Watzke v. International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees
- Jon Tigar
- 4:23-cv-00890
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 3
In Watzke v. International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Judge Tigar granted a fee waiver and dismissed the pro se complaint with prejudice for failure to state a claim.
The order affected plaintiff Nicholas J. Watzke and defendants International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Charles Watzke, and Renee Kopie; the case was dismissed with prejudice and closed.
What happened
In Watzke v. International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Nicholas J. Watzke filed a lawsuit without a lawyer against the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Charles Watzke, and Renee Kopie. He alleged that he and his children had been kidnapped, that he was forced to work for an unidentified entity, and that he was denied an inheritance. He sought one billion dollars in damages.
The court reviewed the complaint because Watzke said he could not afford the filing fee. It found that most of his claims relied on federal criminal laws that do not allow private lawsuits. It also found that the claim based on a national-security statute did not identify the applicable section or allege facts involving national security. More broadly, the complaint did not provide enough details about who committed the alleged acts, when or where they occurred, or how they related to his inheritance.
Judge Jon S. Tigar granted Watzke’s application to proceed without paying the filing fee but dismissed the case with prejudice for failure to state a claim. The court ruled that changing the complaint would be futile, directed the Clerk to enter judgment, and closed the case.
The detailed version
- Watzke v. International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees · No. 4:23-cv-00890
- Jon Tigar
- Apr. 5, 2023
Background
Nicholas J. Watzke filed the action without a lawyer and applied to proceed without paying the filing fee. His application included an affidavit stating that he could not pay the required fees. The court granted that application and screened the complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2), which requires dismissal of a fee-free complaint that fails to state a legally valid claim.
The complaint named the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Charles Watzke, and Renee Kopie as defendants. Watzke alleged that he was kidnapped as a child, that his children were kidnapped and extorted to induce him to work for an unidentified entity or entities, and that he was denied an inheritance. He sought one billion dollars in damages. He cited 18 U.S.C. §§ 241, 242, 1111, 1113, 2381, and 2384, as well as Chapter 44 of Title 50 of the United States Code.
Reasons for Dismissal
The court identified independent grounds for dismissal. First, it held that all but one of Watzke’s claims relied on federal criminal statutes that do not create a private right of action—that is, they do not authorize an individual to bring a civil lawsuit for a violation. The court also addressed the Chapter 44 claim, noting that the complaint did not identify which section applied and alleged no facts implicating national security. The supplied opinion text is incomplete at the end of this discussion, but the order states that the action was dismissed.
Second, the court held that the complaint did not give the defendants fair notice of the claims and the grounds supporting them. It did not identify who allegedly kidnapped Watzke or his children, who allegedly extorted Watzke, where or for whom he allegedly worked, the source of the alleged inheritance, how the events related to the inheritance, or when the events occurred. The court therefore concluded that the complaint did not allege enough facts to state a plausible claim for relief.
Disposition
Judge Jon S. Tigar dismissed the action for failure to state a claim. The dismissal was with prejudice because the court found that amendment would be futile. The Clerk was directed to enter judgment and close the case. The order granted Watzke’s application to proceed without paying the filing fee and dismissed the case itself.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.