Roigk v. Jamaica Hospital Medical Center

Background

Peter Heinz Kamillo Roigk filed the action without a lawyer and received permission to proceed without prepaying filing fees. He alleged that the defendants violated his rights. The complaint used a general form with approximately 80 pages of attachments, and Roigk later filed seven additional letters and supplements.

The court found it unclear whom Roigk intended to sue. The filings named or possibly named Jamaica Hospital Medical Center; the Bowery Residents’ Committee and possibly some of its employees; Dr. John Chuey of Mount Sinai Medical Center; Mark A. Stephen DO; and possibly “Germany,” the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Central Intelligence Agency. The filings also referred to alleged injuries, medical treatment, lost income, intellectual property, crimes, and other matters. The court stated that the English portions were incomprehensible and that it had not translated the portions written in German.

Court’s analysis

The court applied the screening requirement for complaints filed by people who proceed without prepaying fees. Under that requirement, the court must dismiss a complaint that is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim for relief, seeks money from an immune defendant, or falls outside the court’s subject-matter jurisdiction. The court also explained that a complaint must provide a short and plain statement showing that the plaintiff is entitled to relief and must give each defendant fair notice of the claims and their factual basis.

The court concluded that Roigk’s complaint did not satisfy that requirement. The submissions were described as voluminous, disorganized, and largely incomprehensible, and the court could not determine what claims Roigk sought to bring or the facts supporting those claims. The court therefore dismissed the complaint for failure to state a claim for relief.

Because the court dismissed the federal claims over which it had original jurisdiction, it declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction—the authority to hear related state-law claims—over any state-law claims Roigk might be asserting.

Disposition

The court dismissed the complaint filed without prepaying fees for failure to state a claim for relief. It granted Roigk 30 days to file an amended complaint. The amended complaint must clearly identify the parties Roigk seeks to sue and provide a short and plain statement explaining why he is entitled to relief against each defendant.

The court directed the clerk to hold the matter open until a civil judgment is entered. It also certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The court stated that if Roigk does not file an amended complaint within the permitted time, it will direct the clerk to enter judgment.