Lindblad v. Livermore Chamber of Commerce

Background

Robert Lindblad filed an amended complaint asserting 16 claims against defendants including the “China Ministry of Justice,” the Livermore Chamber of Commerce, the “Royal Crown of England,” and city and county governments in Colorado. He summarized his allegations as involving banking trade secrets, surveillance, theft of banking ideas, Chinese consultants, and broader geopolitical events.

The court noted that Lindblad was proceeding without paying the filing fee because he had been granted permission to proceed without prepayment of fees. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2), the court said it had to dismiss such an action if it was frivolous or malicious, failed to state a claim for relief, or sought money from an immune defendant. The court also explained that although filings by people without lawyers are read liberally, they still must include enough facts to support a recognizable claim.

Analysis

The court concluded that Lindblad had not clearly identified the grounds for his claims. It characterized the allegations as “fantastic and implausible” and found that the amended complaint remained meandering and difficult to understand. The court had previously dismissed Lindblad’s complaint on the same general grounds, granted him permission to amend, and identified deficiencies through an adopted magistrate judge’s report and recommendation. The court found that Lindblad had failed to correct those deficiencies.

Ruling

Judge William H. Orrick dismissed the amended complaint for failure to state a claim on which relief could be granted. The court dismissed it without leave to amend, meaning the order did not permit another amendment. The court also dismissed as moot Lindblad’s pending motions to reschedule a case-management conference and to “leave access open” to a storage facility.