can prove no set of facts which would entitle him to relief." Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520-21, 92 S.Ct. 594, 30 L.Ed.2d 652 (per curiam), rehearing denied, 405 U.S. 948, 92 S.Ct. 963, 30 L.Ed.2d 819 (1972); Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). Moreover, on a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, the factual allegations of the plaintiff's complaint must be taken as true. Blassingame v. United States Attorney General, 387 F.Supp. 418 (S.D.N.Y.1975).

Plaintiff has filed papers requesting the court append the amended complaint to the original complaint and thus consider both when ruling on defendants' motions. In an effort to grant plaintiff, who appears pro se, every possible leniency, we have granted her request. As far as can be determined from an examination of both the original and amended complaints, plaintiff claims her constitutional rights were violated by a series of incidents which allegedly occurred between 1968 and 1974 at the instigation of a retired member of the police force, one Charly Glasser. The complaint alleges that Glasser constructed the conspiracy in retaliation for testimony plaintiff had given in 1968.³ Plaintiff claims that it was Glasser who informed the F.B.I. about plaintiff and got them to "join in" the conspiracy.

The conspiracy is alleged to have consisted of a pattern of harassment conducted to prevent the conviction of one Irving Clayton for assault on plaintiff. The only incident alleged to have occurred in the last five years is set forth in the amended complaint on page 10 where plaintiff states:

27. On June 1980 had the defendants harassed, smeared and defamed the plaintiff (secretly, over the telephone) before the school Principals at P.S. 105 where the plaintiff is serving as honored school-volunteer "tutor" in the classroom for years. (sic)

Plaintiff alleges that the conspiracy resulted in her stay in the psychiatric ward of Jacobi Hospital. The complaint details plaintiff's treatment while in the hospital and makes allegations against the staff of the institution. The complaint also contains allegations against plaintiff's landlady and former New York Mayor John Lindsay's secretary.

I. VIOLATION OF FED.R.CIV.P. 8(a)

Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a) sets out a minimum standard for the sufficiency of complaints, providing that a complaint "shall contain ... a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief...." The purpose of the rule is to give fair notice of the claim in order to permit the adverse party to file a responsive answer, prepare an adequate defense and determine whether res judicata is applicable. The rule also serves to sharpen the issues to be litigated and to confine discovery and the presentation of evidence at trial within reasonable bounds. Brown v. Califano, 75 F.R.D. 497, 498 (D.D.C.1977); Prezzi v. Berzak, 57 F.R.D. 149, 151 (S.D.N. Y.1972).

Complaints have been dismissed for failure to comply with Rule 8(a). In Brown v. Califano, supra, the court described the complaint in the following manner:

In eight rambling counts, plaintiff claims "fraud, psychiatric, educational repressions, harassments, and intimidations, nuisances, tortures, aggravations, malpractices, entrapments, counterproductivity; invasions and violations of personal privacy; commitments and imprisonments, brutality, detentions, false personation ... political surveillances and monitoring; tormentations" and so on, and so forth.

75 F.R.D. at 498. The court held that the complaint must be dismissed because it "is a confused and rambling narrative of charges and conclusions concerning numerous persons, organizations and agencies." It contained "an untidy assortment of claims that are neither plainly nor concisely stated, nor meaningfully distinguished from bold conclusions, sharp harangues and personal comments." Id. at 499.

The instant complaints, like that in Brown, are rambling, confused documents from which it is impossible to adequately discern the basis for plaintiff's claim or the facts upon which the alleged claim exists.⁴ Although federal courts indulge pro se pleaders, the instant complaints do not conform even to a relaxed requirement. "Complaints which ramble, which needlessly speculate, accuse, and condemn, and which contain circuitous diatribes far removed from the heart of the claim do not comport with the goals of the federal system; such complaints must be dismissed." Prezzi v. Berzak, 57 F.R.D. 149 (S.D.N.Y.1972); accord Prezzi v. Schelter, 469 F.2d 691 (2nd Cir.1972) ("the complaint contained a labyrinthian prolixity of unrelated and vituperative charges that defied comprehension"). The instant complaints are examples of the type described in Prezzi v. Berzak, supra. The complaints violate F.R. Civ.P. 8(a) and must therefore be dismissed.

II. LACK OF SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION OVER CLAIM AGAINST THE F.B.I.

An action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 cannot lie against federal officers. Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 456 F.2d 1339 (2nd Cir.1972) (on remand). In order for this court to have jurisdiction over the instant action, plaintiff must allege either (1) a direct violation of her rights under the Constitution, see Bivens v. Six Unknown Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971) or (2) a tort committed by a federal agent that would give rise to liability under state law if committed by a private individual. See Birnbaum v. United States, 588 F.2d 319 (2nd Cir.1978). Compliance with the latter requirement would give this court subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671-2680. Id. at 322.

We have already discussed above the lack of coherence that characterizes plaintiff's complaint. Although this court has tried to discern the basis for plaintiff's action, we find it impossible to do so. Moreover, in the Second Circuit complaints based on the conspiracy provisions of the Civil Rights Statutes cannot rest on vague or conclusory allegations but must "allege with at least some degree of particularity overt acts which defendants engaged in which were reasonably related to the promotion of the alleged conspiracy." Powell v. Workmen's Compensation Board, 327 F.2d 131, 137 (2nd Cir.1964); see Koch v. Yunich, 533 F.2d 80, 85 (2nd Cir.1975); Fine v. New York, 529 F.2d 70, 74 (2nd Cir.1975); Powell v. Jarvis, 460 F.2d 551, 553 (2nd Cir.1972). The same standard has also been applied to suits against federal officials involving so called "Bivens" claims based on causes of action arising directly under the Constitution. Ostrer v. Aronwald, 567 F.2d 551 (2nd Cir.1977); Black v. United States, 534 F.2d 524 (2nd Cir.1976).

In Ostrer v. Aronwald, supra, the court stated that "complaints containing only `vague', or `general allegations' of a conspiracy to deprive a person of constitutional rights will be dismissed. Diffuse and expansive allegations are insufficient, unless amplified by specific instances of misconduct." Id. at 553. (Citations omitted). Plaintiff's complaint in the instant action fails to provide enough particularity to state a cause of action for alleged violations of the Constitution. The original complaint makes no specific reference to the F.B.I. It does not allege any actions by the F.B.I. The amended complaint contains only the following reference to the F.B.I.:

(f) ... Charly Glasser was also the "Star Informer" to the F.B.I., Media, press and others. He also had wiretapped my telephone and residence along with the telephones and residence of my relatives, friends and others before the F.B.I. joined in. (sic)

Plaintiff has alleged only that the F.B.I. has joined in the alleged conspiracy. She alleges no specific actions taken by the F.B.I. as part of the alleged conspiracy. She has merely stated a conclusion. As in Ostrer, plaintiff's complaint must be dismissed since it is not alleged with sufficient specificity. Thus unless plaintiff has stated a cause of action under the Federal Tort Claims Act the complaint must be dismissed as...