SIZER
v.
FARRELL
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court held that the plaintiff's amended complaint failed to establish federal subject matter jurisdiction, and thus the case must be dismissed.
Plaintiff filed a pro se complaint alleging discrimination under the ADA. The court directed plaintiff to file an amended complaint addressing subject…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Americans With Disabilities Act (Ada) Title I cases and more on FLexlaw
Pro se plaintiff James Sizer filed a complaint on May 29, 2019, alleging that the defendants illegally discriminated against him in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) when they failed to come through on promises made as part of a business deal (Doc. 1). Concerned that the complaint did not state a claim under the ADA and that there did not appear to be another basis for the Court to exercise subject matter jurisdiction,1 the Court directed plaintiff to consider whether his case ought to instead be filed in state court. Barring that, he was directed to file an amended complaint with
Schofield v. Atlanta Women’s Med. Ctr., Inc., No. 1:13-cv-3340-SCJ, 2015 WL 13653081, at *7 (N.D. Ga. Mar. 3, 2015). Moreover, Sizer does not allege what disability he has or was perceived as having, how it affects or was perceived to affect any major life activity, how he was otherwise qualified for the position, or how the defendants’ actions were “because of” that disability. See, e.g., Mazzeo v. Color Resolutions Int’l, LLC, 746 F. 3d 1264, 1268 (11th Cir. 2014) (setting forth some of the requirements for an ADA employment discrimination claim). Additionally, he names as defendants the company’s CEO and an assistant, but generally only the corporate entity can be sued (and only those with at least 15 employees). See, e.g., Mason v. Stallings. 82 F. 3d 1007, 1009 (11th Cir. 1996); 42 U.S.C. § 12111(5)(A). These are just a few examples of what would be necessary to state a claim under Title I of the ADA. In short, even according him the leniency to which pro se litigants are entitled (see, e.g., Campbell v. Air Jamaica, 760 F. 3d 1165, 1168-69 (11th Cir. 2014)), Sizer’s complaint does not state a claim under the ADA. To the extent Sizer is trying to raise state law claims, the Court cannot hear those because there is no diversity jurisdiction. Sizer’s new allegation about the Privacy Act fails to state a basis for exercising jurisdiction as the statute he cites (5 U.S.C. § 552a) has to do with disclosure of private information by government agencies. Moreover, all Sizer alleges is that his social security number was given to defendants (presumably by Sizer himself). He does not allege the defendants have disclosed it to third parties or that they have used his social security number for some improper purpose. The Court is not permitted to rewrite plaintiff’s complaint for him, Campbell, 760 F. 3d at 1168-69, nor could it in this instance as the Court sees no basis for this dispute to be in federal court. Rather, this case has the markings of a state court matter relating to an alleged breach of contract and the Court again encourages plaintiff to seek relief through that avenue if he believes he has grounds to do so. In the Court’s previous order, Sizer was given an opportunity to file an amended complaint and was advised that if his amended complaint did not state a basis for the Court to exercise subject matter jurisdiction, his case would be dismissed. Because Sizer has not presented an amended complaint or any other document which supports subject matter jurisdiction, it is hereby ORDERED: This case is dismissed without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The pending motions are terminated and the Clerk is directed to close the file. DONE AND ORDERED in Jacksonville, Florida this 30th day of September, 2019.
TIMOTHY J. CORRIGAN
United States District Judge s. Copies: Pro se parties
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Campbell v. AIR Jamaica Ltd., 760 F.3d 1165 (11th Cir. 2014)
- Mazzeo v. Color Resolutions Int'l, LLC, 746 F.3d 1264 (11th Cir. 2014)
- Pga Tour, Inc. v. Martin, 532 U.S. 661 (U.S. 2001)
- Mason v. Stallings, 82 F.3d 1007 (11th Cir. 1996)
- Miccosukee Tribe OF Indians OF Florida v. Kraus-Anderson Constr. Co., 607 F.3d 1268 (11th Cir. 2010)