Lawtone-Bowles v. Baum

Background

Nicole Lawtone-Bowles, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a motion requesting an order allowing her to submit exhibits as proof supporting claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. The motion included exhibits that she wished to add to her complaint.

Court’s reasoning

The court explained that, at the pleading stage, a complaint must contain only a short and plain statement showing that the plaintiff is entitled to relief. A claim must be legally plausible, but the plaintiff does not need to submit evidence with the complaint. Because Lawtone-Bowles indicated that she wanted to include the attached exhibits, the court treated those exhibits as a supplement to, and part of, the operative complaint. The court noted that incorporating an exhibit into a pleading does not require the court to accept the exhibit’s contents as true.

Ruling

The court granted Lawtone-Bowles’s request to the extent that the exhibits attached to the motion were deemed part of the operative complaint. It directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the motion. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal.

Effect

The exhibits are now treated as part of the operative complaint for purposes of the case, but the order does not determine whether the allegations or exhibits are true or whether the RICO claims will succeed.